Moreton Bay

The Brisbane River flows into Moreton Bay, in which there are over 300 islands, large, small and tiny. The larger islands - South and North Stradbroke Islands, Moreton Island and Bribie Island - shelter the mainland coast from the Pacific surf. The southern tip of South Stradbroke Island reaches as far south as Southport, on the Gold Coast, the northern tip of Bribie Island as far north as Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. On the island of St Helena are the ruins of a convict prison.

The history of Queensland began in Moreton Bay in 1824, when the first penal settlement was established at Redcliffe (though it survived only for a short time). Redcliffe has now become a suburb of Brisbane, as has the old beach resort of Sandgate, further south. The first sugar-cane plantations were established at Ormiston, which has preserved a mansion of 1862.