Address & Contact
Moreton Bay
QLD
Phone: 1300 333 362
Email: N/A
Web: https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-gayundah
HMQS Gayundah and her sister ship HMQS Paluma were purchased to deal with the perceived threat from the Russian Pacific fleet in the late 1800s. They were the the first vessels ordered by the Queensland government for the colony's Maritime Defence Force. Their names are Aboriginal words for 'lightning' and 'thunder' respectively. They each cost £35,000 and were of a 'flat iron' design and mounted a formidable armament for their size. After a varied history (see web address above for more detail) HMQS Gayundah was bought by the
Redcliffe Town Council and beached as a breakwater at the current location on a small beach at Woody Point at the southern end of the
Redcliffe Peninsula.
The sight is easily accessed by a concrete path through the Gayundah Coastal Arboretum to its north or can be viewed from above from Lilla Street, just to the east of the last high rise apartment block.