One of the most substantial changes to the Woody Point foreshore in decades is now under construction, with a new sandy beach area, a 331-metre stepped seawall and improved shoreline access being delivered around Crockatt Park. The project will reshape the waterfront between Woody Point Jetty and the Woody Point Boat Ramp, strengthening an exposed section of coastline while creating a new place for residents and visitors to reach the water, sit beside Bramble Bay and spend more time in one of the Redcliffe Peninsula’s best-known recreation areas.
The new beach has attracted much of the early attention, although it forms one part of a larger $9 million coastal protection project designed to serve the community for approximately 100 years. Around 2,000 tonnes of sand will be used to establish an approximately 60-metre beach beside the TS Moreton Cadets facility, while the adjoining shoreline will receive a modern concrete seawall engineered to withstand erosion, severe weather, rising sea levels and waves overtopping the foreshore during extreme conditions. Construction is scheduled to continue until mid-2027, subject to weather, tidal conditions and progress on site, with the beach expected to open when the broader project is complete.
Where the New Beach Is Being Created
The beach is being formed on the western side of the Woody Point Boat Ramp, close to the TS Moreton Cadets and Humpybong Yacht Club facilities at the southern end of Crockatt Park. The location places it within an established recreation precinct where the foreshore path, boat ramp, rigging area, jetty, playground, picnic facilities and community clubs already attract a steady mixture of walkers, families, anglers, sailors, canoeists and paddlers.
At approximately 60 metres long, it will be a compact urban beach integrated into the existing shoreline, with its strongest appeal likely to come from easy foreshore access, sand-based recreation, paddling, sitting beside the water and extending a day spent around Crockatt Park. The published plans show a defined sandy area framed by upgraded coastal structures, creating a gentler meeting point between the park and Bramble Bay in a location where parts of the shoreline have previously been rocky, narrow or difficult to reach. Details covering formal swimming arrangements, patrols, water access rules and opening-day conditions are expected to become clearer closer to completion, so visitors will need to follow the signs and operating information introduced when the beach opens.
Why Woody Point Needs a New Seawall
The existing seawall dates from the 1960s and has provided decades of protection, although severe storms have increasingly shown its limitations, particularly when waves rise over the wall and water reaches the land behind it. The surrounding foreshore contains parkland, public paths, parking areas, boating infrastructure, community facilities and nearby businesses, making shoreline deterioration a wider public-space concern with consequences extending well beyond the immediate waterline.
Planning for the renewal began several years ago, with early investigations examining how the shoreline could be protected from erosion, storm activity and future sea-level rise while also improving access to the bay. The completed design replaces the ageing barrier with a modern stepped structure extending from the Woody Point Jetty area towards the boat ramp and yacht club precinct, creating a more durable edge along a heavily used part of the peninsula. The upgrade also sits within longer-term coastal planning for Margate and Woody Point, where seawall renewal, beach nourishment, dune protection and continuing shoreline monitoring are expected to play an important role in managing future coastal hazards.
A 331-Metre Stepped Structure Built for the Long Term
The central component of the project is a 331-metre concrete stepped seawall designed for an operating life of about 100 years. Its broad, tiered form will create a gradual transition between the park and the bay, giving the shoreline a markedly different appearance while helping the structure manage wave action during rough conditions. The steps will also bring people visually and physically closer to the water at designated locations, turning a piece of protective infrastructure into a more active part of the waterfront.
The upgrade is intended to reduce erosion, limit the effects of severe weather and improve the resilience of the parkland and infrastructure behind the wall. Its design addresses waves overtopping the existing seawall, an issue observed during stronger coastal events, with the new crest, profile and shoreline treatment developed through detailed coastal engineering. The completed structure should resemble a waterfront terrace along some sections, with wide concrete steps descending towards the bay and new access points linking Crockatt Park to the lower shoreline.
This layout should create more usable space beside the water during ordinary conditions while retaining the strength required from a major coastal structure. People may be able to pause on the steps, watch the activity around the jetty and boat ramp or look across Bramble Bay, although access to lower sections will always depend on tides, weather, maintenance requirements and any safety restrictions applying at the time.
Shoreline Access Has Shaped the Design
Improved accessibility has been incorporated into the project, with a new staircase, handrails and textured surfaces planned for sections of the upgraded shoreline. The staircase and handrails are intended to assist people with ambulant disability in reaching areas that have previously been difficult or impossible to access, while the textured treatment will provide visual and tactile wayfinding cues for people who are blind or have low vision.
These additions are particularly relevant at Crockatt Park because the wider recreation area already includes accessible facilities, level foreshore paths and the We-Go-Swing, a side-by-side swing that can be used by a person in a wheelchair. The seawall works will extend that accessibility focus closer to the bay, giving a broader range of visitors an opportunity to experience the shoreline while maintaining practical separation between pathways, steps, tidal areas and boating activity.
Access to the sand itself will still depend on the final gradients, tide levels and completed connections around the beach, so the project is best understood as a collection of accessibility improvements spread across the park, seawall, stairways and beach area. The inclusion of tactile treatments, handrails and ambulant-access features represents a meaningful change for a location where reaching the lower foreshore has historically been challenging.
The Seawall Was Tested Against Extreme Waves
A physical scale model of the proposed seawall was built and tested at the Queensland Government Hydraulics Laboratory in Deagon before construction began. Engineers placed the model in a wave flume, where mechanical wave paddles reproduced extreme storm conditions and allowed the project team to measure how much water passed over the wall under different scenarios.
Physical testing gives engineers an opportunity to observe the interaction between waves and a complex stepped structure, confirm assumptions used in computer modelling and refine a design before full-scale concrete work begins. For Woody Point, the tests focused particularly on wave overtopping, one of the known weaknesses of the existing seawall during severe conditions, and provided further confidence that the selected profile could perform as intended during significant coastal events.
The laboratory work also helps explain why the project has taken several years to move from its early concept to construction. The reference concept was completed in 2020, the design contract was awarded in 2021, detailed design was completed in 2025 and construction began in early 2026, reflecting the coastal engineering, environmental approvals, public consultation and staging required for work conducted directly along an active community foreshore.
Construction Will Continue in Four Main Stages
The first stage runs from April to July 2026 and covers the new beach near the TS Moreton Cadets facility. During this period, the sand area and associated shoreline works will be established, although public access to the completed beach is scheduled to begin after the full project has finished.
Stage two is being undertaken from April to September 2026 and concentrates on the new stepped seawall near Woody Point Jetty. Stage three is scheduled from August to December 2026, continuing the wall between Crockatt Park and the jetty, followed by stage four from January to May 2027 along the section in front of Crockatt Park. Final completion and opening are targeted for mid-2027, with all dates dependent on suitable weather, tides, construction conditions and the progress of individual work packages.
The overlapping program allows work to advance across different sections while preserving as much access as practical around the wider precinct. It also means the appearance and usability of the foreshore will change progressively, with completed sections likely to sit beside active construction areas during parts of 2026 and early 2027.
What Visitors Can Expect During Construction
Temporary changes will affect sections of parkland, the boat ramp, nearby parking and the foreshore path while machinery and construction crews move through the site. Footpath diversions will be introduced around active work zones, and some car spaces or parts of the boat ramp may close for limited periods where safe access cannot be maintained alongside construction activity.
Crockatt Park will remain an important public recreation area throughout the works, although the experience may vary from week to week as fencing, traffic arrangements, machinery and work compounds move between stages. Visitors planning to launch a boat, attend a community activity or use a particular section of the waterfront should check current project notices before travelling, especially during the larger seawall stages when access around the jetty and boat ramp may be affected.
The surrounding Woody Point and Clontarf foreshore provides several alternative places to stop beside the bay, which should help distribute recreation activity while construction occupies sections of Crockatt Park. Local cafes and takeaway shops remain within walking distance, while the established path connections around the precinct should continue to support shorter waterfront visits wherever temporary diversions allow.
Trees and Marine Habitat During the Works
Some existing trees must be removed to create space for the seawall and associated construction, with new trees planned throughout Crockatt Park as part of the finished landscaping. Their placement, species and maturity will influence how quickly the altered areas regain shade, particularly because established trees make an important contribution to the comfort and character of a waterfront park during Queensland summers.
The project team is also working with relevant environmental authorities to reduce construction impacts on marine life. Coastal work can involve sediment disturbance, underwater noise, temporary changes to shoreline habitat and machinery operating close to tidal areas, so environmental controls and careful construction timing form an important part of the project. The finished landscaping and shoreline treatment will need to balance public access, usable grassed space, coastal engineering requirements and the ecological conditions found around Bramble Bay.
Residents assessing the completed upgrade should expect the landscape to continue evolving after the concrete and sand works are finished, as replacement trees establish and disturbed areas of Crockatt Park recover. The seawall will be immediately prominent, while the softer landscape elements will take longer to mature around it.
How the $9 Million Project Is Funded
The Crockatt Park Seawall Renewal has a published project value of $9 million, consisting of $4.5 million from the Australian Government’s Disaster Ready Fund and $4.5 million in matched funding. The project is being delivered by the City of Moreton Bay in partnership with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority and forms part of a wider group of coastal resilience projects addressing erosion and flooding risks across Moreton Bay.
Other funded works include coastal protection at Flinders Parade in Scarborough, replacement of part of the Captain Cook Parade seawall at Deception Bay and planning for flood protection at Dohles Rocks. Together, these projects reflect growing investment in coastal resilience before major damage occurs, reducing the likelihood that public infrastructure, parkland and access routes will require repeated emergency repairs following severe weather.
At Woody Point, the beach provides an immediately visible public benefit within a project primarily driven by risk reduction. The sand, stepped shoreline and improved access give the works an everyday recreational purpose, allowing protective infrastructure to contribute directly to the way the foreshore is experienced and enjoyed.
How the Upgrade May Change Crockatt Park
Crockatt Park already functions as a broad community waterfront, with its playground, flying fox, inclusive swing, picnic tables, barbecues, toilets, fitness equipment, boat ramp, rigging area and large grassed event space supporting a wide variety of activities. It is also home to the Eildon Croquet Club, Humpybong Yacht Club, Redcliffe Outrigger Canoe Club and TS Moreton Cadets, making it a working community and boating precinct as well as a place for informal recreation.
Adding a sandy beach and more accessible shoreline should give families and casual visitors a stronger reason to spend time at the southern end of the park, potentially linking playground visits, picnics, jetty walks and waterfront dining into a longer outing. The stepped seawall may also create new informal viewing and sitting areas along the bay, increasing the amount of usable public space immediately beside the water.
Additional visitation could benefit nearby hospitality businesses and strengthen Woody Point’s position as a relaxed coastal destination for residents travelling from Brisbane, the northern suburbs and other parts of Moreton Bay. The scale of that benefit will depend on the quality of the completed spaces, the availability of parking, ongoing maintenance, clear signage and the precinct’s ability to handle busy weekends once the beach opens.
For nearby residents and property owners, the most meaningful outcome will be the combination of stronger coastal protection and improved public amenity. A well-maintained foreshore can support neighbourhood appeal and everyday livability, although individual property values will continue to be shaped by position, outlook, condition, development potential and broader market conditions.
What to Watch as the Opening Approaches
The major design and construction program is now publicly defined, although several practical details are likely to emerge closer to the mid-2027 opening. These include the final rules for beach use, any water-safety arrangements, the treatment of the boundary near boating activity, access during different tide levels, shower or wash-down facilities, maintenance of the imported sand and the amount of shade available around the completed beach.
Sand placed within an active bay environment may move over time, with its long-term profile influenced by tides, waves, storms and surrounding coastal structures. Beach nourishment can require monitoring and occasional replenishment, and longer-term coastal planning for Margate and Woody Point already recognises nourishment and continuing reviews of shoreline protection as useful management measures.
The condition of the replacement planting will also deserve attention during the first few years, particularly where mature shade trees have been removed. The quality of paths, seating, handrails, tactile treatments and connections between the park and seawall will ultimately determine how comfortably the upgraded foreshore works for children, older visitors, people with disability, anglers, boat users and people simply walking beside the bay.
A Major Renewal of a Familiar Waterfront
The Woody Point project combines a straightforward public attraction with a substantial piece of coastal engineering. Its 60-metre beach will be the element many people visit first, while the 331-metre seawall, physical wave testing, reinforced shoreline and century-long design life carry the deeper purpose of protecting Crockatt Park and the surrounding foreshore for decades.
By mid-2027, the waterfront between the jetty and boat ramp should look and function very differently, with sand beside the cadets’ facility, broad concrete steps along the water, improved access points and renewed landscaping around one of the Redcliffe Peninsula’s most familiar parks. The construction period will bring temporary disruption, although the completed project promises a stronger shoreline and a more inviting connection with Bramble Bay, giving Woody Point a beach shaped by detailed engineering, practical access improvements and the area’s long-standing relationship with the water.
This article’s feature image is an artist’s impression and does not depict the completed project.
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