Bramble Bay
Encyclopedia
Bramble Bay is an embayment of Moreton Bay
in South East Queensland
, Australia
. The Brisway
map reference is 12 H5, or see page 91 G19 in Refidex.
The Houghton Highway
and the Hornibrook Bridge
span Bramble Bay, connecting Redcliffe
with Brisbane
. The highway is being upgraded with the construction of the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge
adjacent to the Hornibrook Bridge.
The Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race
begins in Bramble Bay. Activities for the annual race are centred around the Shorncliffe pier
and nearby foreshore.
Bramble Bay is the most environmentally degraded part of Moreton Bay. Because the bay is so close to the urban populations of Brisbane and Redcliffe the collection of shelled marine animals such as oyster
s, scallop
s and limpet
s is banned. Fishing within bay's closed waters, risks on the spot fines at all times under Queensland's closed water fishing regulations.
suburbs of Clontarf
and Woody Point
. The southern shoreline follows Brisbane City suburbs of Brighton
, Sandgate
and the northern Shorncliffe
shoreline. The former suburb of Nudgee Beach
was also found on the southern shoreline of the bay until it was disbanded for the construction of the Brisbane Airport
.
Bramble Bay flows into Hays Inlet
to the north-west, and Pine River
flows into Bramble Bay to the south-west. Some definitions place the mouth of the Brisbane River
and the Boondall Wetlands
in Bramble Bay. This would also place the mouths of a number of smaller creeks south of Shorncliffe, including Cabbage Tree Creek, Nundah Creek and Kedron Brook
, within the Bramble Bay catchment.
s and suspended sediment
s. Water in the bay is very turbid
. At times two sewerage plumes from the rivers are visible in Bramble Bay. The residence time
for Bramble Bay, that is, the period of time that a parcel of water remains at a particular location, is 59 to 62 days, the longest for any part of Moreton Bay.
In 2009, the annual Healthy Waterways Partnership Report Card rated Bramble Bay an F from a previous C. The rating deteriorated because of an increase in phytoplankton
and nitrogen
concentrations, as well as decreases in water clarity and salinity
.
During the past the bay contained large areas of seagrass
which attracted feeding dugongs, however there are no seagrass beds in the bay today. This is due to a lack of sunlight reaching the seabed.
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...
in South East Queensland
South East Queensland
South East Queensland is a region of the state of Queensland in Australia, which contains approximately two-thirds of the state population...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The Brisway
Ausway
Ausway is an Australian cartography and publishing company that produces comprehensive street directories and maps. In addition to its directories, Ausway also produces laminated, folded and rolled maps of varying sizes and formats, 200dpi digital map images, and index data...
map reference is 12 H5, or see page 91 G19 in Refidex.
The Houghton Highway
Houghton Highway
The Houghton Highway is a reinforced concrete viaduct, shortening the road distance between the cities of Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland, Australia...
and the Hornibrook Bridge
Hornibrook Bridge
Hornibrook Bridge was one of three bridges that crossed Bramble Bay, Queensland, Australia. The second is the Houghton Highway, which was built to accommodate rising traffic levels on the two-lane Hornibrook Bridge in the 1970s to increase capacity and cope with future demand...
span Bramble Bay, connecting Redcliffe
Redcliffe, Queensland
Redcliffe is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Region in the north-east of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia...
with Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. The highway is being upgraded with the construction of the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge
Ted Smout Memorial Bridge
The Ted Smout Memorial Bridge is a new bridge in Brisbane, Australia. It is located 30 metres to the east, and forming the duplication of, the Houghton Highway. It crosses Bramble Bay, linking the Redcliffe suburb of Clontarf with the Brisbane suburb of Brighton...
adjacent to the Hornibrook Bridge.
Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race
The Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race is held annually, starting on Good Friday. The premier blue water classic begins from Shorncliffe in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia and finishes in Gladstone Harbour. It attracts competitors from interstate and usually attracts a fleet of 40 to 100 boats....
begins in Bramble Bay. Activities for the annual race are centred around the Shorncliffe pier
Shorncliffe pier
Shorncliffe pier is situated in the suburb of Shorncliffe, Australia near Saint Patrick’s College the private school and lower Moora Park. This pier with its white faded timber railings, colonial street lamps spaced out along the stretch of pier, and resting shelter towards the end is a much...
and nearby foreshore.
Bramble Bay is the most environmentally degraded part of Moreton Bay. Because the bay is so close to the urban populations of Brisbane and Redcliffe the collection of shelled marine animals such as oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
s, scallop
Scallop
A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family, found in all of the world's oceans. Many scallops are highly prized as a food source...
s and limpet
Limpet
Limpet is a common name for a number of different kinds of saltwater and freshwater snails ; it is applied to those snails that have a simple shell which is more or less conical in shape, and either is not spirally coiled, or appears not to be coiled in the adult snails.The name limpet is most...
s is banned. Fishing within bay's closed waters, risks on the spot fines at all times under Queensland's closed water fishing regulations.
Geography
North of Bramble Bay the shoreline forms the southern peninsula shape of the Redcliffe CityRedcliffe, Queensland
Redcliffe is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Region in the north-east of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia...
suburbs of Clontarf
Clontarf, Queensland
Clontarf is a residential and light industrial suburb of the Moreton Bay Region in the south-west of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia.-Attractions and features:...
and Woody Point
Woody Point, Queensland
Woody Point is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Region at the south-east of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It was formerly a banana plantation.-Attractions and features:...
. The southern shoreline follows Brisbane City suburbs of Brighton
Brighton, Queensland
Brighton is the northernmost suburb of Brisbane City, Australia, located 19 km north of the Brisbane CBD. The Nashville locality makes up much of the southwest of the suburb.Brighton features mostly suburban housing...
, Sandgate
Sandgate, Queensland
Sandgate is a coastal suburb in Brisbane, Australia, located 16 km north of the Brisbane CBD. The town became a popular escape for the people of Brisbane in the early 20th century.-Geography:Sandgate is situated on the coastline, along Bramble Bay...
and the northern Shorncliffe
Shorncliffe, Queensland
Shorncliffe is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It is situated northeast of Brisbane and is the neighbouring suburb of Sandgate. The suburb comes under the jurisdiction of the Brisbane City Council.It is a small community with a village atmosphere...
shoreline. The former suburb of Nudgee Beach
Nudgee Beach, Queensland
Nudgee Beach is an outer suburb of Brisbane, Australia and also the name of the Beach located in the suburb. It is north of the Brisbane central business district where Shultz Canal enters Moreton Bay...
was also found on the southern shoreline of the bay until it was disbanded for the construction of the Brisbane Airport
Brisbane Airport
Brisbane Airport is the sole passenger airport serving Brisbane and the third busiest in Australia, after Melbourne and Sydney Airports. Brisbane Airport has won many awards. Located in the suburb with the same name, the airport serves the city of Brisbane and the surrounding metropolitan area...
.
Bramble Bay flows into Hays Inlet
Hays Inlet
Hays Inlet is a saltwater inlet off Bramble Bay in Queensland, Australia. The Brisway map reference is 420 L19. A mangrove forest is found in the inlet.-Geography:...
to the north-west, and Pine River
Pine River (Queensland)
Pine River continues after the convergence of North Pine and South Pine rivers at Lawnton in Queensland, Australia, continuing into Bramble Bay. The Brisway map reference is 440 D10.-Geographical characteristics:...
flows into Bramble Bay to the south-west. Some definitions place the mouth of the Brisbane River
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...
and the Boondall Wetlands
Boondall Wetlands
The Boondall Wetlands lie on the edge of Moreton Bay in the Brisbane suburb of Boondall between Nudgee Beach and Shorncliffe. The wetlands are preserved within the Boondall Wetlands Reserve which was preserved in 1990 and covers more than 1100 hectares of internationally significant wetlands.The...
in Bramble Bay. This would also place the mouths of a number of smaller creeks south of Shorncliffe, including Cabbage Tree Creek, Nundah Creek and Kedron Brook
Kedron Brook
Kedron Brook is a creek that flows through the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. It starts near the outer suburb of Upper Kedron and flows in an easterly direction...
, within the Bramble Bay catchment.
Water quality
Both rivers flowing into Bramble Bay carry high loads of nutrientNutrient
A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment. They are used to build and repair tissues, regulate body processes and are converted to and used as energy...
s and suspended sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
s. Water in the bay is very turbid
Turbidity
Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality....
. At times two sewerage plumes from the rivers are visible in Bramble Bay. The residence time
Residence time
Residence time is the average amount of time that a particle spends in a particular system. This measurement varies directly with the amount of substance that is present in the system....
for Bramble Bay, that is, the period of time that a parcel of water remains at a particular location, is 59 to 62 days, the longest for any part of Moreton Bay.
In 2009, the annual Healthy Waterways Partnership Report Card rated Bramble Bay an F from a previous C. The rating deteriorated because of an increase in phytoplankton
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν , meaning "plant", and πλαγκτός , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye...
and nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
concentrations, as well as decreases in water clarity and salinity
Salinity
Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...
.
During the past the bay contained large areas of seagrass
Seagrass
Seagrasses are flowering plants from one of four plant families , all in the order Alismatales , which grow in marine, fully saline environments.-Ecology:...
which attracted feeding dugongs, however there are no seagrass beds in the bay today. This is due to a lack of sunlight reaching the seabed.