Plane Catchment Story

Select from the tabs below

• Overview
• Physical features
• Natural values
• Subcatchment key messages
• Sandy subcatchment
• Sandringham Lagoon subcatchment
• Rocky Dam Creek subcatchment
• Acknowledgements

View the Plane catchment story

Transcript

This map journal is part of a series prepared for the catchments of Queensland. 

We would like to respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which this project takes place, and Elders both past and present. We also recognise those whose ongoing effort to protect and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures will leave a lasting legacy for future Elders and leaders.

This is a draft for consultation purposes only and does not represent government policy.

Table of contents - Overview

1. Understanding how water flows in the catchment
2. How to view this map journal
3. Catchment overview
4. Values of the catchment—key features
5. Values of the catchment—economic and social

 Main image. Tedlands wetland complex, lower Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Matthew Moore.

Understanding how water flows in the catchment

To effectively manage a catchment it is important to have a collective understanding of how the catchment works. This map journal gathers information from experts and other data sources to provide that understanding.

The information was gathered using the ‘walking the landscape’* process, where experts systematically worked through a catchment in a facilitated workshop, to incorporate diverse knowledge on the landscape features and processes, both natural and human. It focused on water flow and the key factors that affect water movement.

The map journal was prepared by the Queensland Wetlands Program in the Queensland Department of Environment and Science in collaboration with local partners.

*Walking the Landscape—A Whole-of-system Framework for Understanding and Mapping Environmental Processes and Values (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection 2012) - see links at the end of this map journal for further information.

How to view this map journal

This map journal is best viewed in Chrome or Firefox, not Explorer. 

• Use the tabs across the top of the page to explore the ‘catchment story’
• Use the side navigation bar (series of dots) to explore each tab
• Click on the coloured text to see more information about that topic
• In the map area, click on features you see, zoom in and out, pan around and expand the Legend (drop down box at top right of map window) for more information
• Images and graphics can be expanded by clicking the icon at the top right corner of the image/graphic
• YouTube videos may also be used to portray information. Wait for them to load, and pause and play as needed by clicking in the middle of the screen.

Main image. Lower Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

Catchment overview

The Plane catchment is located in the Mackay Whitsunday region to the south of Mackay. It is part of the Reef Catchments Natural Resource Management (NRM) region, and falls within the Mackay Regional and Isaac Regional council areas. The catchment has many important values to the Traditional Owners (TOs).

The catchments of the Great Barrier Reef - taken from Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (2016).*

The catchment includes large areas of irrigated cropping (sugar cane), grazing on native pastures, conservation and natural environments and forestry together with other minor land uses.

The catchment covers approximately 2,540 square kilometres (click for animation).

The main waterways are Sandy, Alligator, Plane and Rocky Dam creeks together with many smaller waterways, including Bakers, Loiusa and Cape creeks in the north and Marion, West Hill, Carmila and Flaggy Rock creeks in the south. All waterways (click for animation) flow to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), via several embayments. The GBR is World Heritage-listed and a marine park.

The Plane catchment is adjacent to the Pioneer, Isaac and Styx catchments. There are hydrological connections between these coastal catchments through surface flow and groundwater.

There is a drop-down legend for most maps and it can be accessed by clicking on 'LEGEND' at the top right of the map. On this map you can use the drop down legend for the land use.

There are also 'pop-ups' for most mapping features - simply click on the mapping of interest for more information.

Main image. Plane Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

*Wetlands in the Great Barrier Reef Catchments Management Strategy 2016—21 (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection 2016) - see links at the end of this map journal for further information.

Values of the catchment—key features

A 'catchment' is an area with a natural boundary (for example ridges, hills or mountains) where all surface water drains to a common channel to form rivers or creeks.* 

The Plane catchment is listed as a single catchment but consists of several distinct areas which have similar characteristics. The key features of the catchment vary markedly between the Sandy Creek subcatchment and the other (southern) subcatchments, and are discussed on the 'Subcatchment key messages' and the 'Sandy subcatchment' and 'Rocky Dam subcatchment' tabs.

Main image. West Hill Creek estuary - provided by Reef Catchments.

*Definition sourced from the City of Gold Coast website - see links at the end of this map journal.

Values of the catchment—economic and social

A range of different land use types combine to make up the land use of the Plane catchment. Land use is mostly irrigated sugar cane, and grazing on native pastures together with conservation and natural environments and forestry. There are also small areas of residential (urban and rural), services, transport and communication and other minor land uses.

The Plane Basin encompasses two coastal tribes, Yuwibara and Koinmerburra, and also borders neighbouring tribe Barada to the west. Cape Palmerston served as an important meeting area for these three tribes. There are culturally significant sites across the catchment, including fish traps, shared burial grounds and artefact sites, to name a few. These sites were important for maintaining connections to land and water that are maintained today.

Bakers Creek was an Aboriginal settlement that started in 1870, the first in Queensland. In that area they grew tobacco, peanuts and cotton.

Sugar cane and cattle grazing are important to the local economy and community. Tourism is also important to the local economy. Seasonal employment also brings large numbers of international backpackers to the Mackay Whitsunday region. 

Estuarine areas support commercial and recreational fisheries including fishes and crustaceans (e.g. prawns and crabs). These areas are also popular for boating and fishing by the local community and visitors to the area.

Linear infrastructure such as roads and tracks, railways and pipelines are an important component of the economy. Port of Hay Point is one of the largest coal export ports in the world, the port is important socially and economically to both Mackay and Queensland more broadly.*

Main image. Brolga at sugar cane sheds, Marion Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

See links at the end of this map journal for further information on the following reference.

*Port of Hay Point (North Queensland Bulk Ports 2019)

Last updated: 18 November 2025