Halifax Bay is a region located around a
bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
in the
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...
, situated on the
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n coast in
North Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its Tropical North Queensland, trop ...
. It is bordered by the town of
Ingham to the north, city of
Townsville
The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
to the south and
Great Palm Island off the coast to the east.
Regional localities include
Mount Low,
Bushland Beach,
Yabulu,
Saunders Beach,
Toolakea Beach,
Bluewater,
Toomulla Beach, Rollingstone,
Balgal Beach,
Paluma, Mutamee, Taylors Beach and Allingham (formerly Forrest Beach).
Major tributaries of Halifax Bay to the north include Trebonne Creek, Cattle Creek, and
Crystal Creek
Crystal Creek (also known as Saltwater Creek) is a creek in the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It runs for 17.5 km, beginning just below Paluma, flowing through the township of Mutarnee and emptying into the Coral Sea
T ...
, while in the south the inflows are from Rollingstone Creek, Bluewater Creek, Black River and the
Bohle River.
History
Halifax Bay was originally inhabited by the Warakami and the Wulgurkaba aboriginal tribes and these were likely some of the tribes people that Captain James Cook saw when he named Halifax Bay between June 6–8, 1770.
George Elphinstone Dalrymple explored the Halifax Bay area in the early 1860s and the first settlers to the
Herbert River Valley settled soon after. Ingham was first settled in 1865. The southern parts of Halifax Bay developed at a slower pace with the area south of Crystal Creek being included in the newly formed
Thuringowa Land Division in 1879.
The southern section of Halifax Bay, including
Great Palm Island, was prominent in air defence of the area during the Second World War. Halifax Bay, being on the northern approaches to the major air base in Townsville, was an ideal signals and battery location. Significant operations included Fort Kissing Point at Cape Pallarenda in Townsville, a signal and radar station on Mount Spec in Thuringowa, a radio station at Mount Low also in Thuringowa and a seaplane base at the north end of Great Palm Island. A US Army Hospital operated at Black River in Thuringowa. Rattlesnake Island, also in Halifax Bay, was used for live firing (and is still used for this purpose).
After the war the southern section of Halifax Bay began a transition from rural to residential settlement with significant beach developments occurring from the 1960s onwards. In 1971 the area of southern Halifax Bay was heavily impacted by
Cyclone Althea
Severe Tropical Cyclone Althea was a powerful tropical cyclone that devastated parts of North Queensland just before Christmas 1971. One of the strongest storms ever to affect the Townsville, Queensland, Townsville area, Althea was the fourth sy ...
.
Industry
In 1974 Thuringowa's Nickel Refinery (
Queensland Nickel) began its operations at
Yabulu on the south end of Halifax Bay. The refinery ceased operations in 2016.
The northern section of Halifax Bay is a major sugar producing area. The first settlers to the northern area were cattle farmers but sugar became the major interest when the Mackenzie Brothers built the first
sugar cane mill in 1872. By 1970 over 2,000,000T of cane was being crushed in the district
Ecology
Halifax Bay is an important Australian ecological area. The bay itself is part of the
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
World Heritage Area whilst the
Paluma Range is included in the
Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. Halifax Bay is generally a turbid environment that supports a wide variety of commercial and recreational fish species, prawns and scallops.
[Southern Halifax Bay Ecological Assessment published by QNI Nickel Refinery, 2000] The bay also supports Dugong habitats and is a significant Green Turtle nesting area. Operators and regulatory bodies regularly assess environmental impacts from sugar growers, the Yabulu Refinery, military use and residential use.
See also
*
Former City of Thuringowa
*
Pandora Reef
References
{{coord, 18, 50, S, 146, 30, E, region:AU_type:waterbody, display=title
Bays of Queensland
North Queensland