ROYAL NAVY REINFORCED CONCRETE FLOATING DOCKS
AT MORNINGSIDE, BRISBANE RIVER,
BRISBANE, QLD, DURING WWII

A 1946 aerial photo of the Morningside area available on the PDOnline, Brisbane City Council web site clearly shows the partially constructed basin for the proposed Royal Navy Reinforced Concrete Floating Docks located at the eastern end of the site of the Cairncross Dry Dock.

The basin was to be used for the construction of eight reinforced concrete floating docks, each of 300 ton capacity, designed to service Naval craft in the far Eastern area. When the war ended, all work ceased on the project. The excavation for the basin area had been completed along with 1.5 miles of access road to the main highway, the pouring of specially surfaced concrete slabs for casting of the docks section, the general levelling of the area to accommodate stock piles of aggregate and sundry materials, and the provision of power and stores accommodation.

Norman Love told me that the basin filled with water before it was finished and was abandoned as a project. After the war it became a popular swimming hole for the locals and was known as "Tahiti". It is located just upstream from the Colmslie Recreation Reserve and Colmslie Beach.

Some people have incorrectly believed that this basin was to become a dry dock for US Navy submarines.

Plan for the proposed Royal Navy Basin for production of Reinforced Concrete Floating Docks

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Norman Love and Peter Nunan for their assistance with this web page.

Can anyone help me with more information?

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 31 July 2010

This page last updated 17 January 2020