History

In 1972 the Queensland Government commissioned the then Department of Harbours and Marine (now Queensland Maritime Safety, a division of Queensland Transport) to undertake a review of the role of the Port of Brisbane in the national trade scene.

The review was published in 1974 and recommended that a master plan be developed.  The plan was completed in 1976 and key conclusions were:

• The Port of Brisbane must expand its facilities to meet increasing trade.  Trade through the port had trebled between 1962 and 1972.
• Optimal expansion of the port could be achieved by constructing entirely new facilities on Fisherman Islands at the mouth of the Brisbane River.
• Increased trade through the port would create fewer environmental problems by developing the port at Fisherman Islands than by upgrading the existing river port.
• For efficient expansion to take place, it was essential to establish a port authority.

As a result, the Port of Brisbane Authority Act 1976 took effect on 6 December 1976, and the Authority awarded its first contract for a port project on 7 April 1977.  The project involved building a five-kilometre causeway, two road bridges and a rail bridge to link the islands to the mainland at Lytton.

This was the beginning of building a major port facility that continues today and will be Here for the Future.