Welcome to the Burnett Heads Progress and Sports Association Community Website
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 Download the Brochure to print and take while you go for a walk. (This 1.1Mb file is in PDF format) The Burnett River is named after Surveyor James Charles Burnett, commissioned to survey the river by Governor Fitzroy in 1847, at the time the Sugar and Coffee Regulations Act provided opportunity for land selections in the Burnett Region, with timber getting secured by a special license. With the settlement of Bundaberg in 1867 river traffic plying cargo for the growing district prompted the need for navigational and piloting services. Joseph Hughes was appointed Habour Master, Police Magistrate and Chief of Customs at Bundaberg on 22 June 1871 by the Department of Ports and Marinas. The Pilot Station Reserve at South Head, Burnett Heads was established with Thomas Clark appointed Pilot. Thomas, along with his boat crew were responsible for establishing and maintaining navigational aides. Lighting at the mouth of the river was to be exhibited each night. Tents sufficed until cottages, along with other infrastructure were erected to house them comfortably at South Head. The Lady Bowen was the first vessel Pilot Clark brought up to the Wharves, which were located in the town reach of the Burnett River. The orginial South Head Lighthouse was erected in 1873 (powered by kerosene and subsequently converted to acetylene gas in 1932). The telegraph line from Bundaberg was completed in January 1875, thus enabling the Pilot to inform Bundaberg of incoming ships and weather reports. Educational requirements for children of the reserve and farming selections resulted with the opening of the Burnett Heads Provisional School in 1878. At this time the surveyed Town Reserve of Burnett Heads was recorded as Wallace Town. It consisted of 6 lots spanning between today's Mittleheuser and Moss Streets. The original land area of the Pilot Station Reserve spanned from South Head at the mouth of the Burnett River, toward today's Zunker and Mittleheuser Streets. Progressing years and technology brought change to the Pilot Station Reserve. The opening of the Bulk Sugar Terminal/Loading Facility, Wharves, and associated buildings and infrastructure at Port Bundaberg on 20 September 1958 was a proud achievement for the Bundaberg Harbour Board. The first tug boat Coral Sea was provided by the Government, later purchased by the Board in 1965. The original Lighthouse was replaced in 1971 by a taller, concrete, automatic lighthouse. Sections of the Reserve Land were excised for various purposes. South Head Lighthouse operations continued to be maintained by the Federal Government's Department of Transport. Piloting responsibilities were transferred to the Gladstone Pilots Pool under the direction of a Regioanl Harbourmaster in 1989. The maintaining of navigational lights, beacons, bouys and pilot transfer operations are currently performed by a crew working from the remaining Pilot Station Reserve land, employed by the Maritime Safety Queensland an Agency of the Queensland Transport. During 1998 - 2000 the remaining 3 homes on the reserve were sold for removal, future requirements for the remaining reserve lands are undecided. The Burnett Heads Progress and Sports Association (inc) Executive Committee of 1998 initiated the move to acquire the remaining Pilot Station Reserve Land for community recreation purposes. A submission to Local and other Government Authorities for the transfer of the remaining Reserve Land, followed by extensive lobbying, resulted with the notification on 15 March 2001, that 10 Hactares of Lot 58 had been dedicated as a Reserve for Public Recreation with the Burnett Shire Council as Trustees, with Lot 57 of the reserve supporting the operational lighthouse and associated buildings retained by the Department of Transport, Qld. Following the formation of a Burnett Heads Foreshore Committee in 2000, a concept plan was formatted to develop the former reserve land as parklands. South Head Parkland was the name adopted by the Burnett Shire Council in Novmber 2001. A Queensland Government Regional Centers Program(RCP) to Burnett Shire Council in 2004 funded the undertaking of a Turtle Trail walkway to link Burnett Heads to Bargara through Mon Repos. Work proposed at Burnett Heads were the provision of concrete pathways from Oaks Beach through South Head and Jack Strathdee Memorial Parklands on to the town center, the inclusion of toilets, barbecues, shelters, playgrounds, playing fields, car-parks, and up-grading of the lagoon. A Welcome Vista proposed for the corner of Neill Street and The Sea Esplanade are further proposed when funds are available. South Head Parkland was officially opened by the Burnett Shire Council Mayor Raymond Duffy on 10 December 2005.Oaks Beach to the Lighthouses
This trail winds from the Oaks Beach through the former Burnett Heads Pilot Station Reserve, to both lighthouses, relating the changing role and land tenure of the area.
Burnett Heads History
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content © Burnett Heads Progress & Sports Association, 2007-8, based on information provided and coordinated by local historian Marg Kidd. This site has been developed by Tracie. If you are a better web-designer and can offer your services for free, we'd love to hear from you. This site is hosted by unlimited-space.