South Mission Beach
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South Mission Beach is a coastal town and
locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...
in the
Cassowary Coast Region The Cassowary Coast Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Far North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, south of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and centred on the towns of Innisfail, Queensland, Innisfail, ...
,
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. In the , the locality of South Mission Beach had a population of 968 people.


Geography

As the name suggests, South Mission Beach is south of Mission Beach, although not immediately south as the town of Wongaling Beach lies between them. The three towns are bounded on the east by a shared sandy beach long facing the
Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...
commencing at Clump Point in Mission Beach at the northern end through to Tam O'Shanter Point in South Mission Beach at the southern end (). South Mission Beach is bounded in the south and south-west by the
Hull River Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...
with the North Hull River (a tributary of the Hull River) forming part of its north-western boundary. Most of the land in the locality is low-lying (less than 10 metres above sea level) and undeveloped and forms part of the Hull River National Park. However, there are some hills along the south-eastern coastline rising to unnamed peaks of up to 120 metres above sea level. The only development in the locality is residential along the north-east coast where the land is freehold. The locality of South Mission Beach includes the former township of Kenny. Tam O'Shanter Point creates two bays to the north and south of the headland, Lugger Bay to the north () and Kennedy Bay to the south ().
Dunk Island Dunk Island, known as ''Coonanglebah'' in the Warrgamay and Dyirbal languages, is an island within the locality of Dunk in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It lies off the Australian east coast, opposite the town of Missio ...
lies off the coast. There is only one road into the locality, South Mission Beach Road, which is a side-road of the more major Tully Mission Beach Road which connects to the
Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Natio ...
at Birkalla immediately to the north of Tully.


History

The area lies within the traditional tribal territory of the JiDjiru-speaking Aboriginal people, who were closely related linguistically and culturally to the Jirrbal,
Gulngay The Gulngai were an indigenous Australian rainforest people of the state of Queensland. They are not to be confused with the Kuringgai. Language Gulŋay was one of the Dyirbalic languages, and a dialect of Dyirbal. Country Norman Tindale set ...
and Mamu speaking people in the adjacent rainforests. Tam O'Shanter Point was named by Captain
Owen Stanley Captain Owen Stanley FRS RN (13 June 1811 – 13 March 1850) was a British Royal Navy officer and surveyor. Life Stanley was born in Alderley, Cheshire, the son of Edward Stanley, rector of Alderley and later Bishop of Norwich. A brother wa ...
of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
survey ship HMS ''Rattlesnake'', after the
barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...
''Tam O'Shanter'' which was the ship sailed by explorer
Edmund Kennedy Edmund Besley Court Kennedy J. P. (5 September 1818 – December 1848) was an explorer in Australia in the mid-19th century. He was the Assistant-Surveyor of New South Wales, working with Thomas Mitchell (explorer), Sir Thomas Mitchell. Kenned ...
to North Queensland on his ill-fated expedition to reach
Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...
. Kennedy Bay was named after Edmund Kennedy. The first European settlers in the general area were the Cutten family at present day Bingil Bay and the Garner family at present day Garners Beach. In 1912 the settlers arrived at present day South Mission Beach (the Reid family, Ben Beamon and George Webb). In September 1913, 2,900 acres of land on the Hull River were gazetted as an Aboriginal Reserve creating the
Hull River Aboriginal Settlement Hull River Aboriginal Settlement, sometimes incorrectly referred to as Hull River Aboriginal Mission, was an Aboriginal reserve established in 1914, located at the present location of Mission Beach in the Hull River National Park, Queensland, ...
. On 15 September 1914 John Martin Kenny, who had previously been a non-commissioned officer of the native police and an overseer at the
Cape Bedford Mission The Cape Bedford Mission was the first Christian mission on the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia. It is the oldest surviving mission in northern Queensland. It is at South Cape Bedford within the present-day locality of Hope Vale () ...
was appointed Superintendent at the new settlement. The settlement site was in the north of present-day South Mission Beach. On 10 March 1918 the settlement was demolished by a cyclone and the superintendent and his daughter were killed along with 12 Aboriginal people from the settlement. According to a report on the destruction of the settlement, over 400 Aboriginal people lived on the reserve at the time of the cyclone. The Hull River settlement was not rebuilt and many of the people were relocated from the reserve to Palm Island in 1918. All the materials at the Hull River settlement that might be useful at Palm Island were removed and then abandoned. After the removal of the Hull River Aboriginal Settlement, European settlers moved to the area to farm. However, access remained principally by sea due to a lack of road access In December 1938 a road from Tully to the Mission Beach area was completed. A township which was established in 1939 was named Kenny in honour of John Martin Kenny of the Hull River Aboriginal Settlement, but it was known locally as South Mission Beach and was officially renamed so on 1 November 1963. The former township of Kenny was named after John Martin Kenny of the Hull River Aboriginal Settlement.


Demographics

In the , the locality of South Mission Beach had a population of 932 people. In the , the locality of South Mission Beach had a population of 968 people.


Education

There are no schools in South Mission Beach. The nearest government primary school is Mission Beach State School in neighbouring Wongaling Beach to the north. The nearest government secondary school is Tully State High School in Tully to the south-west.


Amenities

South Mission Beach is home to many community groups including a Surf Life Saver's Club, an Outriggers Club and a Scout Group. There are two boat ramps, both managed by the Cassowary Coast Regional Council, at: * Jackey Jackey Street into the North Hull River () * south end of the Kennedy Esplanade into Lugger Bay ()


Attractions

The Kennedy walking track is a boardwalk that follows the coast just south of the town (starting at the Kennedy Esplanade boat ramp) and is known for giving hikers a glimpse into the coastal rainforests within the region. The Mija Memorial, commemorating the victims of the cyclone at the Hull River Settlement, was unveiled 100 years later, on 10 March 2018. It is at the junction of South Mission Beach Road and the Kennedy Esplanade ().


References


Attribution


Further reading

*


External links

* * * Archived website by Helen Pedley. {{authority control Towns in Queensland Cassowary Coast Region Coastline of Queensland Localities in Queensland