The Port of Brisbane Corporation will donate $750,000 to assist with construction of a new Moreton Bay Research Station and Study Centre at Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island.
The $1.9 million project aims to replace an existing facility, established in 1949 and run by the University of Queensland since 1961.
The Port of Brisbane Corporation Chairman, Elizabeth Nosworthy, said the Board with the consent of its shareholding ministers, supported proposals for construction of a world-class research, teaching and community facility in Moreton Bay.
'We believe the Centre can assist us in a range of ways to continue our business in an environmentally responsible manner and we anticipate commissioning some specific research when the Centre is operational,' she said.
University of Queensland Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay said Moreton Bay was one of the most important marine resources in Australia and was recognised internationally as being exceptionally diverse and economically important.
'It produces 12 percent of the State's fisheries catch; it is a declared wetland habitat of international significance and the first marine park in Australia declared within an urban embayment,' he said.
'The bay islands include unique sand dune structures, flora, fauna and Aboriginal archaeological sites. Local indigenous communities have long standing - more than 2000 years - and continuing culture based largely upon the marine environment.
'Upgrading the Moreton Bay research station will significantly increase our capacity to conduct marine science teaching and research in this region of outstanding ecological importance and economic potential.
'Following redevelopment, the research station will have the capacity to deliver tangible economic benefits to the local community and industries, and will make a major contribution to the training of a new generation of Australian marine science students.
'Above all, it will become the focus for national and international collaborative research programs which will benefit both the region and Australia.'
Professor Hay said the University of Queensland had made a strong commitment to the redevelopment of the Moreton Bay Research Station as it was a major part of the University's focus on marine facilities, which includes research stations at Low Isles and Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef and a School of Marine Science.
The Director of the University's School of Marine Science, Associate Professor Jack Greenwood, said that the Moreton Bay Research Station and Study Centre would be available for a range of users.
'Reconstruction will provide accommodation and a modern teaching and research laboratory for 20 scientists and 48 students, a public access facility, lecture hall and museum supporting the local community,' he said.
'It will provide high quality research facilities for local and international researchers and industry interested in studying Moreton Bay, and teaching and research facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate university students.
'It will also provide a training opportunity for high school student groups, public museum displays, a meeting venue for local and other interest groups, a focal point for cultural groups, and public educational tours.'
The proposal to redevelop the facility is supported by three other universities - Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology and Southern Cross University.
The University of Queensland, with help from its supporting partners, has been granted $300,000 by the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs towards the project. The University of Queensland has made the land site available, and the University and its partners have committed a further $373,000 to the project. Further funding support to allow completion of the project is being sought from industry.
Professor Hay said that providing the research station with adequate buildings and sufficient resources to fulfil its mission would require the establishment of strong and enduring partnerships between organisations and individuals who shared the vision of a centre of excellence for marine science in Moreton Bay.
'The Study Centre initiative is an extremely exciting one, and with the support of the Corporation, the University will now be able to realise the full potential of the environmental research being undertaken through its School of Marine Science,' he said.
The laboratory in the new Moreton Bay Research Station and Study Centre will be named the Port of Brisbane Corporation Teaching and Research Laboratory in acknowledgment of the Corporation's contribution to research undertaken by the University.
For further information, contact Irene Nisbet, Public Relations Executive, Port of Brisbane, telephone 07 3258 4733, Professor Hay, telephone 07 3365 1300, or Dr Greenwood or Dr Ian Tibbetts at the University's School of Marine Science, telephone 07 3365 2504/07 3365 4333.
