Deception Bay is a coastal suburb in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Deception Bay had a population of 19,573 people.
The area's rich history dates back to the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Gubbi Gubbi people, and later to early penal settlement.
Deception Bay was so named by Lieutenant John Oxley in 1823 who thought the bay was a river and because of his mistake and the shallowness, named it Deception Bay. Today, Deception Bay is often listed as an unusual place name.
The area was once large parcels of land supporting dairying and farming and, while some large blocks remain today, most have been subdivided to provide housing for a growing community.
Deception Bay Provisional School opened on 7 November 1892. It closed circa 1905. It reopened on 14 October 1929 and became Deception Bay State School in 1932.
On Saturday 23 October 1948, Deception Bay Methodist Church was officially opened by Reverend Reginald Sholto Cecil Dingle, the President of the Methodist Conference. It became the Deception Bay Uniting Church after the amalgamation of the Methodist Church into the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977.
On Sunday 21 July 1963 a monument was unveiled to commemorate to scientist Joseph Bancroft and his son Thomas Lane Bancroft in Bancroft Park on Captain Cook Parade, (27°10′45″S 153°01′44″E / 27.1791°S 153.0290°E). Much of their research was conducted at Deception Bay. The monument was erected by the Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association, the Caboolture Shire Council, and the Caboolture Historical Society. Joseph Bancroft was a pioneer in experimenting in native plants for their health properties and, through his meatworks, in the preservation of meat, fish and vegetables. His son, Thomas Lane Bancroft, carried on the tradition with some work in cultivating cotton and castor oil. A rough-hewn pyramidal block of granite stands today on the foreshore highlighting the achievements of these two doctors, and the streets around Dr Bancroft's home, Joseph Street and Bancroft Terrace, are named in his honour.
The Deception Bay public library opened in 1978.
Deception Bay North State School opened on 30 January 1979.
Christ the King Catholic Primary School opened on 31 January 1979.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the suburb acquired a negative reputation due to crime and high unemployment. However, community problems subsided after 2001 following the construction of a police station and a property boom.
Deception Bay State High School opened in January 1992.
Moreton Downs State School opened on 27 January 1995.
Deception Bay Flexible Learning Centre opened on 23 January 2006.
On 15 March 2008, Deception Bay became a suburb of a new amalgamated local government area, the Moreton Bay Region (now known as the City of Moreton Bay). For local government elections, Deception Bay divided into two divisions, with the area of the suburb falling north of Deception Bay Road becoming a part of Division 2.
In the past few years, a walkway, several staircases, and CCCTV have been installed to improve access to the waterfront area. The suburb contains low-density urban and semi-rural property types.
In the 2011 census, Deception Bay recorded a population of 19,672 people, 51.1% female and 48.9% male. The median age of the Deception Bay population was 34 years, 3 years below the national median of 37. 73.6% of people living in Deception Bay were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 6.7%, England 4.2%, Philippines 1%, Samoa 1% and Scotland 0.4%. 86.3% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 2.1% Samoan, 0.3% Tagalog, 0.3% Filipino, 0.3% Hindi and 0.2% Mandarin.
In the 2016 census Deception Bay had a population of 19,850 people.
In the 2021 census, Deception Bay had a population of 19,573 people.
History info courtesy of Wikipedia
