Marina service
Gateway Marina (The Gateway Burnett Heads)
About
Gateway Marina (The Gateway Burnett Heads) at a glance
New marina under construction at Burnett Heads Boat Harbour: Stage 1 delivers 88 private recreational berths (10m-22m vessels) and 4 commercial berths plus a 24-hour fuel dock, targeting completion November 2026. Approved masterplan covers approximately 300-318 berths with mixed-use waterfront precinct.
Service area: Bundaberg / Coral Coast
- Marina type
- full-service marina
- Operator
- The Gateway Burnett Heads (developer Simon Harvey); Bellingham Marine delivering Stage 1
- Region
- Bundaberg / Coral Coast
- Water body
- Burnett Heads Boat Harbour
- Wet berths
- 92
- Maximum vessel
- 22 m
- Berth types
- permanent berthing
Facilities and services
- fuel
- power & water
- showers & laundry
- chandlery
- restaurant/cafe
- 24-hour automated fuel dock (diesel & premium unleaded)
- 4 commercial berths
- amenities building
- cafe/restaurant tenancy
- secure parking (53)
- chandlery/general store
- dredged to -3.5m LAT
About Gateway Marina (The Gateway Burnett Heads)
Gateway Marina is the resurrection story of Queensland marina development. The project occupies the Burnett Heads Boat Harbour on the oceanfront at the mouth of the Burnett River, fifteen minutes from Bundaberg, and its name carries a deliberate triple meaning: Bundaberg clears more international cruising yachts into Australia than any other east coast port, the marina is the first one vessels reach when approaching the river, and the site stands at the doorstep of the southern Great Barrier Reef. Developer Simon Harvey fought the project through a partnership dispute that tipped it into receivership in 2024, reacquired it outright in 2026, and within weeks had Bellingham Marine Australia signed under a turnkey design-and-construct deal, detailed engineering complete and the first marina piles arriving on site in May 2026. Stage one targets practical completion on 27 November 2026, delivering 92 berths: 88 private recreational berths for vessels from 10 to 22 metres plus four commercial berths, with expressions of interest allocated on a first-in, first-served basis. Behind stage one sits an approved masterplan of around 318 berths across a seven-hectare wet lease, interfacing with seven hectares of freehold waterfront land earmarked for a resort hotel with lagoon pool, boutique apartments and villas, sixteen lakeside eco villas, retail, dining and a yacht club. The project has drawn public backing from Bundaberg Regional Council and Gladstone Ports Corporation, which manages the boat harbour, and it promises to give the Burnett coast its first modern full-service marina in decades. For a region that has watched berthing capacity stagnate while boat registrations climbed, the sight of piling barges in the boat harbour has been taken locally as proof the long-promised transformation is finally under way.
Marina facilities
Stage one's service list is confirmed and specific. The 88 private recreational berths take vessels from 10 to 22 metres and are offered for lease, with the four commercial berths serving tour and workboat operators; a 24-hour automated fuel dock dispensing diesel and premium unleaded anchors the marina's working edge, reached via harbour zones dredged to 3.5 metres LAT to guarantee safe entry and exit. A 200-square-metre waterfront cafe and restaurant tenancy and a new marina amenities building with showers and bathrooms serve berth holders, alongside secure parking for 53 vehicles, while the upgraded existing building houses a chandlery and general store, the marina manager's office and bathroom facilities. Deep-water access and the natural protection of the boat harbour give the berths genuine all-weather shelter, a point the developer stresses for vessels riding out Coral Sea blows. Power and water run to the berths as standard marina fit-out. Beyond stage one, the approved masterplan scales the service offer substantially: a total of 318 berths across single-hull, multihull and commercial configurations, a limited number offered for sale, some reserved for apartment purchasers, plus a marina village with retail shops, restaurants and cafes, a full chandlery, yacht club, offices, gymnasium and spa, conference centre, public barbecue pavilions and a boardwalk linking to the region's existing coastal path network. The developer intends the commercial berths and village to attract tour operations: whale watching in season, reef trips to Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot islands, helicopter reef flights, sailing and fishing charters, dive charters to the scuttled HMAS Tobruk and turtle experiences at Mon Repos. Berthing rates are promised to be comparable with surrounding marinas, quoted on enquiry through gatewaymarina.com.au.
Local sailing knowledge
Burnett Heads is a lighthouse town at the river mouth, and arriving yachts find a low-key, practical community rather than a resort strip. The upgraded town centre is a short walk from the marina site and covers the essentials: an IGA supermarket, pharmacy, post office, bakery, cafes and takeaway fish and chips, with the Lighthouse Motel doing lunch and dinner daily. The entrance to the Burnett River is a trained, buoyed commercial channel shared with Bundaberg port shipping, so keep clear of the leads when bulk carriers are moving, and note the tidal run at the mouth; once inside the boat harbour the water flattens completely. The local cruising card is exceptional: Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot islands, the southern jewels of the Great Barrier Reef, lie within day-trip range offshore, the ex-HMAS Tobruk rests on the bottom between here and Hervey Bay as a major dive wreck, and from November to March the loggerhead turtles haul out at Mon Repos, the largest rookery on the Australian east coast, a few minutes south. Humpback whales pass close inshore from July to November. Bundaberg itself, twenty minutes upriver or by road, supplies full provisioning, haul-out yards and the rum distillery, and its port status is why so many South Pacific cruising yachts make their Australian landfall here, clear customs, and rest up at the first available marina, which will soon be this one. Fishing off the heads is reliable for mackerel and tuna in season, and the river holds flathead and mud crabs. Berth EOI is first-come, so locals have been registering since the piles arrived.