1926 Trip to Ocean Beach

 Trip to Ocean Beach

1926

by Edward Harvey Gibbon

The following "Letter to the Editor" was written by Edward Harvey Gibbon (1849-1928) during his latter years when he lived at Ocean Beach (Woorim).

"The Brisbane Tug Co., although not a philanthropic institution, is to be congratulated on the manner in which it caters for the pleasure of the public. Through its agency has been opened up one of the most glorious marine suburbs of Brisbane. It is at once easier to access than any of the northern or southern watering places, and certainly possesses bathing and fishing facilities unsurpassed by any other coastal resort in Southern Queensland.

To reach this "Mecca," the company has organised an excellent service by means of the S.S. Koopa and Doomba. Bribie is reached about 12.30 p.m., or approximately three hours from town. Three commodious motor buses meet the visitors, who are conveyed across to Ocean Beach, the time occupied about ten minutes over a perfectly straight well-made road.

Doomba and Koopa plied the Brisbane to Bribie journey
Photo: Mountain and seaside resorts of Southern Queensland, 1925, page 94

Arriving at Ocean Beach terminus, one's attention is drawn to the magnificent kiosk built by the company for the convenience of the public. The dining hall alone can conveniently seat from 150 to 200 guests, whilst the dancing hall on the opposite side is of equally generous proportions. At the entrance hall is located the shop, where comestibles of great variety can be obtained at very reasonable prices. 

Kiosk at Ocean Beach with bus and sand on the front doorstep!
Photo: Mountain and seaside resorts of Southern Queensland, 1925, page 96

Leaving the kiosk and walking to the top of the sandhill, about two hundred feet distant, a most glorious vista meets the eye of the visitor. Extending northerly for fifteen or twenty miles and for five or six miles southerly is a simply perfect beach of smooth hard sand with the rollers of the Pacific bursting with resounding crash upon it.

This beach for surf bathing is remarkably safe, there being no under tow and no treacherous double beaches, whilst at low tide, no matter how the waves may roar, they are all broken up and a wide expanse of shallow water is provided for the veriest toddler to paddle in and enjoy itself with the utmost safety. Last year the Government sold about forty leasehold allotments on the beach frontage, and already some comfortable and neat sea-side cottages have been erected, notably by Mr. Hooper, Mr. J. Morgan (Arakoon), Mr. J. Murray, Mr. Dickson and Miss A.M.F. Gibbon (The Bean).

When satiated with the rough and tumble of the sea, the visitor can thoroughly enjoy a ramble in the unspoiled primeval bush, after which he can return to the motor 'bus and by that means and the Koopa or Doomba, be landed again in Brisbane shortly after 6 p.m., having had a most enjoyable trip."

REFERENCE
Ocean Beach by E. Harvey-Gibbon.
Letter to the Editor. The Daily Mail (Brisbane) 9.1.1926 p.11

Mountain and seaside resorts of Southern Queensland : from Noosa to the Tweed.
Compiled by the Queensland Government Tourist Bureau, 5th edition, 10th December 1925.
Repository: State Library of Queensland

Reminiscence of Bribie in WW2

In the 2017 edition (#43) of Bribie magazine Holiday Guide & Business Directory (pages 32-33) is an interesting article written by Historian Ron Donald about serviceman Frederick Sydney Sharp's reminiscences of Bribie Island in World War 2.

Syd Sharp continued his association with Bribie Island after his military service when he became the proprietor of the Ocean Beach Guest House for a few years.





The following article is reprinted with permission, from 2017 Bribie Holiday Guide & Business Directory published by the Bribie Island Chamber of Commerce.

The long life of a sailor comes to an end. . . 

A REMINISCENCE OF BRIBIE ISLAND IN WW2

By Historian Ron Donald

"The last remaining military link with Bribie Island in World War 2 has been severed with the death of former naval lieutenant and wartime Darwin bombing survivor Frederick Sydney Sharp on June 9 [2016] at the age of 99 years.

Lieut. Syd Sharp, as the youthful officer-in-charge of
RAN No. 4 Indicator loop station at Woorim on the east
 coast of Bribie Island. He was also a highly responsible
 officer in the wartime Brisbane seaward defences structure.
 Although now protected by sandbagging, the station was
seriously threatened by beach erosion several years ago and
 is still intact, as are its two diesel electric power huts a little further inland.
Caption: Ron Donald

But his experiences in the long service of his country remain for posterity through his detailed written reminiscences of some of the most critical episodes in Australia's wartime history.

Syd Sharp, as he became popularly known in adult life, was born into a family living on the Parramatta River and it was only natural that his main sporting activities would soon become swimming, sailing and rowing, with the waters of Sydney Harbour an irresistible magnet.
There were ominous beginnings to his life - at the age of only four years he contracted typhoid fever and spent three months in the isolation ward of a private hospital in Ashfield, Sydney.  The illness was cured and he became a student at Sydney Grammar, joining the school cadets and leaving in 1934 at the age of 17 to take a job in the insurance industry.

Subsequently he joined the peacetime Militia (Army) - becoming a sergeant - but the call of the sea was insistent and he transferred to the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve in February, 1939 - the same year in which Britain and Germany became adversaries in World War 2.  Newly-married, Syd was mobilised in the naval reserve in December, 1939, being stationed at the port war signal station and anti-submarine unit at South Head, Sydney.  His training included an ASDIC (anti-submarine detection) course with service in a submarine being part of the regime which was to stand him in good stead at Bribie Island and Moreton Bay later in the war. As a RANVR sub-lieutenant, he was posted to Darwin to serve in the northern capital's port war signal and loop station, arriving there on February 10, 1941.  His duties included reconnaissance flights, as naval observer, in Allied aircraft seeking to monitor possible Japanese military activity to the north. The Japanese began to strafe and bomb Darwin and its defence installations on February 19, 1942, and Syd Sharp survived a total of 26 devastating air raids before being posted south, hitching a ride to Sydney in a US Air Force Flying Fortresses.

Still standing is the old control post of the wartime RAN No. 4 station at Woorim. The building was manned around the clock and, with equipment connected to an under-sea electrical cable, was able to detect any enemy submarine activity in Moreton Bay.  Since this photograph was taken, about 20 years ago, beach erosion has removed the foredunes to within only a few metres of the building.
Caption: Ron Donald

In late 1942, he was appointed to command the newly-established RAN No. 4 indicator loop station close to the eastern beach of Bribie Island, near the township of Woorim.
No. 4 was the senior RAN establishment - the others were No. 2 (northern Bribie Island), port war signal station at Caloundra and RAN No. 3 at Tangalooma.  Built of concrete, No. 4 had seven rooms and, aided by electrically-operated cables on the seabed, was equipped to monitor all shipping movements in and out of Moreton Bay.

The RAN No. 4 station at Woorim, 2016.
Although now protected by sandbagging, the station was seriously
 threatened by beach erosion several years ago and is still intact,
 as are its two diesel electric power huts a little further inland.
Caption and photo: Ron Donald

The RAN No. 4 station at Woorim, 2016.
Caption and photo: Ron Donald

Any enemy ships, including submarines, would run the risk of being blown up by suspended mines in the bay while four six-inch (155mm) artillery guns on Bribie's ocean beach would be an added deterrent.

No. 4 station had a crew of about 35, including Royal Navy seamen who had survived battles against German ships in the European theatre of the war.

At times, Lieut. Sharp acted in his capacity as RAN deputy extended defences officer for Moreton Bay - a highly-responsible position considering that the North-West passage of the bay was the main route to and from the port of Brisbane for convoys of Allied shipping.

With the Japanese retreating in the islands north of Australia, the RAN installations in Moreton Bay were closed in 1944 and Syd Sharp was posted first to Darwin and then to Cairns for his final duties in WW2.

Proudly wearing his naval service medals,
Syd Sharp regarded the annual Anzac Day
observations in Sydney as a 'must' to attend - so much so that
 in 2012, at the age of 95, he was the oldest in the navy contingent
and opted to complete the march on foot!
Caption: Ron Donald

Always a keen yachtsman, he became a member (ultimately commodore) of the Royal Australian Navy Sailing Association and, as either skipper or crew member, took part in ocean races between Sydney Harbour and Noumea.  These achievements earned him membership of the London-based Ocean Cruising Club.

In 1980, he sold his insurance brokerage business and retired while still owning a cruising yacht for leisurely trips to Fiji and other destinations. A modest and gentlemanly person, he was proud of his service medals and of being able to participate on foot each year in the Anzac Day march in Sydney until the time when very few WW2 naval veterans were still alive.

Lieut. Syd Sharp is survived by Linda, his wife of the past 39 years, and three daughters (Rosemary, Suzanne and Alison) from his first marriage, as well as their families. He and Linda has lived on the Gold Coast for the past 28 years. His funeral service was held with naval honours in Somerville Chapel at Nerang Cemetery on the Gold Coast on June 17, 2016.

An additional - an rare - tribute was the sending of a signal from RAN headquarters to all serving ships and shore installations, acknowledging Lieut. Sharp's service to his country over a period of four decades.  He had requested that his ashes be scattered at sea from a serving RAN ship."

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Historian Ron Donald
2017 edition (#43) of Bribie magazine Holiday Guide & Business Directory (pages 32-33)
Bribie Island Chamber of Commerce 

FURTHER INFORMATION
Dr Richard Walding's site Indicator Loops of the Royal Australian Navy at Bribie Island - lists Officers and Ratings who served at RAN4, 1942-1943.  This site also contains a copy of the Tribute acknowledging Lieut. Sharp's service sent from RAN headquarters in June 2016.

Final salvo for Naval officer by Dr Tom Lewis. Navy Daily 22 June 2016 [online]
This article mentions Syd Sharp's service in Darwin.

Camera Views Bribie about 1948

Camera Views of Bribie Island 

circa 1948

One of the items we have recorded in our historical database is a folder of 8 postcards with the title of Camera Views - Bribie Island.

The postcards were probably produced by Murray Views, Gympie, Queensland around the year 1948.  Some of the same scenes, in black and white, appeared in Souvenir of Bribie postcard folder the previous year.

Each postcard has a caption which describes the location of the picture as it was around 1948.  So not only can we see familiar island vistas as they were almost 70 years ago - we can also read what they were called at that time!

Pacific Paradise Guest House, Woorim, Bribie Is.

Horseshoe Bay, Bribie Island.

Ocean Beach Road, Bribie Island.

Bribie Foreshore, Bribie Island.

Steamship Koopa departing Bribie Island.

At Bribie Island [Bowling Green]

Ocean Beach, Bribie Island. [Woorim]

Esplanade, Bribie Island.

Acknowledgements
Murray Views, Gympie.

Q150 2009 Shirley Creek

Q150 Heritage Plaque - 14 of 16 - Shirley Creek

The Bribie Island Heritage Plaques Waterfront Walk Bongaree consists of 16 bronze plaques located on the "Heritage Walk" along the walking path beside the Bongaree beach from the southern point of South Esplanade and finishes just north of Kangaroo Avenue.

These 16 bronze plaques set on a white concrete square record various aspects of the history of Bribie Island: Record Rainfall, South Esplanade, Campbell's Store, Camping Grounds, Bribie Island heritage quote from A. Meston, Ian Fairweather, First Shop, Bribie Island Heritage quote from Stan Tutt, First Avenue, Fishing Records, Welsby Parade, Bribie Island Wartime, First Car, Shirley Creek, Castaway Convicts and Fish Cannery.

The following excerpt is from the 2009 booklet produced prior to the plaques placement. The Heritage Plaques Waterfront Walk Bongaree project was a Q150 Community Funded Program, initiated by the Rotary Club of Bribie Island and supported by Moreton Bay Regional Council in conjunction with Bribie Island U3A and Bribie Island Historical Society.

A copy of the map for the Bongaree Waterfront Walk can be found at 

http://bribieislandhistory.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/bribie-heritage-plaques-walk.html

SHIRLEY CREEK Bill Shirley built the first road from the jetty to Ocean Beach in 1923.  He ran a bus service and a Guest House and became Bribie’s first Councillor.  A wooden bridge replaced a single plank walkway here in 1935 as his first Council works.

The original Single Plank Walkway over Shirley Creek
in 1920s.

Opening of the new bridge over Shirley Creek in 1935.

 In the early days the creek separated the little village of Bongaree from the few pioneers who had chosen to live further north up the Passage.


 It was crossed by a single plank walkway. As more houses were built further from Bongaree jetty, a safer and more substantial way of crossing the creek was needed.

 The first car arrived on Bribie Island in 1918, when there were no real roads, but by 1923 a road suitable for buses was build to Woorim.

 The traffic needs of the island increased as more motor cars arrived and a proper timber road bridge was built by the Council in 1935.

 As the population has grown the bridge has been reconstructed many times since.

Bill Shirley 

     Bill Shirley was originally from Ireland and came as the engineer supervisor for the Brisbane Tug and Steamship Company in 1923, to build a road from the jetty at Bongaree to Ocean Beach. The work was hard, hot and difficult as they worked through the soft sand.

     In 1927 he brought his family from Brisbane to live on the island. He built more roads and small cottages and acquired various properties. He was a supporter of the Church of England and provided valuable assistance in the construction of their first church.

     Bill Shirley represented the Brisbane Tug and Steamship Company and acted as land agent, toll collector and transporter.

     With only about 50 permanent residents on Bribie Island in the 1920’s, excursion steamers brought thousands of visitors and the island became a flourishing tourist destination and Bill Shirley quickly saw the needs and opportunities.

     He ran a “bus service” from the jetty to Ocean Beach and his family operated a large guest house at Ocean Beach, near the surf club. 

Ocean Beach Guesthouse 1940s

     Bill Shirley was the first person to be elected to represent the growing population of Bribie Island as an honorary Councillor in 1933.

     To attend meetings of the Caboolture Council required three days of travel. First to Brisbane by boat for an overnight stay there, a train trip to Caboolture for the meeting and then the journey back to Brisbane to stay, before catching the boat back to Bribie the next day. He remained an honorary Councillor until 1939 receiving only travel expenses to attend meetings.

     His first achievement as a Councillor was to replace the plank walkway with a substantial wooden bridge, providing vehicular access to the growing settlement of the Island.

     From 1923 to 1941 Bill Shirley did so much for the growing community that he was often regarded as the uncrowned “King of Bribie Island”.