Tin Can Bay, Queensland

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Tin Can Bay Queensland
Population:	1,918 ^[1]
Postcode:	4580
Location:	218 km (135 mi) from Brisbane 72 km (45 mi) from Gympie 52 km (32 mi) from Gympie
LGA:	Gympie Regional Council
State District:	Gympie
Federal Division:	Wide Bay

Tin Can Bay is a town in south east Queensland, Australia. The seaside town is located on a deep but narrow sheltered inlet in the Gympie Local Government Area, 218 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane. At the 2006 census, Tin Can Bay had a population of 1,918.^[1]

It is suggested that the town's name derives from the indigenous word, "Tuncanbar", thought to refer to the dugongs that frequent the inlet. European settlement began in the 1870s as the point where logs would be floated to the timber mills at Maryborough. Tin Can Bay later became, and still remains, an important fishing port, with a focus on prawns as well as recreational fishing.^[2] There is an excellent public boat ramp into Snapper Creek with boat-washing facilities and ample trailer parking.

Tin Can Bay is the nearest town to the Australian Army's Wide Bay Training Area and a vehicular ferry operates at nearby Inskip Point providing access to Fraser Island.

Other recreational facilities include hotels, holiday units and caravan parks, with houseboats and yachts for hire. Active sports facilities include an 18-hole golf course, two bowls clubs, tennis courts and an outdoor swimming pool. The Tin Can Bay Country Club is the main recreational focus for residents and visitors serving Tin Can Bay, Cooloola Cove and Rainbow Beach areas of Cooloola Shire, Queensland, Australia.

An important tourist feature is the regular arrival of wild Indo-Pacific dolphins which usually appear early mornings next to the boat ramp. These dolphins can be hand fed under close supervision.