Tin Can Bay, Queensland
| Tin Can Bay Queensland | |||||||||||||
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 Dolphin Feeding at Tin Can Bay | |||||||||||||
  Tin Can Bay | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 25°55′0″S 153°00′0″E / 25.91667°S 153.00000°ECoordinates: 25°55′0″S 153°00′0″E / 25.91667°S 153.00000°E | ||||||||||||
| Population | 1,994 (2011 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4580 | ||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | |||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Gympie | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Wide Bay | ||||||||||||
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Tin Can Bay is a town and locality in the Wide Bay–Burnett region in Queensland, Australia. The seaside town is located on a deep but narrow sheltered inlet, 218 kilometres (135 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane. The locality is split between the Fraser Coast Region (the northern part of the locality) and the Gympie Region (southern part of the locality). At the 2006 census, Tin Can Bay had a population of 1,994.[1]
It is suggested that the town's name derives from the indigenous word, "Tuncanbar", thought to refer to the dugongs that frequent the inlet. European settlement began in the 1870s as the point where logs would be floated to the timber mills at Maryborough. Tin Can Bay later became, and still remains, an important fishing port, with a focus on prawns as well as recreational fishing.[2] There is an excellent public boat ramp into Snapper Creek with boat-washing facilities and ample trailer parking.
Tin Can Bay is the nearest town to the Australian Army's Wide Bay Training Area and a vehicular ferry operates at nearby Inskip Point providing access to Fraser Island.
The seaside town is a popular holiday destination and launch pad to the aquatic playground of the Great Sandy Strait – a pristine waterway protected by World Heritage listed Fraser Island. The area is a Ramsar Convention Wetland of International Importance. Other recreational facilities include hotels, holiday units and caravan parks, with houseboats and yachts for hire and a marina. Active sports facilities include an 18-hole golf course, two bowls clubs, tennis courts and an outdoor swimming pool. The Tin Can Bay Country Club [3] is the main recreational focus for residents and visitors serving Tin Can Bay, Cooloola Cove and Rainbow Beach areas of Cooloola Shire, Queensland, Australia.
An important tourist feature is the regular arrival of wild Indo-Pacific dolphins which usually appear early mornings next to the Norman Point boat ramp. These dolphins can be hand fed under close supervision.
Each September the town hosts the Tin Can Bay Seafood Festival , a day of family fun, with entertainment, novelty competitions such as mullet throwing and prawn eating, helicopter joy flights over the bay, seafood and market stalls. Other events throughout the year include the Bay to Bay Yacht Race, Dragonboat Regatta, Cooloola Coast Flower Show and the Foreshore Family Carnival from Boxing Day to New Year's Eve.
For more information visit the official tourism website for the Gympie Cooloola Region Gympie Cooloola Tourism
References
- 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "2011 Community Profiles: Tin Can Bay (State Suburb)". 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ↑ "Tin Can Bay". Walkabout Australian Travel Guide. Fairfax. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
- ↑ Tin Can Bay Country Club.