Green Island (originally ''Dabuukji'') is a marine island and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

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. H ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. In the Green Island had a population of 25 people.

Geography

Green Island is coral cay offshore from

Cairns, Queensland Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, Australia located within 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 ...

World Heritage Area A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in the Coral Sea. The island is surrounded by coral reef and protected in the Green Island National Park. Most visitors come for the day. A luxury resort with 46 rooms is situated on the island. The island supports a range of vegetation, including dry coastal/beach plants and a vine thicket rain forest. There are no natural freshwater springs on the island so all vegetation relies on rainwater and a small freshwater lens located under the island.

History

The island was formed approximately 6,000 years ago by waves depositing sand, coral and other debris onto its coral foundations. Local Aboriginal language speakers (Roy Banning, Robert Patterson, and Henry Fourmile) advised and confirmed the Gungganyji language group are especially connected with the island. To them it is named ''Dabuukji''.Martyn, Julie (1993) ''The History of Green Island: The Place of Spirits'' Cairns: Bolton Inprint, ''Dabuukji'', as a name, may refer to the island having been within local Aboriginal mythology and history a larger island with a freshwater marsh or 'hole' (later a well) at its centre. Alternatively it may be a reference to the story of the turtle which first obtained holes in its nose (nostrils) on this coral cay. It may also be a reference to some aspect of young Gungganyji male initiation rituals reported to have been conducted on this coral cay in times past. The local Aboriginal people (particularly Dick Moses, speaking Yidinyji) say that in the

Dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...

''Dabuukji'' (Green Island) was approximately four times the size it is now, and that the present coral cay is only the north-east portion of the whole, original island. Local Aboriginal people have grown up with the understanding the coral cay was a place to be generally avoided, being ''wunjami'', that is, "a place haunted by spirits". The

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

has gazetted ''Green Island'' as the cay's official name, this being the name given it by Lieutenant James Cook on 10 June 1770, either because of the appearance of the coral cay's vegetation, or possibly after Charles Green, who was an astronomer aboard the Endeavour at the time. The first known non Aboriginal person to reside on the island was fisherman James Seton Veitch Mein in 1857 who established a

beche-de-mer Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea. They can be used as food, in fresh or dried form, in various cuisines. In some cultural contexts the sea cucumber is thought to have medicinal value. The creature and the food product ...

smoking station. Coconut palms were planted on the island in 1899 to provide food for shipwrecked sailors. In April 1873, the ''Goodwill'' vessel arrived at Green Island with 3 European crew and 5

Manbarra The Manbarra, otherwise known as the Wulgurukaba, are Aboriginal Australian people, and the traditional custodians of the Palm Islands, Magnetic Island, and an area of mainland Queensland to the west of Townsville. The Manbarra people were forci ...

people press-ganged from Palm Island to collect and process

beche de mer Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea. They can be used as food, in fresh or dried form, in various cuisines. In some cultural contexts the sea cucumber is thought to have medicinal value. The creature and the food product ...

. The Aboriginals, including 3 men and 2 women, resented their treatment and killed two of the whites and stole the "Goodwill". The third, Daniel Kelly, escaped to nearby Oyster Quay Island to report the killings to another beche-de-mer fisherman named Philip Garland. The incident was reported to authorities in Cardwell and the Queensland Police Commissioner Seymour ordered

Native Police Australian native police units, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under the command (usually) of at least one white officer, existed in various forms in all Australian mainland colonies during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into the twentie ...

officer

Robert Arthur Johnstone Robert Arthur Johnstone (1843 – 16 January 1905) was an officer in the Native Police paramilitary force which operated in the British imperial colony of Queensland. He was stationed at various locations in central and northern Queensland betw ...

to organise a punitive mission. Johnstone and his troopers sailed to the area in their police boat and found the "Goodwill" abandoned and burnt on a beach in Trinity Bay where the modern-day community of

Yarrabah Yarrabah (traditionally ''Yagaljida'' in the Yidin language spoken by the indigenous Yidinji people is a coastal town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Yarrabah recorded a populat ...

is now located. "The blacks were given a proper warm reception" when Johnstone arrived and after proceeding inland for 3 miles his troopers dispersed another group of local

Yidinji 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 ...

first by firing on them from a distance and then charging amongst them. Johnstone's section then sailed to the mouth of what is now called the

Mulgrave River The Mulgrave River, incorporating the East Mulgrave River and the West Mulgrave River, is a river system located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The -long river flows towards the Coral Sea and is located approximately south of . Locatio ...

and dispersed "a large mob of blacks" with gunfire. They then sailed further south to the Gladys Inlet (which is now known as the

Johnstone River The Johnstone River, comprising the North Johnstone River and the South Johnstone River, is a river system located in Far North and North Queensland, Australia. The headwaters of the river system rise in the Atherton Tablelands. The north ...

) where a large group of Aboriginals led by a very tall man decorated with pipeclay resisted the troopers' approach. Johnstone punished their "insolence" with gunfire and this leader was one of those killed in the shooting. In July 1873, four workers, including the owner James Mercer, at another beche-de-mer fishing station on Green Island were killed by press-ganged

labourers. These Palm Island natives were denied food rations for their work and subsequently killed their overseers in revenge. The record is unclear on whether another punitive mission was organised but the regional newspapers at the time were strong in their contempt for the

people and hoped for their "final extermination" whether it be by bullets or by rum. Since the early 20th century, tourism has been the main activity on the island. A guest house was originally built in the 1930s and an underwater observatory was installed in 1954. In 1970 Queen Elizabeth II, The Duke of Edinburgh and Her Royal Highness Princess Anne toured Australia including Queensland. The Queensland tour began on Sunday 12 April when the royal yacht ''Britannia'' entered Moreton Bay at Caloundra, sailing into Newstead Wharf. After visiting Brisbane, Longreach and Mount Isa the Royal Family travelled to Mackay. The royal party had a leisurely cruise to Townsville. According to the formal schedule, the Royal Yacht ''Britannia'' arrived off Green Island on the morning of 21 April, after leaving Townsville the day before. The scheduled visit to Green Island was dependent on the weather. All three members of the Royal family were taken by Royal Barge to the Green Island jetty. The visit only lasted 30mins, before ''Britannia'' left for Cooktown by 10:15am the same day. The current resort, Green Island Reef Resort, was opened in 1994. A seawater desalination plant was commissioned to supply water to the resort in 2001. The plant supplies 55 kL/d of potable water, and returns waste brine to the sea.Referral detail - Green Island Desalination Plant
''Government of Australia, Department of Environment. ''Retrieved 7 January 2014.

Education

There are no schools on Green Island. The nearest schools are in Cairns.

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

and boarding schools are other options.

Transport

Commercial charter boats, helicopter and seaplane services all provide transport to the island. The island is reachable by a 45-minute catamaran ride from the mainland city of Cairns.

References

External links

*
Green Island Resort
- Queensland Holidays. {{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