Myora Springs
MYORA SPRINGS
“Capeembah”
Myora Springs is a beautiful spot and source of fresh water for the wildlife of the Dunwich area, just a few kilometers out of Dunwich on the road to Amity Point and Point Lookout. Myora Springs or Moongalba (sitting down place) has a pure-freshwater spring that is running today, just as it has for thousands of years. In the forest surrounding Myora Springs is an abundance of freshwater crayfish, prawns, bungwal fern, and other plant foods and so it is no surprise to learn this was a favored camping place of the Aboriginal people. The banks feature parts of large middens, which contain, among other things, cockle, oyster, and whelk shells. Nearby lived a descendant of the Nunukul people, Oodgeroo. She was well known as an author and poet who wrote such books as Stradbroke Dreamtime. In 1978 it was discovered that Myora is home to a rare nocturnal mammal thought to be extinct, the false water rat. Dogs are prohibited in the Myora Springs area.
History
More correctly called Capembah, this is the site of a freshwater spring that flows through the mangroves to the bay. Large middens near the mouth tell us the creek was a favorite Aboriginal camping spot. Oysters have long been cultivated in Moreton Bay, and the Moreton Bay Oyster Company, formed in 1874, bought land near the creek. It then passed into the hands of an oystering family, the Levinges, who donated the land next to the spring for a reserve. Many years later a chute was built further up the creek so that visiting boaties could replenish their fresh water supplies. The chute is no longer there.