Twin 1,350-metre fences have been constructed along one of the Sunshine State’s most visited tourist islands. These structures, made from 2,700 timber stakes and mesh crafted from natural fibres, are designed to stabilise the dunes on the northern end of Bribie Island.
Drone photographer Doug Blazey documented the construction process over three weeks in April, sharing remarkable visuals on his Bluey’s Photography social media page.
“From above, it’s impressive to see the construction of the fence,” he told Yahoo News. “Then, when you come in close, you can see it’s holding the sand in position. The fence is doing its job, and it’s fantastic.”
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How Bribie Island fence acts like a giant sand net
The project began after the Queensland government announced a $20 million emergency fortification program to repair splits or “breakthroughs” in the island caused by cyclones in 2022 and 2025. As climate change worsens, extreme weather events will become more severe, affecting coastal communities.
The repair work started with heavy equipment, dredging sand to reconnect the island. Over three weeks in April, the fence was hand-fashioned by workers from Ecosure, a company specialising in restoring damaged environments. All materials used are natural, allowing them to degrade back into the sand as the island is repaired.
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Each stake has been driven one metre into the ground, and the fence acts as a giant net, catching sand as it blows across the dune and preventing it from being dumped back into the ocean.
“The particles hit the mesh — the air will pass through and the sand aggregates,” project supervisor Duncan Smith explained to Yahoo News. “Within about a week or two, about half a metre of sand had been added, which is just amazing.”
Final step in securing island’s future
The two fences are separated by a 10-metre space, which Ecosure hopes to fill with native vegetation to further fortify the dunes. “It looks like a train line,” Smith explained. “We’d be putting in dune species that would naturally occur in that area.”
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