# Great Sandy Strait

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The **Great Sandy Strait** is a [strait](/source/Strait) in the Australian state of [Queensland](/source/Queensland) of 70 kilometres (43 mi) length which separates mainland Queensland from [K'gari](/source/K'gari). It is also an offshore [locality](/source/Suburbs_and_localities_(Australia)) in the [Fraser Coast Region](/source/Fraser_Coast_Region) local government area.[1] To the north of the strait is [Hervey Bay](/source/Hervey_Bay_(Queensland)).[2] In the , Great Sandy Strait had "no people or a very low population".[3]

## Geography

The Great Sandy Strait extends south from [Hervey Bay](/source/Hervey_Bay_(Queensland)) to [Inskip Point](/source/Inskip_Point). The [Mary River](/source/Mary_River_(Queensland)) enters the strait at [River Heads](/source/River_Heads,_Queensland). It covers an area of 932 square kilometres (360 sq mi).[4] The southern entrance to the strait is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) wide.[2]

There are numerous named and unnamed islands in the strait. The named island are from north to south: Big Woody Island, Round Island, Little Woody Island, Picnic Island, Duck Island, Walsh Island, Turkey Island, Bookar Island, Thomas Island, Slain Island, Tooth Island, Round Bush Island, New Island, Garden Island, Dream Island, and Stewart Island.[5]

Most of the island are low and sandy in character. Only a few have significant elevations, e.g. Big Woody Island rises to 50 metres (160 ft) above sea level. Although most of the islands are uninhabitable, there is a small area of residential development on the north-west of Stewart Island ([25.6161°S 152.9536°E](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?params=-25.6161_152.9536&title=Stewart%20Island%20housing)).[5]

## History

In July and August 1799 [Matthew Flinders](/source/Matthew_Flinders) chartered the coast from [Moreton Bay](/source/Moreton_Bay) to Hervey Bay in the [*Norfolk*](/source/Norfolk_(1798_sloop)).[6][7] Although he established that K'gari was not a peninsula (as was then believed) but an island, he failed to find a navigable channel through the Great Sandy Strait. His explorations of the area is commemorated by a monument called Matthew Flinders Lookout at the top of an escarpment facing the bay in Dayman Park, [Urangan](/source/Urangan,_Queensland) ([25.2893°S 152.908°E](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?params=-25.2893_152.9080&title=Matthew%20Flinder's%20Lookout)).[8]

Lieutenant Joseph Dayman was the first European to navigate through the Great Sandy Strait on 10 November 1846 in a small decked boat called the *Asp*. It had been intended that Dayman rendezvous with [HMS Rattlesnake](/source/HMS_Rattlesnake_(1822)) but that ship had already departed. Dayman decided it was safer to take the *Asp* through the Great Sandy Strait rather than risk taking the route to the ocean side of K'gari as he was concerned about rounding the Breaksea Spit.[8]

## Demographics

In the , Great Sandy Strait had a population of 4 people.[9]

In the , Great Sandy Strait had "no people or a very low population".[3]

## Economy

[Tourism](/source/Tourism) and commercial fishing are the two main industries that are active within the Strait. Boating and fishing are also pursued for recreation.[10]

## Education

There are no schools in Great Sandy Strait. There are numerous mainland schools near the strait, but access would depend on having transport to the mainland. The alternatives are [distance education](/source/Distance_education_in_Queensland) and boarding school.[11]

## Environment

A complex landscape of [mangroves](/source/Mangroves), [sandbanks](/source/Sandbank), intertidal sand, mud islands, salt marshes and [seagrass](/source/Seagrass) beds, the Strait is an important habitat for breeding [fish](/source/Fish), [crustaceans](/source/Crustacean), [dugongs](/source/Dugong), [dolphins](/source/Dolphin) and [marine turtles](/source/Sea_turtle). Migrating [humpback whales](/source/Humpback_whale) use the calms waters of the strait to rest for a few days between July and November.[12] An analysis of [commercial](/source/Commercial_fishing) catch data in the area between 1988 and 2003 revealed a significant reduction in [fish stock](/source/Fish_stocks).[13] The campaign against the [Traveston Crossing Dam](/source/Traveston_Crossing_Dam) included claims the dam would have a significant environmental impact on the Great Sandy Strait.[14] It is located within the boundaries of the **Great Sandy Marine Park**[15] and adjoins other protected areas within or adjacent to the Strait include [Great Sandy National Park](/source/Great_Sandy_National_Park), [Poona National Park](/source/Poona_National_Park) and [Great Sandy Conservation Park](/source/Great_Sandy_Conservation_Park).[citation needed]

## Birds

The lower part of Great Sandy Strait was listed under the [Ramsar Convention](/source/Ramsar_Convention) as a [wetland](/source/Wetland) of international significance in 1999. The area is also an important roosting site for [CAMBA](/source/China_Australia_Migratory_Bird_Agreement) and [JAMBA](/source/Japan_Australia_Migratory_Bird_Agreement) listed species. Some 806 km2 of the strait has been identified by [BirdLife International](/source/BirdLife_International) as an [Important Bird Area](/source/Important_Bird_Area) because it supports about 120,000 non-breeding waders, including over 1% of the global populations of [bar-tailed godwits](/source/Bar-tailed_godwit), [eastern curlews](/source/Eastern_curlew), [great knots](/source/Great_knot), [grey-tailed tattlers](/source/Grey-tailed_tattler), [lesser sand plovers](/source/Lesser_sand_plover), [pied oystercatchers](/source/Pied_oystercatcher), [red-necked stints](/source/Red-necked_stint) and [red-capped plovers](/source/Red-capped_plover), as well as small numbers of the range-restricted [mangrove honeyeater](/source/Mangrove_honeyeater).[16]

## Events

Each year in June the [Bay to Bay yacht race](/source/Bay_to_Bay_yacht_race) is sailed on the Great Sandy Strait. It is run by the Hervey Bay Sailing Club.[17]

## See also

- [Hinchinbrook Channel](/source/Hinchinbrook_Channel)
- [List of Ramsar sites in Australia](/source/List_of_Ramsar_sites_in_Australia)
- [Pumicestone Passage](/source/Pumicestone_Passage)
- [Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve](/source/Great_Sandy_Biosphere_Reserve)

## References

1. Retrieved 4 November 2019.

1. Ribbe, Joachim (February 2006). ["A study into the export of saline water from Hervey Bay, Australia"](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272771405003525). *Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science*. **66** (3-4): 550-558. [doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2005.10.012](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2005.10.012). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240201113647/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272771405003525) 1 February 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 February 2024.

1. ["Great Sandy Strait (including Great Sandy Strait, Tin Can Bay, and Tin Can Inlet)"](http://www.wetlands.org/reports/dbdirectory.cfm?site_id=562). *Ramsar Sites Database*. Wetlands International. 1999. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110423024556/http://www.wetlands.org/reports/dbdirectory.cfm?site_id=562) 23 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 January 2011.

1. *A Voyage to Terra Australis, with an accompanying Atlas*. 2 vol. – London : G & W Nicol, 18. July 1814.

1. *The Early History of Tasmania*, R.W.Giblin 1928

1. ["Matthew Flinders Lookout, Dayman Park, Urangan, Hervey Bay, QLD"](https://poi-australia.com.au/points-of-interest/australia/queensland-1/urangan/matthew-flinders-lookout-dayman-park-urangan-hervey-bay-qld/). *POI Australia*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190413095627/https://poi-australia.com.au/points-of-interest/australia/queensland-1/urangan/matthew-flinders-lookout-dayman-park-urangan-hervey-bay-qld/) 13 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-02-20.

1. ["Great Sandy Strait"](http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/destinations/fraser-coast/places-to-visit/great-sandy-strait.cfm). *Queensland Holidays*. Tourism Queensland. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110127201724/http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/destinations/fraser-coast/places-to-visit/great-sandy-strait.cfm) 27 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 January 2011.

1. ["Layers: Locality; Schools and school catchments"](https://qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au/). *Queensland Globe*. [Queensland Government](/source/Queensland_Government). Retrieved 4 September 2025.

1. ["Great Sandy Strait - Hervey Bay Area, Hervey Bay, QLD, Australia"](http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;place_id=8728). *Australian Heritage Database*. Commonwealth of Australia. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160902044342/http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;place_id=8728) 2 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 June 2014.

1. ["Fishing stocks drop in Great Sandy Strait"](http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/qld/sunshine/200511/s1498001.htm). *ABC News Online*. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 November 2005. Retrieved 22 January 2011.

1. Bill Hoffman (14 November 2009). ["How the Mary Valley was saved"](http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2009/11/14/how-the-Mary-Valley-was-saved/). *Sunshine Coast Daily*. APN News & Media. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110208195137/http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2009/11/14/how-the-Mary-Valley-was-saved/) 8 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 January 2011.

1. ["Great Sandy Marine Park (map)"](https://www.npsr.qld.gov.au/parks/great-sandy-marine/pdf/gsmp-plan-mp1.pdf). *Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing*. Queensland government. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180407221201/https://www.npsr.qld.gov.au/parks/great-sandy-marine/pdf/gsmp-plan-mp1.pdf) 7 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 January 2018.

1. ["IBA: Great Sandy Strait"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110706102341/http://www.birdata.com.au/iba.vm). *Birdata*. Birds Australia. Archived from [the original](http://www.birdata.com.au/iba.vm) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-29.

1. ["Hervey Bay Boat Club Bay to Bay Yacht Race"](https://herveybaysailingclub.org.au/bay-to-bay-yacht-race/). *Hervey Bay Sailing Club*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240312220504/https://herveybaysailingclub.org.au/bay-to-bay-yacht-race/) 12 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-08-06.

## External links

- [Great Sandy Strait Ramsar Site](https://web.archive.org/web/20110312193434/http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/wetlandinfo/site/PPL/DOIWandRAMSAR/RamsarWetland-5AU051.html)
- [Official Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve website](http://www.greatsandybiosphere.org/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170616172455/http://greatsandybiosphere.org/) 16 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Great Sandy Strait](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sandy_Strait) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sandy_Strait?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.