Tin Can Bay Queensland |
|||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dolphin Feeding at 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) | ||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 4580 | ||||||||||||
Location |
|
||||||||||||
LGA(s) | |||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Gympie | ||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | Wide Bay | ||||||||||||
|
Tin Can Bay is a town and locality in the Wide Bay–Burnett region in Queensland, Australia. The locality is split between the Fraser Coast Region (the northern part of the locality) and the Gympie Region (southern part of the locality), but the town itself is within Gympie Region.
Tin Can Bay is 218 kilometres (135 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane.
The locality of Tin Can Bay is bounded on the east by the Great Sandy Strait, a pristine waterway protected by World Heritage listed Fraser Island. The area is a Ramsar Convention Wetland of International Importance and an Important Bird Area of Australia.
The town is located on a peninsula between Snapper Creek and the Great Sandy Strait.
Tin Can Bay is the nearest town to the Australian Army's Wide Bay Training Area.
The town was originally called Wallu, but was changed to Tin Can Bay in 1937. The origins of "Tin Can" are uncertain, but is believed to be derived from an indigenous name, possibly ''tinchin'' meaning ''mangrove'' in the Yugarabul dialect of the Yuggera language, or '''tinken''' meaning '''vine with large ribbed leaves''' from Doombarah Clan, Dulinbara dialect, Kabi language, or '''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.
Wallu State School opened on 1 February 1934 and was renamed Tin Can Bay State School in 1937.