Fitzroy Island (originally ''Koba'' or ''Gabar'' or ''Goong-Gan-Jee'') is a continental island offshore from Cape Grafton, 29 km (18 miles) southeast of

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

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. It is a

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

Cairns Region The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional city of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shires of Douglas and Mulgrave. ...

. In the , Fitzroy Island had a population of 85 people.

Geography

Fitzroy Island is a large tropical island, with some rainforest covering and its own fringe coral reef system. The island has a total area of 11.6 square kilometres. The highest point of the island is 240 metres (790 feet) above sea level. Fitzroy Island is a 45-minute ferry ride (about 30 km; 20 miles) from Cairns and is surrounded by a reef system that forms part of the

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef from damaging activities. It is a vast multiple-use Marine Park which supports a wide range of uses, including commercial marine tourism, fishing, ports an ...

. Nearly all of the continental island is protected within the Fitzroy Island National Park. Four walking tracks have been established to various parts of the island.

Climate

Fitzroy has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Am'') with a long, hot, wet season during the summer months, and a short, warm, relatively dry season during the winter months.

History

The island separated from the mainland about 8000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age. There were Aboriginal visits, mainly for visiting hunting trips and recreation. The

Yidiny people The Yidiny (also spelt Yidindj, Yidinji or Yidiñ), are an Aboriginal Australian people in Far North Queensland. Their language is the Yidiny language. Language The last fluent speakers of Yidiny were Tilly Fuller (d. October 1974), George Dav ...

named the island ''"Gabar"'', meaning "lower arm", because of how it was partially submerged. Lieutenant

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

named the island in 1770 after Augustus Henry Fitzroy. The island was used for a considerable time as a significant Chinese quarantine station for the Queensland goldfields. Subsequently, it was used as a mission school and, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, as a coast watch station. The island has also been a significant

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

base, with the last permanent lighthouse structure on the main island still being an important attraction. Since the lighthouse closed, the marine community has been served by an automatic lighthouse, based on the adjacent Little Fitzroy Island. There has been both a

giant clam ''Tridacna gigas'', the giant clam, is the best-known species of the giant clam genus ''Tridacna''. Giant clams are the largest living bivalve molluscs. Several other species of "giant clam" in the genus ''Tridacna'' are often misidentified as ...

farm at Welcome Bay, and there is now a tourist resort and day visitor centre.

Demographics

In the , Fitzroy Island had a population of 44 people. In the , Fitzroy Island had a population of 85 people.

Education

There are no schools on Fitzroy Island, nor nearby. The options are

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

and boarding school.

Attractions

The island is home to a 99-room resort with a restaurant, pool, swim up bar as well as a dive / activity centre. Originally opened in 1981, property developer Doug Gamble bought and renovated the resort in 2010. Island visitors can also spend time at Foxy's Bar and Cafe, a large Pacific Islands bar with a 70’s structural theming, situated right on the beach front, about 100 metres from the resort buildings. The resort manages the camping area.

References

External links

* {{1stVoyageCookAus Islands of Queensland Islands of Far North Queensland Great Barrier Reef Australian Aboriginal mythology Cultural landscapes of North-East Queensland Suburbs of Cairns Localities in Queensland Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton