Burnett River to Bundaberg
Above the wharves at Burnett Heads, the Burnett River winds about 9 miles up through cane farms to Bundaberg itself. NGA puts the port wharves 2 miles above the entrance, Fairymead another 3 miles up, and the town 4 miles beyond that. It's a fine run in a shallow boat, with public pontoons in town and Distillery Reach on the way up. In a keelboat you need to read the tide, because NGA gives a controlling depth of only about 1.6 m above the sugar berth.
- Bridge clearances in Bundaberg town: we have not read a clearance figure for the town bridges.
- 1Four Knots Point ramp · TMR WO61.
- 2Fairymead ramp · TMR BU15.
- 3Kalkie, McGills Rd ramp · TMR BU24.
- 4Bundaberg, Queen St ramp · TMR BU22.
- 5Bundaberg, Tantitha St pontoon · TMR BU30.
At a glance
| What it is | Burnett River from the port wharves to the Bundaberg town reach |
| Depth | Controlling depth about 1.6 m above the sugar berth (NGA, 2005). MSQ HB-3: shoaling to about 0.5 m LAT in places |
| Tide | Rise at Bundaberg 2.4 m at MHWS, 1.9 m at MHWN (NGA) |
| Speed | NGA: 10 knots to Bundaberg Creek, then 4 knots |
| Town | Public pontoon and jetty at Tantitha Street, ramp at Queen Street (TMR) |
| Map age | MSQ HB-1 to HB-3 current to 31 May 2023 |
Getting here
From the heads, follow the marked river channel past the port. MSQ updated the full list of Burnett River aid positions in notice 177/2026 (10 April 2026), so match your plotter to that, not to the 2023 sheet. MSQ's HB-3 sheet warns that shoaling may leave about half a metre at LAT in parts of this stretch, and HB-1 and HB-2 note limited depth data. Use the flood and keep to the marked channel.
The river has had a run of hazard notices this year:
- ⚠ 25 March and 8 April 2026 (140(T), 173(T)): submerged obstructions in the Burnett River.
- ⚠ 26 May 2026 (287(T)): a submerged vessel in Distillery Reach.
- ⚠ 15 June 2026 (327(T)): a hazard to navigation in the Town Reach.
- 28 August 2026 (478(T)): bridge maintenance on Saltwater Creek.
Above the town, HB-1 shows the river up to the barrage. Our sources don't give a clearance for the town bridges, so check before you take a mast up.
Anchoring and berths
Our sources don't name keelboat anchorages in the river. In town, the TMR list has a jetty and pontoon at Tantitha Street and a pontoon walkway at Queen Street. Ask Bundaberg Regional Council about stay limits.
Skipper's notes
Garry's own observations from deliveries through Burnett River to Bundaberg. First-hand notes, dated, and no substitute for the chart.
- Depth
- [Garry to add: depths seen, state of tide and date.]
- Holding
- [Garry to add: bottom type and how the anchor held.]
- Shelter
- [Garry to add: wind directions it is good or bad in.]
- Other notes
- [Garry to add: anything else worth knowing, with date.]
- To check
- [Garry to add: Draft and tide you need to reach the town reach; bridge clearances.]
- To check
- [Garry to add: Town moorings or pontoons you would use.]
Notes last updated: [date]
Facilities
The town reach puts you a short walk from the Bundaberg CBD, with supermarkets, pubs and cafes (see Ashore). For marina berths, fuel and haul-out, go back down to Burnett Heads.
Boat ramps
From the TMR list: Bundaberg, Queen Street (4 lanes, toilets, not tide-limited), Kalkie, McGills Road (2 lanes), Fairymead (2 lanes) and Four Knots Point, Strathdees Road (2 lanes). Upstream are Sandy Hook and Burnett Downs.
Rules in brief
- Speed. 10 knots from the entrance to Bundaberg Creek, 4 knots above (NGA). Check MSQ's schedule.
- Notices. Bundaberg pilotage area list. Read it before every trip upriver.
Ashore
What's within about a 15-minute walk (1.2 km) of each marina, ramp or landing on this page, measured along streets and footpaths in OpenStreetMap. Addresses are from OpenStreetMap where it has one; where it doesn't, we show the name and distance only. ⚠ As at 18 October 2026: we haven't confirmed each place is still trading, so check before you walk.
From Bundaberg, Tantitha St pontoon (boat ramp / dinghy landing)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bars, pubs and clubs | |||
| H2O | Bar | 120 m | – |
| Old Bundy Tavern | Pub | 290 m | 20 Quay Street, 4670 |
| The Brewhouse | Pub | 320 m | – |
| The Club Hotel | Club | 320 m | – |
| The Brew House | Bar | 340 m | 10 Tantitha Street, 4670 |
| Grand Hotel | Bar | 400 m | – |
| plus 6 more within the walk | |||
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| River Cruz | Cafe | 50 m | – |
| Eastern Dragon | Restaurant | 260 m | 35 Bourbong Street |
| The Brewhouse Pizza Parlour | Restaurant | 330 m | – |
| Melting Moments | Cafe | 330 m | – |
| Teaspoon | Cafe | 360 m | – |
| Kelly's | Cafe | 370 m | – |
| The Club | Restaurant | 400 m | – |
| Guzman y Gomez | Takeaway | 410 m | 8 Bourbong Street |
| plus 33 more within the walk | |||
| Entertainment | |||
| Bundaberg Sunrise Rotary Wishing Well | Attraction | 450 m | – |
| Amphitheatre | Theatre | 550 m | – |
| Moncrief Entertainment Centre | Theatre | 780 m | – |
| Alexandra Park Zoo | Wildlife park | 1.0 km | – |
| Supermarkets and provisioning | |||
| 1st Choice | Bottle shop | 240 m | – |
| IGA | Supermarket | 530 m | 30-34 Woongarra Street |
| Boylans Produce | Greengrocer | 610 m | – |
| The Hungry Tum | Convenience store | 1.0 km | – |
| Break Time | Convenience store | 1.1 km | – |
| BWS | Bottle shop | 1.2 km | – |
| plus 4 more within the walk | |||
From Bundaberg, Queen St ramp (boat ramp / dinghy landing)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bars, pubs and clubs | |||
| Railway Hotel | Pub | 780 m | – |
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| Bella Martino's | Restaurant | 440 m | 65 Perry Street |
| Diamond Garden | Restaurant | 540 m | – |
| Andys cafe fish and chips | Restaurant | 550 m | 73 Gavin Street |
| Kevin's | Restaurant | 680 m | – |
| Platform 87 | Restaurant | 780 m | – |
| Supermarkets and provisioning | |||
| Thirsty Camel | Bottle shop | 450 m | 57 Perry Street |
| Northside Grocer | Supermarket | 460 m | – |
| Liberty Shop | Convenience store | 490 m | 3 Queen Street |
| IGA Express | Supermarket | 700 m | – |
| Northway Plaza | Shopping centre | 1.0 km | 29 Queen Street |
| IGA | Supermarket | 1.1 km | – |
| plus 5 more within the walk | |||
Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: Four Knots Point ramp; Fairymead ramp; Kalkie, McGills Rd ramp.
No marine stores or chandlers are mapped in OpenStreetMap within the walk; see the Facilities section above for marine businesses we know of.
Places, types, addresses and walking distances: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 18 October 2026.
About this page
These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, current MSQ notices to mariners, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.
Official links
Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.
- MSQ notices to mariners, Bundaberg pilotage area
- MSQ speed limit schedule (PDF)
- MSQ: crossing a coastal bar (safety advice)
- Queensland notices to mariners, all areas (subscribe)
- MSQ Queensland tide tables
- Bureau of Meteorology: tide predictions
- Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland warnings (incl. marine wind warnings)
- Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland coastal waters forecasts
Sources & credits
Written in our own words from MSQ Beacon to Beacon Hervey Bay sheets HB-1, HB-2 and HB-3 (with enlargement C Bundaberg) (read 19 October 2026; each sheet carries its own 'information current to' date, quoted on the page), NGA Pub. 127 Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), Sector 5, the MSQ notices-to-mariners listings on publications.qld.gov.au (titles and dates checked 19 October 2026), the Queensland Government (TMR) recreational boating facilities list (fetched 19 October 2026), Marine Rescue Queensland unit pages (checked 19 October 2026) and OpenStreetMap. NGA Pub. 127 para 5.40. MSQ Bundaberg notices 140(T), 173(T), 177, 287(T), 327(T) and 478(T) of 2026 identified by title and date.
Maritime Safety Queensland. Contains Maritime Safety Queensland data (Beacon to Beacon guide, notices to mariners, nav-aid open data, pump-out map C2-335, speed-limit schedule, tide information) © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts restated and summarised in our own words. Not endorsed by MSQ or TMR.
Queensland legislation. Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Regulation 2016 and Transport Infrastructure (Waterways Management) Regulation 2012 © State of Queensland, CC BY 4.0. Summarised; the authorised versions at legislation.qld.gov.au prevail.
NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are out of date; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.
OpenStreetMap. Map tiles and some facility positions © OpenStreetMap contributors, data available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).
Others. Facts from local authority pages and notices (for example the Gold Coast Waterways Authority), volunteer marine rescue sites and businesses' own websites are cited for fact only and restated in our own words. Listing a business is not an endorsement.
Last checked: 19 October 2026.
Need a boat moved up the Burnett?
Get a delivery quote