Fitzroy Island National Park is a gazetted protected area covering Fitzroy Island, in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. Fitzroy Island (also called Koba or Gabar), is a

continental island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

located east of Cairns on the mainland. The Aboriginal people particularly connected to this Island are the ''Kobaburra'' (or alternatively ''Gaba:ra'') from within the ''Gungganyji'' language group. As a Queensland National Park the natural and cultural resources of the Island itself (down to high tide) are protected by the

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it pro ...

and much of the island is therefore off-limits to visitors. Most visitors remain on the sheltered western side of the island, where the jetty, resort and best snorkeling can be found.

Island

Fitzroy Island is a

, not a coral cay. It became an island when sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age, flooding a plain between a hill that is now Fitzroy Island, and what is now

Cape Grafton Cape Grafton is a cape located to the north-east of Cairns in Queensland, Australia. The cape was named by Lieutenant James Cook during his first voyage of discovery in 1770. It was named after Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, the Britis ...

. Over the 10,000 years since that time,

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

s have formed in the bay on the protected western side of the island, and lush rainforest on its shore. FitzroyBeach

Fitzroy Island has been put to many uses by humankind. It is part of the traditional lands of the Gurabana Gungandji people, who recorded its formation in myth, and was used as a hunting and fishing ground. In 1778, Lieutenant James Cook named the island after the family name of the

Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke ...

, who was the British Prime Minister when his ship, HMB ''Endeavour'', had set sail. Through the 1800s, a pearling and

beche-de-mer Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea. They can be used as food, in fresh or dried form, in various cuisines. In some cultural contexts the sea cucumber is thought to have medicinal value. The creature and the food product ...

industry operated from the island. In 1876, a quarantine station was established on Fitzroy Island for Chinese "

coolie A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...

s" en route to the Palmer River Goldfields. A

giant clam The giant clams are the members of the clam genus '' Tridacna'' that are the largest living bivalve mollusks. There are actually several species of "giant clams" in the genus '' Tridacna'', which are often misidentified for ''Tridacna gigas'', ...

research station remains in operation on Welcome Bay. The Island has also served as part an aboriginal mission in the early 1900s, an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

gun emplacement in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and, more recently, a tourist resort. The Island has also been home to

lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

warning ships in the Grafton Passage of the reefs around the island, and a small automatic light on Little Fitzroy Island, just off the north-east point, still serves this purpose. An inactive lighthouse sits on the point above, and is part of the circuit trail that is open to tourists. Fitzroy's isolation has resulted in a unique habitat, with few large mammals. The dominant predators on the island are reptiles; particularly

python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

s (

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

and

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

monitor lizards Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recogn ...

and the Major skink. The latter of these is particularly common and will be seen frequently as a tourist wanders around the trails. There are no venomous snakes on the island, though python bites can become infected.

Recreation

Walking trails

There is a walking track that takes in the northern end of the island, the lighthouse on the north-west point which overlooks Little Fitzroy Island, and the island's peak, which offers stunning 360 degree views over the surrounding reefs and Cape Grafton. From the top, on a clear day it is possible to make out the Frankland Islands to the south. The trail then drops back down to the resort. ''Nudey Beach'' can be accessed by heading along the trail at the southern end of the resort, and leads along the edge of the island through rainforest, with occasional glimpses out to Cape Grafton, and then descends to Nudey Beach, which was once a nude bathing beach, with some coral available for snorkelers.

Snorkeling

The fringing reef is a fair distance from the shore at the northern end of Welcome Bay, where it starts at the quite prominent 'Bird Rock'. It runs almost all the way down to the jetty before there is a small gap where the boats come in. The reef starts again near the rocks at the southern end of the beach, and runs around the corner to Nudey Beach. Along this stretch it is extremely close to shore - literally just a few steps from the shore. The snorkelling at Fitzroy is greatly underrated. Visibility can be a bit low, especially after rough weather, but the coral is excellent and the variety of fish superb. The clownfish (''Amphiprion percula'') can be found, as well as other

anemonefish Clownfish or anemonefish are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. Thirty species of clownfish are recognized: one in the genus '' Premnas'', while the remaining are in the genus '' Amphiprion''. In the wild, t ...

Parrotfish Parrotfishes are a group of about 90 fish species regarded as a family (Scaridae), or a subfamily (Scarinae) of the wrasses. With about 95 species, this group's largest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific. They are found in coral reefs, ro ...

and

wrasses The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, most of them le ...

are common, and green sea turtles regularly frequent the bay. It is unlikely that

box jellyfish Box jellyfish (class Cubozoa) are cnidarian invertebrates distinguished by their box-like (i.e. cube-shaped) body. Some species of box jellyfish produce potent venom delivered by contact with their tentacles. Stings from some species, including '' ...

would be encountered at Fitzroy Island due to the 4 km passage between the island and the mainland, but they have been found there occasionally, as well as other stinging jellyfish.

Resort

Fitzroy Island Resort can be found on Welcome Bay. Fitzroy Island Resort is a 60-minute ferry ride (about 30 km) from Cairns in Queensland and is surrounded by a reef system that forms part of the

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef from damaging activities. It is a vast multiple-use Marine Park which supports a wide range of uses, including commercial marine tourism, fishing, ports an ...

References

External links

Official Fitzroy Island National Park website
{{National Parks of Queensland National parks of Far North Queensland Cultural landscapes of Australia Great Barrier Reef Islands of Queensland Protected areas established in 1939 1939 establishments in Australia Queensland in World War II