Whitsunday Islands

Whitsunday Islands

Geography
Location	Queensland, Australia
Coordinates	20°18′S 148°56′E / 20.300°S 148.933°E
Total islands	74
Major islands	Hamilton Island
Area	282.82 km^2 (109.20 sq mi)
Administration
Australia
State	Queensland
Largest settlement	Hamilton Island (pop. 1350)
Demographics
Population	1570 (as of 2014)
Density	5.551 /km^2 (14.377 /sq mi)

The Whitsunday Islands is a collection of continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, approximately 900 kilometres (560 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.

Contention has existed as to exactly what islands are within the informally named Whitsunday Islands, in particular as to 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.

• 

  Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island

• 

  Hill inlet, north of Whitehaven Beach

• 

  Panoramic view of the Whitsunday Islands

• 

  Planton Island

• 

  Sunset over mainland from summit of South Molle Island's Mount Jeffreys

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		30.34	10
Baynham Island			0.074	0
Comston Island			0.236	0
Gaibirra Island			0.323	0
Keyser Island			0.577	0
Lindeman Island			6.789	10
Little Lindeman Island			0.49	0
Maher Island		Jesus Point	0.94	0
Mansell Island			1.177	0
Other		Ann Island, Cole Island	0.222	0
Pentecost Island			1.25	0
Seaforth Island		North Beach	0.265	0
Shaw Island		Neck Bay, Burning Point	15.62	0
Thomas Island		Thomas Bay, Dead Dog Point	2.23	0
Triangle Island			0.115	0
Volskow Island			0.032	0
Molle Islands	South Molle Island		20.17	150
Daydream Island		Coral Beach, Lovers Beach, Mermaids Beach, Sunset Beach	0.23	30
Denman Island			0.095	0
Goat Island			0.047	0
Long Island		Base Point, Fire Point, Happy Bay, Paradise Bay, Pelican Beach, Peppers Palm Bay, Sandy Bay, Spit Point	10.6	80
Mid Molle Island			0.13	0
North Molle Island			2.643	0
Other		Gunn Island, Repair Island, Shute Island, Tancerd Island	0.588	0
Pine Island			1.063	0
Planton Island			0.114	0
South Molle Island		Bauer Bay	4.66	40
Northern Group	Gloucester Island		33.56	1
Armit Island			1.05	0
Double Cone Island			0.4	0
Eshelby Island			0.13	0
Gloucester Island			26.8	0
Grassy Island			1.29	0
Gumbrell Island			0.47	0
Manta Ray Island			0.32	0
Middle Island			0.43	0
Olden Island			0.43	0
Poole Island			0.19	0
Rattray Island			0.23	0
Saddleback Island			0.58	0
Stone Island			1.24	1
The Whitsunday Group	Hamilton Island		198.75	1409
Bird Island			0.017	0
Black Island			0.05	0
Border Island		Cateran Bay	3.066	0
Cid Island		Bench Point, Gilling Point	2.95	0
Cowrie Island			0.024	0
Deloraine Island			0.172	0
Dent Island			4.13	2
Dumbell Island			0.141	0
Dungarra Island			0.094	0
Esk Island			0.1	0
Fitzalan Island			0.054	0
Hamilton Island		Crab Bay, South Head, Driftwood Bay, Coral Cove, Escape Beach, Broken Point, Sunrise Bay, Hideaway Bay, Catseye Bay, Pebble Beach, Airport Beach	7.98	1350
Harold Island			0.345	0
Haslewood Island			7.941	0
Hayman Island		Dolphin Point, Tower Point, Rescue Beach, Groper Point, Arkhurst Point, Blue Pearl Bay, Royal Hayman Hotel	3.78	50
Henning Island			0.496	0
Hook Island			54.87	5
Ireby Island			0.046	0
Langford Island			0.093	0
Lupton Island			1.05	0
Nicolson Island			0.163	0
Other			0.904	0
Perseverance Island			0.342	0
Teague Island			0.558	0
Titan Island			0.011	2
Whitsunday Island			109	0
Wirrainbeia Island			0.04	0
Workington Island			0.333	0
Whitsunday Islands	Totals		282.82	1570

See also

• List of islands named after calendar entries
• List of islands of Australia
• Regions of Queensland
• Tourism in Australia
• Whitsunday Islands National Park

References

1. • Prior on behalf of the Juru (Cape Upstart) People v State of Queensland (No 2) [2011] FCA 819 (26 July 2011) (17/12/2011)]
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.

External links

• Whitsunday Regional Council
• Whitsunday Islands at NASA Earth Observatory
• Whitsunday National Park islands: Nature, culture and history