Whitsunday Islands

The Whitsunday Islands are 74 continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Brisbane.

Geography The northernmost of the islands are off the coast by the town of Bowen, while the southernmost islands are off the coast by Proserpine. The island group is centred on Whitsunday Island, while the commercial centre is Hamilton Island.

The islands are within the locality of Whitsundays and the local government Whitsunday Region.

Naming On Sunday 3 June 1770, (the day Whitsun—Pentecost was celebrated on the Christian calendar) Captain James Cook sailed his ship H.M.B. Endeavour, through a broad expanse of islands which provided an unimpeded passage to the north. Cook named the passage "Whitsundays' Passage". Cook's recorded times and dates are often questioned. Time quoted is simply local time (calculated at noon), the date recorded is a little more confusing. Cook recorded nautical time (the day starts at noon). Considering the International Date Line, and knowing today's date on the east coast of Australia is calculated at GMT+10, Cook's recorded date is fortuitously correct.

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 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.

History The traditional owners of the area are the Ngaro people and the Gia people, whose Juru people has the only legally recognised native title in the Whitsunday Region.. The Whitsundays were the traditional homelands of Ngaro and Gia (Juru) people, an Aboriginal Australian group, also called 'canoe people'.

In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Whitsunday Islands became one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for their role as a natural attraction.

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 islands received about 700,000 visitors between March 2008 and March 2009.

The Whitsunday Ngaro Sea Trail is a mix of seaways and short walks, crossing South Molle, Hook and Whitsunday islands. 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. Chartering a yacht or bareboating is a popular way to explore the seaways, beaches and coves.

The Ngaro Whitsundays Underwater Art Trail is a series of sculptures of Turtle, Manta ray, Maori wrasse, Coral polyp and a traditional piece named Bywa. They are located in shallow water depths accessible for snorkelling.

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 best known island in the Lindeman group is its namesake Lindeman Island (). However the largest island in the group is Shaw 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) PopulationLindeman Islands Lindeman Island 30.3410Baynham Island 0.0740Comston Island 0.2360Gaibirra Island 0.3230Keyser Island 0.5770Lindeman Island 6.78910Little Lindeman Island 0.490Maher Island Jesus Point 0.940Mansell Island 1.1770Other Ann Island, Cole Island 0.2220Pentecost Island 1.250Seaforth Island North Beach 0.2650Shaw Island Neck Bay, Burning Point 15.620Thomas Island Thomas Bay, Dead Dog Point 2.230Triangle Island 0.1150Volskow Island 0.0320Molle Islands South Molle Island 20.17150Daydream Island Coral Beach, Lovers Beach, Mermaids Beach, Sunset Beach 0.2330Denman Island 0.0950Goat Island 0.0470Long Island Base Point, Fire Point, Happy Bay, Paradise Bay, Pelican Beach, Peppers Palm Bay, Sandy Bay, Spit Point 10.680Mid Molle Island 0.130North Molle Island 2.6430Other Gunn Island, Repair Island, Shute Island, Tancerd Island 0.5880Pine Island 1.0630Planton Island 0.1140South Molle Island Bauer Bay 4.6640Northern Group Gloucester Island 33.561Armit Island 1.050Double Cone Island 0.40Eshelby Island 0.130Gloucester Island 26.80Grassy Island 1.290Gumbrell Island 0.470Manta Ray Island 0.320Middle Island 0.430Olden Island 0.430Poole Island 0.190Rattray Island 0.230Saddleback Island 0.580Stone Island 1.241The Whitsunday Group Hamilton Island 198.751409Bird Island 0.0170Black Island 0.050Border Island Cateran Bay 3.0660Cid Island Bench Point, Gilling Point 2.950Cowrie Island 0.0240Deloraine Island 0.1720Dent Island 4.132Dumbell Island 0.1410Dungarra Island 0.0940Esk Island 0.10Fitzalan Island 0.0540Hamilton Island Crab Bay, South Head, Driftwood Bay, Coral Cove, Escape Beach, Broken Point, Sunrise Bay, Hideaway Bay, Catseye Bay, Pebble Beach, Airport Beach 7.981350Harold Island 0.3450Haslewood Island 7.9410Hayman Island Dolphin Point, Tower Point, Rescue Beach, Groper Point, Arkhurst Point, Blue Pearl Bay, Royal Hayman Hotel 3.7850Henning Island 0.4960Hook Island 54.875Ireby Island 0.0460Langford Island 0.0930Lupton Island 1.050Nicolson Island 0.1630Other Buddibuddi Island, Yuindalla Island, Petrel Island, Arkhurst Island, Plum Pudding Island0.9040Perseverance Island 0.3420Teague Island 0.5580Titan Island 0.0112Whitsunday Island 1090Wirrainbeia Island 0.040Workington Island 0.3330Whitsunday Islands Totals 282.821570

Whitsunday Islands

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