Great Sandy Strait

The Great Sandy Strait is a strait in the Australian state of Queensland of 70 kilometres length which separates mainland Queensland from Kgari. It is also a locality in the Fraser Coast Region local government area. To the north of the strait is Hervey Bay. In the 2021 census, Great Sandy Strait had no people or a very low population. The Great Sandy Strait extends south from Hervey Bay to Inskip Point. The Mary River enters the strait at River Heads. It covers an area of 932 square kilometres. The southern entrance to the strait is about 2 kilometres wide. There are numerous named and unnamed islands in the strait. The named island are from north to south: Big Woody Island, Round Island, Little Woody Island, Picnic Island, Duck Island, Walsh Island, Turkey Island, Bookar Island, Thomas Island, Slain Island, Tooth Island, Round Bush Island, New Island, Garden Island, Dream Island, and Stewart Island. Most of the island are low and sandy in character. Only a few have significant elevations, e.g. Big Woody Island rises to 50 metres above sea level. Although most of the islands are uninhabitable, there is a small area of residential development on the north-west of Stewart Island