In May 1961 a TAA DC-4 airliner crashed onto Bulwer Island during landing at Brisbane Airport. The pilot had suffered cardiac arrest and slumped over the control column preventing the co-pilot from regaining control before the plane dived into the mud of the island.
Land was reclaimed joining the island to the mainland commencing in 1963. An oil refinery commenced operations in 1965, and was converted to an import terminal in 2015.