BRIBIE ISLAND

island off the southeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, at the northern extremity of Moreton Bay. The island is 20 miles (32 km) long and from 1 to 5 miles wide and has an area of 59 square miles (153 square km). Its surface, generally low with some higher sand ridges, is wooded with cypress pine. Matthew Flinders, the English navigator, landed in 1799 at its southern tip, which he named Skirmish Point after his party was attacked by Aborigines. Long a holiday resort offering good beaches, fishing, and a wildlife reserve, Bribie has also developed as a residential area for Brisbane (39 miles southwest by road), its principal town being Bongaree. A bridge from Toorbul Point, on the mainland, crosses Pumicestone Channel to Bribie's southwestern corner.