[2] British explorer James Cook, in HMS Endeavour, sighted the bay in May 1770, naming it for its size.

The processing and export of meat and cattle continued until 1919 when rail links were built elsewhere, making the port redundant.

[2] The bay has a low-lying coastline with wide mudflats exposed at low tide and backed by extensive areas of mangroves.

The head of the bay has the greatest tidal range on Australia's east coast - around 9 meters (30 feet).

It supports globally important populations of the straw-necked ibis (with up to 15,000 individual birds), Australian bustard, Latham's snipe, sharp-tailed sandpiper and mangrove honeyeater.