Whitsunday Islands

Whitsunday Islands
Geography
Location Queensland, Australia
Coordinates 20°18′S 148°56′E / 20.300°S 148.933°E / -20.300; 148.933
Total islands 74
Major islands Hamilton Island
Area 282.82 km2 (109.20 sq mi)
Administration
Australia
State Queensland
Largest settlement Hamilton Island (pop. 1350)
Demographics
Population 1570 (2014)
Pop. density 5.551 /km2 (14.377 /sq mi)

The Whitsunday Islands is a collection of continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, approximately 1,400 kilometres (900 miles) north of Brisbane. The northernmost of the islands are situated off the coast by the town of Bowen while the southernmost islands are off the coast by Mackay. The island group is centred on Whitsunday Island, while the group's commercial centre is Hamilton Island. The traditional owners of the area are the Ngaro People and the Gia People (Birri Gubba language group) whose Juru Clan has the only legally recognised native title in the region.[1]

Naming

The term is a misnomer as it is based on Captain Cook’s date for the naming of Whitsunday Passage, or as Cook spelled it in his HMS Endeavour journal, Whitsunday’s Passage.[2] Based on his journal date, Cook believed that the passage was discovered on Whitsunday, the Sunday of the feast of Whitsun—Pentecost in the Christian liturgical year—which is observed 7 weeks after Easter. As the International Date Line had not yet been established, the day of discovery was actually Whit Monday.

Whitsunday Islands.

There is some contention as to exactly which islands are within the informally named Whitsunday Islands, in particular those at the southern extremity and the inclusions to the west. What is certain is that they lie within the chain named Cumberland Isles by Captain Cook (now officially approved as the Cumberland Islands) and a reasonably defined section of that chain and surrounding waters have become known worldwide as The Whitsundays, based on a contraction of the Whitsunday Islands designation.

Tourism

The Whitsunday islands are a popular tourist destination for travellers to Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef with the area being one of the most popular yachting destinations in the Southern Hemisphere. The island received about 700,000 visitors between March 2008 and March 2009.[3]

The Ngaro Sea Trail Great Walk is a mix of seaways and short walks, crossing South Molle, Hook and Whitsunday islands.[4] The tracks across the islands are linked by seaways suited to kayaking, sailing or powerboating. Camping is available at eight camping areas on the three islands. Several islands have large resorts, offering a wide variety of accommodation and activities.

Components

There are a total of 74 islands and islets among all the groups in the Whitsundays.

Whitsunday group

The most notable islands in the main Whitsunday group are named Dent, Hamilton, Hayman, Hook and Whitsunday which features the white sands of Whitehaven Beach.

Lindeman group

The most notable island in the Lindeman group is its namesake Lindeman Island.

Molle group

The most notable islands in the Molle group are Daydream Island (formerly West Molle Island), Long Island and South Molle Island.

Northern group

Some of the islands in the Northern group are Armit, Gloucester and Saddleback.

Table of islands

Listed below are islands of The Whitsundays, divided by group locality. Named rocks and islets can be found listed within the entry for the nearest island to that feature.

Island Capital Adjacent islets and features Area (km²) Population
Lindeman Islands Lindeman Island 30.3410
Baynham Island 0.0740
Comston Island 0.2360
Gaibirra Island 0.3230
Keyser Island 0.5770
Lindeman Island 6.78910
Little Lindeman Island 0.490
Maher Island Jesus Point 0.940
Mansell Island 1.1770
Other Ann Island, Cole Island 0.2220
Pentecost Island 1.250
Seaforth Island North Beach 0.2650
Shaw Island Neck Bay, Burning Point 15.620
Thomas Island Thomas Bay, Dead Dog Point 2.230
Triangle Island 0.1150
Volskow Island 0.0320
Molle Islands South Molle Island 20.17150
Daydream Island Coral Beach, Lovers Beach, Mermaids Beach, Sunset Beach 0.2330
Denman Island 0.0950
Goat Island 0.0470
Long Island Base Point, Fire Point, Happy Bay, Paradise Bay, Pelican Beach, Peppers Palm Bay, Sandy Bay, Spit Point 10.680
Mid Molle Island 0.130
North Molle Island 2.6430
Other Gunn Island, Repair Island, Shute Island, Tancerd Island 0.5880
Pine Island 1.0630
Planton Island 0.1140
South Molle Island Bauer Bay 4.6640
Northern Group Gloucester Island 33.561
Armit Island 1.050
Double Cone Island 0.40
Eshelby Island 0.130
Gloucester Island 26.80
Grassy Island 1.290
Gumbrell Island 0.470
Manta Ray Island 0.320
Middle Island 0.430
Olden Island 0.430
Poole Island 0.190
Rattray Island 0.230
Saddleback Island 0.580
Stone Island 1.241
The Whitsunday Group Hamilton Island 198.751409
Bird Island 0.0170
Black Island 0.050
Border Island Cateran Bay 3.0660
Cid Island Bench Point, Gilling Point 2.950
Cowrie Island 0.0240
Deloraine Island 0.1720
Dent Island 4.132
Dumbell Island 0.1410
Dungarra Island 0.0940
Esk Island 0.10
Fitzalan Island 0.0540
Hamilton Island Crab Bay, South Head, Driftwood Bay, Coral Cove, Escape Beach, Broken Point, Sunrise Bay, Hideaway Bay, Catseye Bay, Pebble Beach, Airport Beach 7.981350
Harold Island 0.3450
Haslewood Island 7.9410
Hayman Island Dolphin Point, Tower Point, Rescue Beach, Groper Point, Arkhurst Point, Blue Pearl Bay, Royal Hayman Hotel 3.7850
Henning Island 0.4960
Hook Island 54.875
Ireby Island 0.0460
Langford Island 0.0930
Lupton Island 1.050
Nicolson Island 0.1630
Other 0.9040
Perseverance Island 0.3420
Teague Island 0.5580
Titan Island 0.0112
Whitsunday Island 1090
Wirrainbeia Island 0.040
Workington Island 0.3330
Whitsunday Islands Totals 282.821570

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ http://southseas.nla.gov.au/journals/cook/17700604.html
  3. ↑ Andrew Bain (21 November 2009). "The alternative Whitsunday". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "Whitsunday Ngaro Sea Trail". Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Whitsunday Islands.
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