Hamilton Reach

Hamilton Reach is a reach of the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.[1]

Hamilton Reach of the Brisbane River, circa 1912

Geography
Open Street Map - Hamilton Reach, Brisbane River

Hamilton Reach flows from west (upstream) to east (downstream). The suburb of Hamilton is on its northern bank (and is most likely the origin of the name of the reach). The suburbs of Bulimba and Morningside lie to the south.[2]

History
Sailboat racing at Hamilton Reach (Bulimba Hill in the background)

The Hamilton Reach is popular for water sports. It is popular for recreational and competitive sailing.

The Australian Rowing Championships were held at Hamilton Reach in 1904,[3] 1909,[4] and 1951.[5] The Australian University Rowing Championships were held there in 1937,[6] 1937[7] and 1955.[8]

Prior to World War II, flying boats used Hamilton Reach as their base. However, the level of river traffic and the lack of night lighting resulted in the flying boats relocating to Redland Bay.[9]

Portside Wharf River Walkway

Historically, the Brisbane River had many commercial wharves used for the shipping of goods and passengers. However, with the growth in the size of ships, the increasing residential characters of the suburbs alongside the river, and the need to construct bridges over the river, most commercial shipping is now handled at the Port of Brisbane at the mouth of the Brisbane River and beyond into Moreton Bay through land reclamation. Former commercial wharves and associated on-shore industrial facilities along the Brisbane River are frequently redeveloped into residential and leisure facilities.

While Hamilton Reach has seen a number of such re-developments e.g., Portside and Northshore Hamilton, unlike many other parts of the river, it has retained some commercial shipping activity. The Portside redevelopment combines residential and retail facilities with the cruise liner terminal Portside Wharf. However, increasing, larger cruise liners cannot be accommodated due to a combination of the height restrictions of the Gateway Bridge and the inability to turn the vessels within the river, forcing such ships to use the Port of Brisbane or other industrial wharves downstream. As these alternative wharves lack adequate facilities for leisure travellers, consideration is being given to constructing a new passenger terminal further downstream or elsewhere within Moreton Bay, e.g., on the Gold Coast.[10][11]

The Cairncross Dockyard was constructed at Hamilton Reach between 1942 and 1944. The facility closed in 2014, and in 2016 the land on which it stands was to be sold for residential and commercial redevelopment.[12][13]

Transport
Northshore Hamilton ferry wharf, Queensland 16

There are three ferry terminals on Hamilton Reach (from upstream to downstream):[14]

All these wharves are on the CityCat route along the Brisbane River with Northshore currently being the most downstream.

References
  1. "Hamilton Reach (entry 15283)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  2. Universal Business Directories Pty. Ltd (1997), Brisbane 1997 : includes Gold Coast & Sunshine Coast (41st ed.), UBD, a Division of Universal Press Pty. Ltd, ISBN 978-0-7319-0886-8
  3. "1904 Interstate Championships". History of Australian Rowing. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  4. "1909 Interstate Championships". History of Australian Rowing. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  5. "1951 Interstate Championships". History of Australian Rowing. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  6. "1931 Australian University Championships— Brisbane River Brisbane QLD". History of Australian Rowing. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  7. "1937 Australian University Championships— Brisbane River Brisbane QLD". History of Australian Rowing. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  8. "1955 Australian University Championships— Brisbane River, Brisbane QLD". History of Australian Rowing. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  9. Tuffley, David. "Redland Bay Flying Boat Base". Griffith University. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  10. Ironside, Robyn (6 August 2014). "Battle looms for Australian cruise capital status as potential new terminal in Brisbane flagged as a challenge to Sydney's dominance". Herald Sun. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  11. Stephens, Kim (13 February 2014). "Gold Coast cruise ship terminal plan gets government's approval". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  12. Deutrom, Rhian (2 July 2014). "Jobs to go as historic Brisbane shipyard faces closure next month". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  13. Clun, Rachel (27 April 2016). "Huge Brisbane naval dockyard in prime location to be sold". Domain. Archived from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  14. "Hamilton Reach". Google Maps. Retrieved 22 January 2015.

Further reading
  • Wilson, John (September 1997), "Civil flying boat operations Hamilton Reach and Redland Bay 1946/ 1974", Aviation Heritage, 28 (4): 107–131, ISSN 0815-4392

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