South Passage is channel between the South Pacific Ocean and

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 ...

. The other entrances to the bay are the North Passage or North Entrance and

Jumpinpin Channel The Jumpinpin channel, also known as The Pin, is a fast moving tidal deep water channel in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 1898 and severed Stradbroke Island, originally one island, into North Stradbroke Island and South Stradbroke Islan ...

in the south. It was once the main entrance for ships entering the bay. South Passage begins in the shallow sand-barred channel between

Moreton Island Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) is an island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay on the coast of South East Queensland, Australia. The Coral Sea lies on the east coast of the island. Moreton Island lies northeast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane. ...

and

North Stradbroke Island North Stradbroke Island (Janday language, Jandai: ''Minjerribah''), colloquially ''Straddie'' or ''North Straddie'', is an island that lies within Moreton Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, southeast of the centre of Brisbane. Original ...

and continues along North Stradbroke Island past Amity Point to

Dunwich Dunwich () is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast. In the Anglo-Saxon ...

. The bay inside of South Passage consists of shallow water sandbanks. Crossing the channel by small boat is not recommended, especially during a high swell, due to the network of channels and shifting sand bars. The

tidal flow Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ca ...

is rapid with a rate of 150 cm per second during the flooding tide and slightly slower during the ebb tide of 100 cm per second. The passage has a return coefficient of 50%, meaning that half the amount of water that leaves the bay via the passage returns the same way on the flooding tide.

History

The channel was not noticed by Lieutenant

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

as he explored the coastline in May 1770. On 14 July 1799,

Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...

was the first European to discern an opening between the islands. In 1824

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an English List of explorers, explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps bes ...

aboard the '' Amity'' left Moreton Bay via the South Passage after he had explored 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 ...

with Allan Cunningham. He was the first European sailor known to do so. The '' Lucinda'' was used as a mail vessel for delivering mail up and down the Queensland coast. The boat was largely captained by Captain James South who notably used South Passage to cut hours off the mail route. Some believed this is how South Passage came to be named, but it appears this is simply a coincidence. There is clear reference to South Passage prior to Captain South surveying/sounding and using this route. On 11 March 1847, 44 people lost their lives when the '' SS Sovereign'' was wrecked as it passed through the passage; only 10 people were saved. This led to the shipping route being moved to the northern entrance to the bay the next year, while the

pilot station A pilot station is an onshore headquarters for maritime pilots, or a place where pilots can be hired from. To get from a pilot station to an approaching ship, pilots need to use fast vessels to arrive in time, i.e. a pilot boat. History Histor ...

was moved to

Cowan Cowan Cowan Cowan is an island town and locality in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Cowan Cowan had a population of 27 people. Demographics In the , Moreton Island (including Cowan Cowan) had a population of 29 ...

on Moreton Island. Another wreck found in the passage is the ''Rufus King''.

References

{{coord, 27, 22, 43.47, S, 153, 26, 20.89, E, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Channels of Australia Moreton Bay North Stradbroke Island

History

See also

References