Coochiemudlo Island - Queensland
Coochiemudlo Island is situated in Moreton Bay about 500m offshore from Victoria Point. Although only 5 square kilometres in area, Coochiemudlo Island has 4 kilometres of seafront, with more than half of that being excellent beaches. "Coochie", as the locals call the island, is a great place to visit. Small and friendly, with lots of excellent opportunities to relax and take time out from the hastles of life. A walk around Coochie takes You through forest, mangroves, melaleuca forested swampland, and along clean beaches. Take a dip in the waters of Moreton Bay, go fishing, sailing or boating, take a walk, enjoy ample opportunities for birdwatching' play a round of golf, or just relax and enjoy the tranquility of being away from the crowds. It may be only a 10 minute ferry ride from the mainland but Coochie is a world away in relaxation. En
There are many types of accommodation on Coochiemudlo Island, from Bed & Breakfast, Resorts, a Motel, Guesthouses, Self Catered, and Cabins are available.
Whatever your style, you'll find a great place to stay.
There are Tours to and around Coochiemudlo Island.
Local Tour Operators have a great knowledge of their area, So why not experience it with people who know all the best spots.
There are some interesting Things To See and Do on Coochiemudlo Island.
Visit the Redlands Bay Tourist Information Centre at Cleveland, where they can help you with your holiday plans.
Redlands on Moreton Bay Visitor Centre
Shop 2, Raby Bay Harbour
152 Shore St West
PO Box 8159
Cleveland
Queensland, 4163
Phone 07 38210057 or 1300 667 386
Fax 07 38213875
Email: explore@more2redlands.com.au
www.more2redlands.com.au
For more information about North Stradbroke Island visit www.straddieonline.com.au
What to do around Coochiemudlo Island.
# Take a walk around the walking tracks, around the island is only 4 kilometres .
# Fishing is extremely popular around Coochiemudlo Island, from the shore, the jetty or a boat.
# The island is accessible by watercraft and the ferry.
# Sea kayakers often enjoy a paddle around Coochie.
# On the 19th of July each Year the people of Coochiemudlo celebrate the landing of Captain Matthew Flinders on the island in 1799.Join them for a re-enactment and a festival.
# The island has an excellent 9 hole golf course.
# June to November is Whale Watching Season in Moreton Bay. The most common sightings being of Humpback Whales.
# Throughout the year dolphins, turtles and dugong can be seen in Moreton Bay.
# Birdwatching on Moreton Bay islands is very popular, both on the beach and islands and on the water, where migratory species gather each year.
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Whatever your favourite sport, you'll find plenty of options on Coochiemudlo Island. There is a 9 hole Golf Course, a Croquet and Bowls Club, a gym, Tennis club and a BMX track.
Aborigines from the large Yuggera Tribe have visited Coochiemudlo Island for thousands of years. Coobenpil was their language and Coochiemudlo comes from - “kutchi” = red earth, and “mudlo” = stone. This may be a reference to the red cliffs in the south west of the Island. The ochre obtained from the soft red rock was used to decorate their bodies and shields. They obtained fresh water from springs and the swamps on the northern side of the island.
In July 1799, Captain Matthew Flinders, in the sloop Norfolk explored Moreton Bay seeking to discover any large rivers which might give access to the interior. On 19 July he landed on Coochiemudlo Island which he referred to as the Sixth Island. There is a re-enactment each year to celebrate.
In November 1823 Surveyor- General John Oxley, on an exploration voyage to find a site for another penal colony found 2 cedar-getters, Thomas Pamphlett and John Finnegan who had been wrecked on Moreton Island and with the help of friendly Aborigines, had wandered for months around the shores of Moreton Bay. They showed Oxley the mouth of the Brisbane River. In 1824 Oxley’s recommendation that a convict settlement be established at Moreton Bay was implemented. Initially the settlement was near Redcliffe but soon was moved to the present site of Brisbane. In 1834 the name “Brisbane” became official.
In 1840 Robert Dixon, the Government Surveyor in Brisbane, named the Island “Innis Island” after Lieutenant Innis, who had explored the southern part of Moreton Bay. Innis Island was granted to the Queensland Acclimatization Society in 1868, but was relinquished by 1870, the grant having never been taken up. Within a few Years Innis Island was again known as Coochiemudlo.
The first industry in the Cleveland-Redland Bay region was timber-getting. Bullock teams were swum over to Coochiemudlo Island from the mainland to drag felled trees to the sea. It is said that the trees of Coochiemudlo Island felled in the 1880s contributed significantly to the wharves in Brisbane. The first sugar cane was grown on Russell Island but it was the Hope family at Ormiston in 1848 who developed sugar into an industry. By the 1860s the Hopes and others were producing 2 tons to the acre and the district was becoming known as an oasis of fertility.
In the 1880s oyster farming by the Moreton Bay Oyster Company became an important business in the Bay, including Coochiemudlo Island, until a marine worm disabled the industry at the turn of the 19th century.
The western half of the Island was subdivided into one acre lots in 1887 and these were used for growing bananas, passion fruit, grapes, paw paw, pineapples, tomatoes, vegetables and custard apples, as well as flowers for sale. The first auction of crown land was on the 24th of January 1888 when 90 allotments were advertised. Few of the buyers actually settled on the Island.
From 1896 or 97, until they left... “this god forsaken place”, in about 1900, Henry Wright and his son Norman were the only residents on the island. They had subsisted on fish, shellfish, game birds and wild spinach, supplemented by salt beef and butter, and also raised pigs. Norman Wright went on to build Norman Wright and Sons, the nationally respected Queensland boat building company.
From the beginings of the twentieth century Coochiemudlo became a farming Island and remained so until the 1950's when most of the land was subdivided and became a holiday community. During the Second World War the 42nd and 43rd Water Transport Landing Craft Companies trained on the Island from 1943 to 1944, before serving with distinction in New Guinea and Bougainville in 1945.
Moreton Bay Events Calendar for 2008
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