Captain John Bingle in January 1822 was sent to explore Moreton Bay in the Cutter Sally to seek a river in Moreton Bay that Surveyor General, John Oxley, believed must exist somewhere between Port Macquarie and Sandy Cape. On 4th March 1822 Bingle crossed the top of Moreton Bay (as Flinders had done) and sailed as far up the ‘Pumice Stone River’ as he could and continued until he correctly assumed that Flinders’ so-called river was actually a Passage. Bingle remained in the Passage for three days and on his return Governor Brisbane expressed his appreciation of the survey operations carried out. Unfortunately, Captain Bingle didn’t find the river he hoped to find.

Captain William Edwardson in June 1822 was sent in the Cutter Snapper to Moreton Bay to find the elusive river. He sailed up Pumicestone Passage as the others had done and then the channels at the southern end of the bay but found no river. On his return he reported on the wealth of oyster beds to be found in the Pumicestone Passage.

Written by Lynne Hooper from information sourced from the public domain.