Creation of the Island Bishop Island was formed by
dredging at the mouth of the Brisbane River between 1909 and 1912. It was named Bishop Island in 1912 after
Brisbane dredge master
Allan Fitzroy Gordon Bishop, the captain of the dredge
Hercules involved in creating the island. Captain Bishop thought to reuse leftover dredging mud to create an island from an existing small sandbank. The dredging of the island was at times difficult and time-consuming. Strong winds would damage equipment and high tides would shift pipes, furthermore, crew members would get stuck in mud What drove Bishop to finish the task was the prospect of the island being used as "pleasure resort". At the time of its creation, Bishop Island was one of the biggest man-made islands in the world, and the only man-made island in
Australia. Bishop Island was commonly referred at the time as "Hercules Bank" or "Hercules", due to the ship used to create the island. However, "Hercules Bank" was used to also refer to the bank of Bishop Island. The
Hercules was decommissioned in 1952 and placed upon a shore 800 metres from
Dunwich, Queensland to be used for
oyster farming. The ship was previously trialled to dredge the
Suez Canal of limestone and granite in 1900; later also dredging coral from Mud Island for use in cement products after forming Bishop's Island.
Ship abandonment and hulks Many ships were dumped on the island, mainly upon the beaches. The
Australian United Steam Navigation Company's
SS Bingera was dumped in 1926; it was built to provide the mail service between
Brisbane,
Gladstone and
Townsville and became redundant when the railway line to Townsville was completed. The
SS Bingera was scraped of all parts that were sellable and dumped on the beach of Bishop Island, near the Luggage Point outfall. The
Queensland Government's
steam yacht Lucinda was dumped on 28 January 1937. Other ships that were left abandoned on the island around this time include the
Roderick Dhu, a ship primarily used for to bring
slaves from Polynesia for use on
North Queensland sugar plantations Ships were often taken to the beaches of Bishop Island to be burnt in order to salvage the steel from them, another ship that was burnt on the island is the
Wandana. As of 1950, there were at least twelve shipwrecks on the beaches of Bishop Island. These included:
The Rhoderic Dhu, Groper, Excelsior, Yosemite, Maida, Schnapper, SS Bingera, Moreton (previously the
Lady Lamington),
The Queensland, Lucinda and
Old Punt. The Miner, a Queensland defence force minelayer was dumped on the island in 1953. Due to the abundance of ship wrecks on Bishop Island, it gained the nickname "Wreck Island".
Recreational use During the early 1900s, the island was sprawling with vegetation, equipped with a jetty, basketball and tennis court, shelter sheds, cricket pitch and a dance hall. In 1932, two
Orders in Council were issued proclaiming Bishop Island to be used for the purposes of the
Queensland Native Plants Protection Act 1930 and that all native plants that grow on the island are protected by the same legislation. This legalisation made it illegal to remove or destroy any native plants that grew on Bishop Island. James Crouch, who leased Bishop Island, was made an honorary ranger under the
Queensland Native Plants Protection Act 1930 to ensure that the public was abiding by the legislation. Crouch was also made honorary ranger under the
Animals and Birds Act 1933 of Bishop Island in 1933. In 1938, students were left stranded on Bishop Island after an engine failure on their boat. After spending the night on the island, water police towed their boat back in the morning. The
lighter Mount Elliot sunk near the Bishop Island pilot light after being towed by
tugboat The Fearless on 1 February 1939. Subsequently, the
Port of Brisbane was closed due to the blockage, which was the first time in history up to that point in time that the port temporarily ceased shipping. At the time,
Mount Elliot had 400 tons of coral taken from Mud Island on board. Efforts were made to find a way to raise the ship, however eventually the coral onboard and some pieces of the ship were removed and the hulk was left submerged at the entrance of the Brisbane River. The island became a popular recreation spot visited by private boats and tourist operators. The island was used for public events such as
Sand Garden competitions, carnivals, treasure hunts,
Chinese New Year and fishing competitions, as well as a sports club. Steamer,
The Gippsland, was bought from
Sydney,
New South Wales by Bishop Island leaser James Crouch for the purpose of transporting people to the island during the date and for use in shows at night. The Queensland Government advertised Bishop Island for lease in 1947, as well as an offer for sale. The annual rental price was £60 and the lease term was for five years. The
Brisbane City Council proposed building a power station on Bishop Island in 1949, which never came to fruition. There was a small number of people living on the island. There were cabins built on the island for visitors of the island. In October 1950, Bishop Island was found to be eroding and the middle of the island was sinking. The wall was apart for a £16,000 expense from the Department of Harbours and Marines to fix areas of the Brisbane River that were in disrepair. in one instance a house was moved onto the island after being transported by boat from
Bulimba. Also in October 1950, the Bishop Island Pile Light was replaced by a temporary shipping reporting station due to damages sustained after collision from the 10,000 ton tanker
Wave Commander on 17 October 1949. A rescue team was later called to find the debris of the pilot light. Later in 1952, a new pilot light was built on the site of the previous one. An
unidentified male body washed upon Bishop's Island during September 1955; cause of death was rule as a possible heart attack by police.
Integration into the Port of Brisbane and Land Reclamation In 1976, the island was used by the
Port of Brisbane. During the early 1990s, port development was underway when munition, including grenades, shells and gas containers, were found by workers during additional land dredging. In 2004, the port expanded through
land reclamation in Moreton Bay, resulting in Bishop Island ceasing to exist as an island, becoming part of the mainland port and the Fisherman Islands. In order to continue to commemorate Allan Bishop, on 16 March 2000, the bridge over the Boat Passage to the port was named Captain Bishop Bridge. To cater for increased traffic to the port, in 2010–2011 the bridge was demolished and replaced by a pair of bridges known as the Captain Bishop Bridges. == Captain Allan Fitzroy Bishop ==