stradbrokeisland

The western side of North Stradbroke Island faces into the southern half of Moreton Bay. The sandy shore receives no ocean swell, except at the very north-western entrance. Only at the protruding Dunwich and along the north-western Amity shore are the bay waves sufficiently high to maintain low-energy sandy beaches fronted by tidal flats and/or tidal channels. As the bay narrows south of Dunwich, the low energy conditions permit mangroves to dominate the shore, while between Dunwich and Amity extensive sand flats and tidal shoals extending 12 km into the bay also maintain calm conditions and a mangrove-fringed shore. In all, there are five-bay beaches between Dunwich and Amity Point. One Mile Beach (1578) forms the northern shore of Dunwich. It is a 500 m long, low-energy strip of high tide sand, including a few scattered mangroves, fronted by 1 km wide sand flats. The beach is backed by a foreshore reserve, then houses. Amity is located on the north-western tip of the island and borders the transition from the bay to the ocean shore. The main settlement extends along 1 km of the west-facing bay shore. Unfortunately, the settlement was located too close to the shore and the natural retreat of the beach has caused a 500 m long section to be replaced by a rock seawall. This seawall divides the previously sandy shore into two beaches. Source: beachsafe.org.au/beach/qld/redland/dunwich/one-mile

Benevolent asylums were established in all the Australian colonies in the nineteenth century. In NSW and Victoria, they were established as religious charities. In Queensland, however, the state took responsibility, and the Queensland Benevolent Asylum Act of 1861 funded hospitals to have ‘asylum wards’. In 1865 the Colonial Government proposed that an asylum ward for the sick and poor be established at the new general hospital site at Herston. Under ‘public pressure’ the colony government decided in 1866 to relocate the asylum on a ‘temporary basis to the Dunwich Quarantine Station. It started with 80–90 inmates, confusing funding, and a drunk as Director. Source: stradbrokemuseum.com.au/dunwich-benevolent-asylum/

Dunwich ‘Bohemia’ An exhibition exploring the artistic and literary works of three generations of the Agnew family is currently on display at the Museum . The exhibition —a collaboration with the Redland Museum — features artworks and writings, as well as a series of photographs taken in Dunwich by Philip Agnew. The Agnew family lived and worked in Dunwich for many years and were active in the cultural life of the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum. The exhibition continues over the summer. Source: stradbrokemuseum.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Museum...

The Dunwich Benevolent Asylum was a Benevolent Asylum for the aged, infirm, and destitute operated by the Queensland Government in Australia. It was located at Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay and operated from 1865 to 1946.[1] The asylum occupied most of the current Dunwich township. There were many buildings with wards for men, women, and Asiatics. It had a kitchen, bakery, laundry, and other service buildings including a power station from 1926. It had a public hall, recreational facilities, and a visitor center for social activities. A farm with associated outbuildings provided meat and dairy products.[2] A 1913 map shows it occupying the coastal area from Dunwich Cemetery down to the present-day jetty and inland to approximately the present-day Mitchell Crescent and Barton Street. Swamps are shown beyond the boundaries.[7] The 'Aboriginal Gang' that worked the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum were the first Aboriginal people in Australia to receive equal wages. In 1944, after a 25-year campaign, the Aboriginal workers gained equal wages almost 20 years before anywhere else in Australia. The Asylum closed shortly after with the Aboriginal Gang only getting equal wages for one and a half years.[6] Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunwich_Benevolent_Asylum