Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island: Museum, History and Getting There

Dunwich (Goompi) is the town on North Stradbroke Island where the ferries and water taxis from Cleveland land, and it is a good half-day stop in its own right. It has a museum, a heritage-listed cemetery, a brewery and waterfront food, and it is the start of the island’s road network to Amity and Point Lookout.

The Quandamooka People are the Traditional Owners, and the town’s later history as a convict depot, quarantine station and benevolent asylum is part of what you will see on a walk around it.

Dunwich museum: North Stradbroke Island Museum

The North Stradbroke Island Museum is on Welsby Street. It calls itself a social history museum and is open Wednesday to Sunday from 10 am to 2 pm, and closed Monday and Tuesday. Entry is $10 for adults, $8 for students and free for children under 5.

The museum covers the Quandamooka people and their history, convict and shipwreck history, sand mining and the old days of island tourism, with a room on the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum and the struggle of Quandamooka workers, known as the “Aboriginal Gang”, for equal wages. There is a museum shop, a public toilet, coach parking and gardens, and well-behaved dogs are welcome.

The museum also offers a do-it-yourself heritage tour of the island’s three townships through an online map, and a free “Stitching Stories” session on the verandah every second Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm. See the museum’s website.

History: from Goompi to convict depot to asylum

Dunwich was known as Goompi to the Aboriginal people of the area. A convict-manned depot was set up here in 1827, and in 1850 it became the Moreton Bay Quarantine Station, when the ship Emigrant arrived with typhus. The Dunwich Benevolent Asylum opened in 1864 and the asylum moved to Sandgate in 1946.

Dunwich Cemetery

Dunwich Cemetery, on Bingle Road, is on the Queensland Heritage Register (listed in 1992) and overlooks Moreton Bay. It is thought to hold about 10,000 burials, most of them unmarked, including more than 8,000 former inmates of the asylum. A memorial built from bricks of the old asylum laundry honours the unmarked graves.

It is still a place of remembrance for island families, so visit quietly. Descendants of many Aboriginal families are buried here, and the bunya pines in the grounds are believed to date from when mainland Aboriginal visitors brought bunya nuts as gifts to the island’s people.

Other heritage places

The Dunwich Convict Causeway and Dunwich Public Reserve are on Junner Street, along with St Mark’s Anglican Church and the Dunwich Public Hall. These are listed heritage places.

QUAMPI and Quandamooka culture

QUAMPI Arts and Cultural Centre showcases contemporary Quandamooka culture, from a spot overlooking Deanbilla Bay. Local galleries, artisan studios and boutique shops are in the village too. Check opening times with the venues before you go.

Where to eat and drink in Dunwich

• Straddie Brewing Co. is a three-level brewery and taproom serving locally brewed, sand-filtered beers. It takes table bookings online.
• Little Ship Club has waterfront views and a relaxed atmosphere.
• Fishlass and Perry’s Seafood sell fresh seafood you can take for a picnic by the bay.

For other breweries and distilleries around the region, see breweries and distilleries.

Outdoors near Dunwich

Brown Lake (Bummeria) is the island’s tea-tree stained swimming lake, and Brown Lake has its own guide. Myora Springs (Capeemba) has freshwater flows, and Naree Budjong Djara National Park has hiking, including a route to Mount Vane Summit. See also Blue Lake National Park.

North Stradbroke Island Golf Club is on the slopes of Mt Hargrave with views across the island.

Planning your visit

• How long: half a day for the museum, cemetery and lunch; a full day if you add Brown Lake or Myora Springs.
• Best time: museum days are Wednesday to Sunday, so plan around them.
• Visitor information: the Redlands Coast Information Centre is at 50 Middle Street, Cleveland (phone 1300 667 386).
• Staying longer: see the North Stradbroke Island guide for ferries, beaches, camping and 4WD permits.

Getting to Dunwich by ferry or water taxi

All the ferries and water taxis leave from Toondah Harbour in Cleveland. Toondah Harbour is about 30 km from the Brisbane CBD, about 40 minutes by car without traffic.

• Water taxi (Stradbroke Flyer): passenger only, about 25 to 30 minutes, landing at One Mile Jetty on Yabby Street. Bookings are not required.
• SeaLink ferries: passenger and vehicle ferries, about 45 to 60 minutes (the island’s tourism pages give both figures), landing at the pontoon on Junner Street. Booking is strongly recommended for vehicles.

From Cleveland station or the Cleveland Shops bus stop on Middle Street, the Stradbroke Flyer’s free shuttle runs before most departures, and a bus runs to the SeaLink ferries. Some early and late services are excluded. Timetables change, so check the island’s getting-here pages and the operators’ websites.

You can take your car on the vehicle ferry or leave it on the mainland at Toondah Harbour.

Getting around from Dunwich

A local bus meets the water taxis (some early and late services are not met) and serves Dunwich, Myora, Amity Point and Point Lookout. Sealed roads connect Dunwich, Amity Point and Point Lookout, with Point Lookout about 22 km from Dunwich. There is also a taxi service, hire cars on the island and a “ferry to door” transport service.

The Point Lookout and Cylinder Beach guides cover the beaches at the other end of the island. Roads can be narrow with no shoulder, and trucks use them in business hours, so cycling the 22 km takes care.

Nearby

• North Stradbroke Island – ferries, beaches, camping and 4WD permits.
• Brown Lake – the island’s swimming lake.
• Amity Point Jetty – the jetty at Amity Point.
• Redland Art Gallery – a free gallery in Cleveland, where the ferries leave.

Browse more history and landmarks and the North Stradbroke Island posts.

You might also like

• Frenchmans Beach – another of the island’s beaches.
• Point Lookout – gorge walk, whales and beaches.
• Fort Lytton (Brisbane)

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