Hamilton Reach is a
reach of the
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...
in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
,
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia.
Geography
Hamilton Reach flows from west (upstream) to east (downstream). The suburb of
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
is on its northern bank (and is most likely the origin of the name of the reach). The suburbs of
Bulimba
Bulimba is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bulimba had a population of 7,623 people.
Geography
Bulimba is located north-east of the CBD on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, but it is by road.
Top ...
and
Morningside lie to the south.
History

The Hamilton Reach is popular for water sports. It is popular for recreational and competitive sailing.
The
Australian Rowing Championships
The Australian Rowing Championships is an annual rowing event that determines Australia's national rowing champions and facilitates selection of Australian representative crews for World Championships and the Olympic Games. It is Australia's pre ...
were held at Hamilton Reach in 1904, 1909, and 1951. The Australian University Rowing Championships were held there in 1937, 1937 and 1955.
Prior to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
,
flying boats
A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull (watercraft), hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for b ...
used Hamilton Reach as their base. However, the level of river traffic and the lack of night lighting resulted in the flying boats relocating to
Redland Bay
Redland Bay is a coastal semi-rural locality in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. In the , Redland Bay had a population of 17,056 people.
Since the first European settlers arrived in the mid-19th century, Redland Bay has remained a f ...
.

Historically, the Brisbane River had many commercial wharves used for the shipping of goods and passengers. However, with the growth in the size of ships, the increasing residential characters of the suburbs alongside the river, and the need to construct bridges over the river, most commercial shipping is now handled at the
Port of Brisbane
Port of Brisbane is the main shipping port and a coastal suburb of the City of Brisbane, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. In the , Port of Brisbane had "no people or a very low population".
Geography
Port of Brisbane is located in ...
at the mouth of the Brisbane River and beyond into
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...
through land reclamation. Former commercial wharves and associated on-shore industrial facilities along the Brisbane River are frequently redeveloped into residential and leisure facilities.
While Hamilton Reach has seen a number of such re-developments e.g., Portside and Northshore Hamilton, unlike many other parts of the river, it has retained some commercial shipping activity. The Portside redevelopment combines residential and retail facilities with the cruise liner terminal
Portside Wharf. However, increasing, larger cruise liners cannot be accommodated due to a combination of the height restrictions of the
Gateway Bridge
The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges, formerly and still collectively referred to as the Gateway Bridge, are a pair of twin road bridges that carry the Gateway Motorway (M1) over the Brisbane River, skirting the eastern suburbs of the city of Brisba ...
and the inability to turn the vessels within the river, forcing such ships to use the
Port of Brisbane
Port of Brisbane is the main shipping port and a coastal suburb of the City of Brisbane, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. In the , Port of Brisbane had "no people or a very low population".
Geography
Port of Brisbane is located in ...
or other industrial wharves downstream. As these alternative wharves lack adequate facilities for leisure travellers, consideration is being given to constructing a new passenger terminal further downstream or elsewhere within Moreton Bay, e.g., on the
Gold Coast.
The
Cairncross Dockyard
The Cairncross Dockyard was a shipyard beside the Brisbane River at 405 Thynne Road, Morningside, Queensland, Morningside, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It included one of Australia's largest graving docks with an 8.5 metre deep wa ...
was constructed at Hamilton Reach between 1942 and 1944. The facility closed in 2014, and in 2016 the land on which it stands was to be sold for residential and commercial redevelopment.
Transport
There are three ferry terminals on Hamilton Reach (from upstream to downstream):
*
Bretts Wharf Ferry Wharf (northern bank)
*
Apollo Road ferry wharf
Apollo Road ferry wharf is located on the southern side of the Brisbane River serving the Brisbane suburb of Bulimba in Queensland, Australia. It is served by RiverCity Ferries' CityCat services.
History
The original wharf closed when Brisbane ...
(southern bank)
*
Northshore Hamilton ferry wharf
Northshore Hamilton ferry wharf is located on the northern side of the Brisbane River serving the Brisbane suburb of Hamilton in Queensland, Australia. It is the downstream terminus for RiverCity Ferries' CityCat services.
History
The wharf o ...
All these wharves are on the
CityCat
RiverCity Ferries is a public transport company which commenced operating ferry services in Brisbane on 4 November 2020. It is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group.
RiverCity Ferries operates 36 vessels serving 22 wharves on the Brisbane River u ...
route along the Brisbane River with Northshore currently being the most downstream.
References
Further reading
*
External links
* — availabl
online
{{coord, -27.440, 153.055, type:river_region:AU-QLD, display=title
Reaches of the Brisbane River