Sandy Cape (also known by the Indigenous name of Woakoh) is the most northern point on

Fraser Island Fraser Island ( Butchulla: ) is a World Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fra ...

(also known as K'gari and Gari) off the coast of

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 , established_ ...

, Australia. The place was named ''Sandy Cape'' for its appearance by James Cook during his 1770 voyage up the eastern coast of Australia aboard the ''

Endeavour Endeavour or endeavor may refer to: People Fictional characters * Endeavour Morse, central character of the ''Inspector Morse'' novels by Colin Dexter * Endeavor, the hero name for the character Enji Todoroki from the anime series ''My Hero A ...

''. To the south the next two ocean headlands are Waddy Point and Indian Head (the latter was also named by Cook noting "...on which a number of Natives were assembled..." and is also known as ''Tukkee'' in the Badtjala language, meaning ''stone'' or ''stone knife''). The cape is protected within the K'gari section of the Great Sandy National Park. BreakSea Spit extends about north of Sandy Cape. Nesting

loggerhead Loggerhead or Loggerheads may refer to: Places * Loggerheads, Denbighshire, a village in Denbighshire, Wales * Loggerheads, Staffordshire, a small village in north Staffordshire, England * Loggerhead Key, the largest islet in the Dry Tortugas, ...

and

green turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

s use the remote, sandy location as a

rookery A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds. Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds, marine mammals ( true seals and sea lions), an ...

. Nighttime driving along the beach at Sandy Cape is banned during the nesting season. The vegetation at the cape is stunted and windswept. The foredunes are lightly covered by spinifex grass. Vehicle access to Sandy Cape is only available by the eastern beach at low tide. Camping is permitted in the area and it is a popular location with anglers.

History

Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland ...

, traveling aboard the ''

Investigator Investigator may refer to: Occupations Government and law * Detective, a person who investigates crimes, can be a rank and job in a police department, state or federal employee, or a civilian called a private detective * Inspector, a police rank ...

'', landed at Sandy Cape in 1802 and noted the desolate landscape. In August 1803, the ships '' Cato'' and ''

Porpoise Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals, all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae, parvorder Odontoceti (toothed whales). Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals ...

'' were both sunk off the cape in bad weather. In late December 1842, HMS ''Fly'' anchored behind Sandy Cape where some crewmen and naturalists went ashore and commented on the poor sparse surroundings. The Fly returned in April 1845 and took water from an abundant supply behind the beach and about 7 miles within the Cape. The ''Seabelle'' was wrecked in 1857, the American Bark "Panama" in 1864, and the ''Chang Chow'' in 1884 in waters closer to the cape which may contain hidden sandbars. Because of the number of shipwrecks in the vicinity the Sandy Cape Light was constructed in 1870. This marked the first permanent European settlement on Fraser Islnd. The ''

SS Marloo SS ''Marloo'' is a shipwreck at Great Sandy National Park, Fraser Island, Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 12 October 2002 but delisted in 2015. History SS ''Marloo'' was a ste ...

'' was wrecked in September 1914. Clement Lindley Wragge set up an extensive network of weather stations around Queensland, including one at Sandy Cape in 1891. The cape is still used as a reference point for weather observations; however from May 2015, it has been downgraded to a daily observation, compared with the half-hourly observations at some other weather stations.

References

{{coord, 24, 41, 59.84, S, 153, 15, 35.37, E, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Headlands of Queensland Fraser Island

History

See also

References