Machans Beach, Queensland Explained

Type:suburb
Machans Beach
City:Cairns
State:qld
Coordinates:-16.8555°N 145.7477°W
Local Map:yes
Zoom:13
Pop:943
Established:1885
Postcode:4878
Area:7.1
Timezone:AEST
Utc:+10:00
Dist1:9.9
Dir1:N
Location1:Cairns CBD
Dist2:357
Dir2:N
Location2:Townsville
Dist3:1709
Dir3:NNW
Location3:Brisbane
Lga:Cairns Region
Stategov:Barron River
Fedgov:Leichhardt
Near-N:Coral Sea.
Near-Ne:Coral Sea
Near-E:Coral Sea
Near-Se:Aeroglen
Near-S:Aeroglen
Near-Sw:Stratford
Near-W:Barron
Near-Nw:Holloways Beach

Machans Beach is a beach and coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia.[1] [2] In the, Machans Beach had a population of 943 people.

Geography

The Barron River and Barr Creek are respectively the southern and northern boundaries of the suburb, while the Coral Sea and Captain Cook Highway form the eastern and western boundaries.The land is flat and just above sea level. The residential development is in the east of the suburb near the coast. The north-eastern coastline is a rocky sea wall, but the south-eastern coastline has a sand beach with the two sections separated by Redden Creek, which flows from the Barron River as a second mouth on the Coral Sea, creating an area known as Redden Island. The Gundy Anton Bridge crosses Redden Creek to connect the mainland part of Machans Beach with Redden Island.[3]

Redden Island is an important habit and feeding ground for shorebirds with over 200 species of bird being recorded there, including some rare and endangered species such as the eastern curlew, the great knot, the curlew sandpiper, the bar-tailed godwit, the red knot, and the lesser sand plover. These migratory shorebirds travel up to 25,000 km each year on their migration between Australian and Asia, some travelling as far north as Siberia and Japan.[4]

The majority of the suburb is still used as freehold farming land with sugarcane the predominant crop.

History

The Yirrganydji people (Tjapukai) traditionally inhabited the area. They used dugouts (single outrigger canoes) for fishing. From the canoes they used spears to catch smaller fish and harpoons to catch large sea creatures such as dugong and turtle. In sheltered creeks, the Yirrganydji people established fish traps, fences of lawyer vine and bushes spread across the creek held in position in the creek by a series of stakes. The women would drive the fish into the traps by beating on the water. Some men pulled on the sides of the fish trap to hold it tight while other men speared the fish driven into the trap. According to traditional lore, if a sea snake was caught, it had to be released or else there would be huge storms.[5] The area was first surveyed in 1885, but was not permanently settled until the 1920s. It is named after Richard Morton Machan who was among the first permanent white settlers in the area, having purchased land in the 1920s. Using a Model T Ford, Richard Machan provided transportation services to the area. He built a jetty to encourage tourist boats from Cairns to call at nearby Barron Beach.[6] [7] Machans Beach State School opened on 4 February 1952.[8]

In 1961, Gundy Anton donated part of his land for use in constructing a bridge across Redden Creek to Redden Island. In 2006, the council approved a local community proposal that the bridge (then known as the Redden Island Bridge) be renamed the Gundy Anton Bridge to reflect both the donation of the land and the considerable community service performed by Anton over the years.

Machans Beach was gazetted as a suburb in 2002, having previously been a locality.

Machans Beach is located about north of the Cairns International Airport. Plans to extend the airport in 2011 raised a number of objections from Machans Beach residents in relation to environmental concerns and noise concerns.[9]

The coastline and waterways in the area are unstable due to storm surge and flooding, which have changed the course of the Barron River over the years. From April 2014 to August 2015, the crumbling seawall along the suburb's northern coastline was rebuilt combined with the construction of a causeway further out to sea to provide greater protection for the growing number of residences along the coastal area following a number of severe storms. The project cost the Cairns Regional Council $16.8M.[10] [11] [12] [13] The drawback of the seawall is that it prevents a sandy beach from forming.[14]

Demographics

In the, Machans Beach had a population of 941 people.

In the, Machans Beach had a population of 1,051 people.

In the, Machans Beach had a population of 943 people.

Education

Machans Beach State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 61 Machan Street (-16.8526°N 145.7449°W).[15] [16] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 116 students with 10 teachers (8 full-time equivalent) and 8 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent).[17]

There are no secondary schools in Machans Beach. The nearest government secondary school is Cairns State High School in Cairns North to the south.

External links

Notes and References

  1. 28 September 2017.
  2. 28 September 2017.
  3. Web site: Meeting: Works & Services Committee. 16 May 2006. Cairns City Council. 5–7. 7 May 2018. 7 May 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180507154405/https://webs.cairns.qld.gov.au/filestore/minutes-archive/councilmeetings_archives/2006Minutes/may/worksServices/minutesWorksServices16May2006.pdf. live.
  4. Book: Information board "Redden Island Shorebird Habitat". Cairns Regional Council. Mouth of the Barron River, Redden Island, Machans Beach.
  5. Book: Information board "Yirrganydji Sea Country". Cairns Regional Council. Northern end of O'Shea Esplanade, Machans Beach.
  6. Web site: History. Machans Beach Community Association. 13 March 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20031221141209/http://www.machansbeach.net/history.html. 21 December 2003.
  7. Web site: Machans Beach. Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. 13 March 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140302063722/http://www.queenslandplaces.com.au/machans-beach. 2 March 2014.
  8. 18 April 2019.
  9. Web site: Summary of concerns regarding the Cairns Airport land use plan. Machans Beach Community Association. 13 March 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140313111308/http://www.machansbeach.net/mbca/MBCA%20DLUP%20SUMMARY%20OF%20CONCERNS.pdf. 13 March 2014.
  10. News: Machans seawall upgrade ordered after Cairns Regional Council awards $10 million contract. Parsons. Liam. 30 January 2014. The Cairns Post. 29 April 2018. 10 August 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230810205211/https://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/machans-seawall-upgrade-ordered-after-cairns-regional-council-awards-10-million-contract-/news-story/7499c8b728f9a100af6db1a4ad23c0f6?nk=f9f70dc002f6db23797caa78d8d2eca2-1691700731. live.
  11. Web site: Constructing Machans Beach Seawall. Mitchell. Andrew. 5 November 2014. Queensland Coast. https://web.archive.org/web/20180320155627/http://queenslandcoast.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/constructing-machans-beach-seawall.html. 2018-03-20. live. 29 April 2018.
  12. Web site: Machans Beach seawall reconstruction. 28 April 2017. Cairns Regional Council. https://web.archive.org/web/20180428224725/http://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/council/major-projects/completed/machans-beach-seawall-reconstruction. 2018-04-28. live. 29 April 2018.
  13. Web site: Finishing off the Machans Beach Seawall. Mitchell. Andrew. 16 January 2015. Queensland Coast. https://web.archive.org/web/20180320155146/http://queenslandcoast.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/finishing-off-machans-beach-seawall.html. 2018-03-20. live. 29 April 2018.
  14. Web site: Common misconceptions about beaches. July 1999. Queensland Government. https://web.archive.org/web/20180310130246/http://coolumcoastcare.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/DERM-coastal-series1.pdf. 2018-03-10. live. 29 April 2018.
  15. Web site: 9 July 2018 . State and non-state school details . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181121065959/https://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/state-and-non-state-school-details/resource/5b39065c-df32-415c-994c-5ff12f8de997 . 21 November 2018 . 21 November 2018 . Queensland Government.
  16. Web site: 2022-11-14 . Machans Beach State School . 2023-08-10 . Machans Beach State School . en . 1 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230301105241/https://machansbeachss.eq.edu.au/ . live .
  17. Web site: ACARA School Profile 2018 . 28 January 2020 . . 27 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200827085246/https://www.acara.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/school-profile-2018.xlsx . live .