Coastal Hazard Assessment · MCU25/0087

                                             17 The Esplanade, Sunshine Beach                              Report



3       HISTORICAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY ASSESSMENT
Aerial imagery has been examined to assess historical shifts in beach position at the site. Figure 3-1
to Figure 3-8 display aerial photographs taken in 1972, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2010, 2014 and
2020. The position of the toe of dune (7th October 2025) has been shown for comparison to the
shoreline position at the time of each image (estimated from the edge of vegetation).
The beach was significantly eroded in 1971 and 1974, attributed to a high frequency of tropical
cyclones impacting the south-eastern Queensland coastline in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The
1972 aerial photograph depicts the most severely eroded beach condition in the photographic record,
featuring exposed indurated sand (i.e. coffee rock) adjacent to the dune vegetation. Cyclone Alfred in
March 2025 caused minor beach erosion along this section of beach in comparison.
The geotechnical investigation (refer Section 2.4) indicates that an indurated sand layer was likely
encountered within the dunes. This indurated sand layer is likely above the level of Highest
Astronomical Tide and the 100 year ARI storm tide level (refer Section 4.1.1) and provides a potential
control to the extent of erosion at this site.
Between 1960 and 1979, the site was impacted by 18 tropical cyclones within 200km of the site,
followed by seven tropical cyclones between 1980 and 1999, and three since 2000. The decrease in
the number of tropical cyclones affecting the southeast Queensland region since 1980 is reflected in
the observed beach recovery during this period. From the 1981 photograph onwards the beach is
seen to be recovering to a relatively stable alignment.
However, the beach response to Tropical Cyclone Alfred (2025) shows that, while episodic erosion
events still occur, the shoreline has continued to demonstrate resilience, with the overall longshore
position remaining relatively unchanged since the period of recovery initiated in the 1980s.




Figure 3-1 Aerial Photograph 1972 (qimagery.information.qld.gov.au)




                                                                 252662-MN-RP-CO-0001B | 10 November 2025 | Page 11