Magnetic Island ( Wulguru: Yunbenun) is an island offshore from the city of

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. This mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville, with 2,335 permanent residents. The island is accessible from Townsville Breakwater to Nelly Bay Harbour by ferry. There is a large National Park and bird sanctuary and walking tracks can be taken between the populated bays and to a number of tourist destinations such as the

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 ...

forts. The island is a holiday destination with many hotels and several resorts in operation to cater for all levels of service. The public facilities and infrastructure on the island are managed by the

Townsville City Council The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock an ...

. The island is part of the

electoral district of Townsville Townsville is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland. The seat is one of four within the Townsville urban area in North Queensland, and covers the Eastern and Northern suburbs of the City of To ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembl ...

, and part of the Federal seat of

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert ...

, which is represented by Phillip Thompson. There are five settlements, namely Arcadia, Horseshoe Bay, Nelly Bay, Picnic Bay, and

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. Geographic features include Rocky Bay, Picnic Bay and Hawkings Point, around its southern extremity, a bay, Nelly Bay to the east-north-east of Rocky Bay, followed by Geoffrey Bay, with Bremner Point as its northern arm. Horseshoe Bay is on the northern coast, and Cockle Bay Reef off the western coast.

Naming

The Wulguru name for the island is ''Yunbenun''. The first European accounts of the island come from

Captain James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

who, in 1770, while navigating the Australian coast, called the island ''Magnetical Island'', as a magnetic pull interfering with his vessel's compass appeared to emanate from the island. People have since explored the general area of Magnetic Island with various instruments to discover what might have caused the effect that Cook reported, but nothing has been discovered. Local names for the island are "Maggie Isle", "Maggie Island", or "The Island".

History

Pre-European settlement

Yunbenun is the traditional land of the Wulgurukaba people. It had a transient population of

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

well before European exploration of the area. They had seasonal camps at a number of bays, and travelled between the island and mainland using

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

s. A number of Aboriginal burial sites are said to exist on the island, but have so far not been identified. Aboriginal middens and cave drawings can still be found in a number of bays around Yunbenun. Folklore of the local Wulguru tribe recounts a long association with the island and annual migrations to the mainland to avoid expeditions of head-hunters from

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

, which used the northern trade winds to travel south along the Queensland coast. This head-hunting nearly ceased following the arrival of missionaries, led by Samuel MacFarlane to the Torres Straits in 1871.

European settlement and development

J.M. Black, funded by

Robert Towns Robert Towns (10 November 1794 – 11 April 1873) was a British master mariner who settled in Australia as a businessman, sandalwood merchant, colonist, shipowner, pastoralist, politician, whaler and civic leader. He was the founder of Townsvil ...

, founded the township of Townsville on the mainland nearby. As Townsville developed through the mid-19th century, Magnetic Island became a valuable location for the gathering of hoop pine and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

, the latter of which was used in the reclamation of land for the Port of Townsville, and for construction of Townsville's Customs House. Picnic Bay was named after its popularity as a picnic spot for European tourists from the mainland during the 19th century, before Magnetic Island was first inhabited by Europeans. In the mid-19th century the island became a popular location for the collection of stone and coral needed for development on the mainland. Even substantial quantities of gold were mined in 1886. In 1875, the island was set aside as a

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

station although it took another ten years for the proper facilities to be set up at West Point. In November 1884 the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

accepted a tender from Leisner and Sparre to construct the quarantine station for £3645. It was only after the tender was accepted that the site on

on the north-west was actually chosen. In 1896

Cyclone Sigma Cyclone Sigma was a tropical cyclone that caused severe damage in North Queensland, Australia on 26–27 January 1896 and the loss of at least 23 lives. The cyclone caused massive destruction to Townsville and surrounding areas. The cyclone ...

tore across the island and through Townsville. At least 23 people died, many buildings destroyed and boats wrecked. The ketch ''Lalla Rookh'' was torn off its moorings and found later on Magnetic Island. (She was able to be recovered and continued to carry loads of timber up and down the coast, until being wrecked off the Queensland coast in 1899.) By 1890 a resort had been started in Picnic Bay. In 1898 Robert Hayles Sr was so impressed by the potential of Magnetic Island he sold his other interests to build a resort on the island. Hayles was responsible for much of the development of Magnetic Island through tourism. In 1901 he started a regular ferry service to the island with his ship the ''Bee''. Twelve months later this ship was wrecked on the rocks at Nobby Head, Picnic Bay, and the ''Phoenix'' was built by Hayles' sons to replace the vessel. The Hayles company remained operating services to Magnetic Island with a large number of different vessels until 1988.

World War II

StateLibQld 2 242175 Tourists taking a walk through the palm groves on Magnetic Island, 1937-1938

Magnetic Island became an important defensive position during

because of its proximity to Townsville, an important military base, and its views over Cleveland Bay, a significant anchorage and assembly point for large fleets and convoys operating in the south Pacific. As such, the Magnetic Battery, ''(AKA The Forts)'' an artillery battery and observation post, was built in the hinterland of Florence, Horseshoe and Arthur Bays. Picnic Bay also became a popular defence force rest and relaxation camp following the commandeering of a resort in the bay in 1939.

Post-war era

The island slowly expanded following the end of the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. In 1953, Centaur House, a memorial convalescent and rest hostel for nurses, was officially opened in Geoffrey Bay. In late December 1971 Cyclone Althea hit the North Queensland coast directly crossing Magnetic Island. The island, along with much of the mainland, was devastated with 90% of the island's houses damaged or destroyed, some simply lifted off their foundations and tossed into trees. The island, along with the mainland, soon recovered. In July 2012, a six hectare (15 acre) section of the island was granted to the Wulgurukaba Yunbenun Aboriginal Corporation under

freehold title In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., per ...

and a further 55 hectare (135 acre) section under a

Deed of Grant in Trust A Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) is the name for a system of community-level land trust established in Queensland to administer former Aboriginal reserves and missions. They came about through the enactment by the Queensland Government of the '' ...

21st century

In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Magnetic Island was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "Natural attraction".

Geography

Geographic features include Rocky Bay, Picnic Bay and Hawkings Point (around the settlement named Picnic Bay) around its southern point, a bay and settlement called Nelly Bay to the east-north-east, Horseshoe Bay on its northern coast, and Cockle Bay Reef off the western coast.

Natural heritage and attractions

The island is a haven for wildlife. 76% of the island is Magnetic Island National Park, which is mostly located on the steep hilly interior and rugged north-western side. The highest point on the island is Mount Cook reaching above sea level. A citizen science project at Magnetic (Yunbenun) has over 3500 observations of 1126 species with the most observed species the Koala and the most observed marine species the Goldstripe butterflyfish Magnetic Island is famous for its fishing opportunities. Fish around the island include: mackerel, giant trevally,

queenfish The queenfish (''Seriphus politus'') is a species of fish in the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. It is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, where it occurs along the North American coastline from Oregon to Baja California; it has been ...

, coral trout,

blackspot tuskfish The blackspot tuskfish (''Choerodon schoenleinii'') is a wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean from Mauritius to Indonesia and Australia north to the Ryukyus. This species occurs on reefs, preferring areas with sandy su ...

tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max len ...

, fingermark, red emperor and

sea perch Sea perch, sea-perch or seaperch are the common names of various fishes, including: * Fishes of the family Sebastidae, especially those of the genus ''Sebastes ''Sebastes'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebasti ...

. As of 2013, there are over 800

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the w ...

s estimated to be present on the island; this population represents the northern limit of their geographic range. The areas of the island that are not covered by the conservation area are open for development subject to local authority approval. As of 2018 the island was undergoing an economic boom. The wreckage of SS ''City of Adelaide'' is located off the shore of Cockle Bay, the island and is a popular tourist attraction.

Settlements

The five villages of the island, which contain the lion's share of the population of 2017 (as of the census of population)

Heritage listings

Magnetic Island has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * East side of island: Fort Complex * Esplanade: Picnic Bay Jetty

Education

There is a primary school at Nelly Bay. The nearest secondary school is Townsville State High School in Railway Estate in the Townsville mainland.

Community groups

The Magnetic Garbutt branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

meets at the CWA Hall at 42 Lancaster Street, Garbutt.

Annual events

Annual events include: * Great Tropical Jazz Party (August) * The Great Island Trek (September) * Maggie Island Triathlon (October) * SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week (August/September)

Notable residents

* Julian Assange,

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...

co-founder, sporadically lived the first years of his life in Nelly Bay with his mother in the early 1970s.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Islands of Queensland Suburbs of Townsville Queensland in World War II