Robert Hayles (1843 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

– 1926 in Arcadia) was an Australian entrepreneur who formed a series of passenger and cargo ferry services in the north of Australia after 1889. He moved to Australia aboard the sailing ship ''Nunda'' in 1861. Hayles worked in the mining and pastoral industries in Queensland before 1889 when he purchased a number of buildings and some land in Picnic Bay,

Magnetic Island Magnetic Island ( Wulguru: ''Yunbenun'') is an island offshore from the city of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. This mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville. The island is accessible from Townsvi ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Hayles established a permanent tourist operation on Magnetic Island and in 1900 built the Picnic Bay Jetty, establishing a permanent passenger ferry service to Magnetic Island. Hayles's first ferry, the ''Bee'', was wrecked during a storm in 1901 and Hayles commissioned the construction of a 22-passenger ferry, the ''Phoenix'' and later commissioned a similar ferry called the ''Magnet''. In 1909, Hayles was granted creek-front land in Townsville to establish a permanent ferry terminal to assist in the operation of the Magnetic Island ferry service. In 1922 Hayles established Hayles Magnetic Island Pty. Ltd. and was appointed the Chairman of the company. In 1924, the company expanded to

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

and established a regular mail and cargo service between Cairns and

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the '' Endeavour'', for ...

. The company also established a Darwin office the same year and provided services for mission stations, lighthouses and remote settlements along the Victoria and Daly rivers. Hayles family business continued to expand, offering fortnightly Cairns to Green Island services from 1928 onwards and in 1936 the company introduced

Brisbane River The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...

cruises in

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

had a serious impact on Hayles' business with vessels in his fleet requisitioned by the Australian military. Eustace Robert (Bob) Hayles was one son who became involved in the business.

References

* 1843 births Year of death missing British emigrants to Australia {{Australia-business-bio-stub