Low Island is an island lying about north-east of
Port Douglas
Port Douglas is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia, approximately north of Cairns.
In the , the locality of Port Douglas had a population of 3,650 people. The town's population can often double, however, ...
in
Trinity Bay, North
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 ...
. It is around 2 hectares or 0.02 square km in size. It is part of the Low Isles, along with
Woody Island, an uninhabited coral and mangrove island. The isles are surrounded by of
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...
. The Low Islets are a Marine National Park Zone. Day visitors come to the island on a daily basis via a number of commercial operators. There is a lagoon where private vessel can moor or anchor outside the reef protection markers overnight, but there is no overnight accommodation on the island. There is a
weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasting, weather forecasts and to study the weather and clima ...
and an active
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
(named
Low Isles Light
Low Isles Light, also known as Low Islets Light or Low Island Light, is an active lighthouse located on Low Island, a coral cay which together with Woody Island forms the Low Isles group, about northeast of Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia ...
). No fishing is allowed in the lagoon or within a buffer zone around the islands. Motorised water sports are not permitted in the locality. There is a 6 knot limit. No open fires of any sort or dogs permitted on either island. No island access between sunset and sunrise.
History
On 4 September 2006,
Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray on
Batt Reef
Batt Reef is a coral reef off Port Douglas in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia.
Geography
Batt Reef is centred at
The reef is about 18 km long by 5 km (11 miles by 3 miles) wide, lying northwest to southeast, at the nort ...
to the east of Low Island. He was rushed to Low Island where he was pronounced dead.
References
{{reflist
External links
Report on Scientific Expedition to Low Isles in 1954 1954; 2014 State Library of Queensland
State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...
Islands of Far North Queensland
Commonwealth Heritage List places in Queensland