Sandgate  Queensland

Now a northern suburb of Brisbane, Sandgate was for many years a town in its own right. It was born out of the perceived need for a settlement north of Brisbane following the death from exposure of survivors of a long, open boat voyage to the Mary River after the sinking of the barque 'Thomas King' off the Queensland coast in 1852. Only two men survived the ordeal.

Settlement, too, was tinged with drama. First landowner Thomas Dowse and his sons were forced to flee when they were attacked by Aborigines. Settlement resumed only after the colony’s administration agreed to post a detachment of Native Police to Sandgate to protect homesteaders.

Today Sandgate is a popular, safe seaside retreat on the southern shores of Bramble Bay. You can get the feel of Sandgate by walking the heritage trail through the recently landscaped village and its historic homes and buildings before following Flinders Parade, which hugs the foreshore, all the way to Cabbage Tree Creek and Shorncliffe railway station.