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Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) is an
island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
on the eastern side of
Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...
on the coast of
South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. T ...
, Australia. The
Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...
lies on the east coast of the island. Moreton Island lies northeast of the Queensland capital,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
. 95% of the island is contained within a national park and a popular destination for day trippers, four wheel driving, camping, recreational angling and whale watching and a 75-minute ferry ride from Brisbane. It is the third largest
sand island A sand island is an island that is largely made of sand. The largest sand island in the world is Fraser Island, Australia. Other examples of large sand islands are Moreton Moreton may refer to: People Given name * Moreton John Wheatley (183 ...
in the world. Together with
Fraser Island Fraser Island (Butchulla: ) is a World Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fraser ...
, Moreton Island forms the largest sand structure in the world. It was the traditional country of the Ngugi before the onset of colonization. The island is within the
City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of the metropolitan area of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. Unlike LGAs in the other mainl ...
and is gazetted into four localities, the small townships of Bulwer (on the north-west coast),
Cowan Cowan Cowan Cowan is an island town and locality in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Cowan Cowan had a population of 28 people. History In the 2011 census, Moreton Island (including Cowan Cowan) had a populatio ...
(on the west coast) and Kooringal (on the south-west coast) with the bulk of the island being the locality of
Moreton Island Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) is an island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay on the coast of South East Queensland, Australia. The Coral Sea lies on the east coast of the island. Moreton Island lies northeast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane. ...
. The private Tangalooma Island Resort is also within the locality of Moreton Island. All residential areas are located on the western coast of the island facing Moreton Bay. The island was named by Matthew Flinders. At least five lighthouses have been built on the island. A small number of residents live in four small settlements. Tangalooma was the site of a whaling station. Access to the island is by vehicular barge or passenger ferry services. Moreton Island is a popular destination for camping and fishing. It is one of the wettest parts of the City of Brisbane with precipitation spread evenly throughout the year compared to other parts of South East Queensland. Cape Moreton receives an annual average rainfall of .


Geography

The island covers an area of approximately , and extends for from north to south and is at its widest point.
Cape Moreton Cape Moreton is a rocky headland at the north eastern tip of Moreton Island in South East Queensland, Australia. The surrounding area is part of the Moreton Island National Park. Flinders Reef is north-west of Cape Moreton. The outcrop is mos ...
, at the north eastern tip of the island, is the only rock outcrop on the island. It was named ''Cape Morton'' by Captain
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
in May 1770, and was at that time assumed to be part of the mainland. The current spelling came about because of a clerical error later. The highest point on the island is named
Mount Tempest Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
, which at is reputedly the highest, stabilised, coastal
sandhill A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and be ...
in the world. Close to Mount Tempest is another large sandhill—Storm Mountain at . High parabolic dunes are found along a central spine. Behind the beaches are many sand blow-outs where disturbances in natural dune vegetation has permitted high winds to blow sand inland. Moreton Island has a few freshwater lakes. A number of perched and window lakes have formed on the island over many years. As the water table beneath the Island fills with rain water large lakes are formed, with Blue Lagoon being the largest and most popular on the Eastern side of the island. Honeyeater Lake, renowned for its birdlife is the smaller sister lake to Blue Lagoon. Dolphin Lake near Tangalooma named because it resembles a wild dolphin. The smallest and most impressive is Lake Trusiak near Bulwer named after Polish island adventurer George Trusiak. Four small settlements exist on the western side of the island. The northernmost of these is Bulwer near the north western corner of the island, whilst
Cowan Cowan Cowan Cowan is an island town and locality in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Cowan Cowan had a population of 28 people. History In the 2011 census, Moreton Island (including Cowan Cowan) had a populatio ...
is approximately further south. Approximately further south lies the private Tangalooma Island Resort. This former whaling station features the Tangalooma Marine Education and Conservation Centre (TMECC) and is known for its dolphin feeding and
wreck diving Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificia ...
. Tangalooma is the main access point to the island with regular passenger ferry and vehicular barge services. The island's main airstrip is long and lies between Cowan Cowan and Tangalooma. The other settlement is Kooringal which is located near the southern tip of the island. This township has its own airstrip and was serviced by a vehicular barge that ran to
Amity Point Amity is a rural town and locality in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Amity had a population of 387 people. It is known as ''Pulan Pulan'' by the traditional owners, the Quandamooka people. Geography Amity i ...
on
North Stradbroke Island North Stradbroke Island ( Jandai: ''Minjerribah''), colloquially ''Straddie'' or ''North Straddie'', is an island that lies within Moreton Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, southeast of the centre of Brisbane. Originally there was onl ...
until April 2009 when the barge was sold off due to limited business and high operation costs. A new vehicular barge called the Amity Trader now services the same route.
Fort Cowan Cowan Fort Cowan Cowan is a heritage-listed World War II fortification at 30 Jessie Wadsworth Street, Moreton Island, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as RAN 3 Cowan Cowan, Fort Cowan and Cowan Cowan Battery. It was added t ...
, an old
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
bunker and fortification complex that was used to protect the approaches to Moreton Bay, is located north of Cape Cowan Cowan. The bar between the two islands is known as South Passage and is dangerous to cross in high seas.


History

Moreton Island is the traditional home of the Ngugi tribe. The islands contains numerous
shell midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...
s, indicating Aboriginal occupation of the island for at least 2000 years. While James Cook named the main headland on the island Cape Morton on the 17 May 1770, Those that came after him wrongly used "Moreton" it was
Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
who, on 31 July 1799, named the island. Castaways
Thomas Pamphlett Thomas Pamphlett (1788?–1838), sometimes Pamphlet, also known as James Groom, was a convict in colonial Australia. He is best known for his time as a castaway in the Moreton Bay area, halfway up the eastern coast of Australia, in 1823. He was mar ...
, John Finnegan and
Richard Parsons Richard Parsons may refer to: * Richard Parsons (diplomat) (1928–2016), British ambassador to Hungary, Spain and Sweden * Richard Parsons (businessman) (born 1948), former chairman of Citigroup and the former Chairman and CEO of Time Warner * Ri ...
traversed the island in March and April 1823 before heading to the mainland via Stradbroke Island. The Ngugi, who comprised an estimated 100 people, together with the
Nunukul The Nunukul, also spelt Noonuccal and known also as Moondjan are an Aboriginal Australian people, one of three Quandamooka peoples, who traditionally lived on Minjerribah, in Moreton Bay Area and in mainland Brisbane regions. Language The Nunu ...
of
North Stradbroke Island North Stradbroke Island ( Jandai: ''Minjerribah''), colloquially ''Straddie'' or ''North Straddie'', is an island that lies within Moreton Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, southeast of the centre of Brisbane. Originally there was onl ...
, clashed with whites establishing a presence on their islands, usually over matters related to native women. Between July 1831 and December 1832 some 30 to 40 of both groups were wounded or killed. In one sortie arranged by Captain Clunie of the 17th Regiment, a score of Ngugi, surprised by a dawn ambush, were shot down at a fresh water lagoon near the southern end of Moreton Island.* European residents settled on the island in 1848, after the ''Sovereign'' shipwrecked on the island and a
pilot station Pilot Station ( esu, Tuutalgaq) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 568 at the 2010 census, up from 550 in 2000. Geography Pilot Station is located at (61.936050, -162.883403), on the northern bank of t ...
was established at Bulwer. This pilot station was operated until 1909. The clipper '' Young Australia'' was wrecked on Moreton Island in 1872. At Cape Moreton is Queensland's oldest lighthouse,
Cape Moreton Light Cape Moreton Light, also listed as North Point Range Rear Light, is a heritage-listed active lighthouse located on Cape Moreton, a rocky headland located at the north eastern tip of Moreton Island, a large sand island on the eastern side of ...
, which was first lit in 1857. The lighthouse was followed by at least four other lighthouse erected since the 1860s, at Comboyuro Point, North Point, Cowan Cowan Point and Yellow Patch. During World War II, a number of defence installations were installed on the island by the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
and
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
. These sites included anti aircraft guns and mine control buildings. Their purpose was to protect the approaches to the port of Brisbane and at its peak 900 troops were stationed on the island. Between 1952 and 1962, Tangalooma, on the western side of the island, was the site of Queensland's only whaling station, with
humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hump ...
s being harvested on their annual migration north. Each season up to 600 whales were processed with a maximum of 11 whales per day. The site of the whaling station is now the Tangalooma Island Resort. The
flensing Flensing is the removing of the blubber or outer integument of whales, separating it from the animal's meat. Processing the blubber (the subcutaneous fat) into whale oil was the key step that transformed a whale carcass into a stable, transport ...
plan of the station still exists as part of the resort. Moreton Island was included in the Greater Brisbane area in 1974. The council initially permitted 60% of the island to potentially be sandmined, however a public outcry led to the council changing the zoning to open space. The sands on the island contain
rutile Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. Rarer Polymorphism (materials science), polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite. Rutile has one of the highest ...
and
zircon Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of the r ...
. The Queensland Government, led by
Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005), known as Joh Bjelke-Petersen, was a conservative Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, during ...
supported sandmining on the island and established the Cook Inquiry which produced a report recommending that 94% of the island be banned from mining. Despite this more mining licences were granted until 1984 when the Federal government announced it would decline export licences for the island's mineral sands. In 1989, then Premier of Queensland,
Wayne Goss Wayne Keith Goss (26 February 1951 – 10 November 2014) was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996, becoming the first Labor Premier of the state in over thirty two years. Prior to entering politics, Goss was a solic ...
halted mining of the island and compensated the companies involved. A salt-water
lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...
on the island was used as a temporary home to a
dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...
called Pig. Pig was the youngest dugong ever successfully reared in captivity. The dugong was placed in the lagoon to increase its natural
instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a v ...
s before being released into the wild.


Pacific Adventurer oil spill

On 11 March 2009 the container ship ''
MV Pacific Adventurer MV ''Pacific Mariner'', formerly MV ''Pacific Adventurer'', is a 1123 TEU geared multi-purpose container ship that gained notoriety after causing Queensland's largest oil spill on the east coast of Australia in March 2009. The ship is owned by ...
'' lost bunker oil and cargo north of Moreton Island during heavy seas that were generated by Tropical Cyclone Hamish. The ship reportedly lost 31 containers of ammonium nitrate and as much as 230 tonnes of bunker oil. The spilled bunker oil was washed ashore on beaches along the northern end of Moreton Island including Honeymoon Bay, as well as along Bribie Island and beaches on the Sunshine Coast. These have been deemed disaster areas, although a controversy has arisen as to the lack of early response as well as the refusal to accept offers of help or allow access to clean up the area.Helpers in Queensland oil slick being turned away
. Retrieved 14 March 2009
The ship's owners face the possibility of up to 2 million in fines and the skipper could have to pay up to $200,000. They may also be liable for up to $250 million for environmental damage to the shoreline. Britain's Swire Shipping Ltd., the Hong Kong-registered ship's owner, said containers aboard the ship had slipped from the deck as it rocked in cyclone-stirred waters, ripping a hole in a bunker oil tank and spilling the equivalent of more than of bunk oil into the sea. Later, the company said a diver's inspection of the hull had led it to conclude the amount of spilled bunk oil was "significantly more" than that, but did not give a replacement figure.


Native title recognition

The
Quandamooka people The Quandamooka people are Aboriginal Australians who live around Moreton Bay in Southeastern Queensland. They are composed of three distinct tribes, the Nunukul, the Goenpul and the Ngugi, and they live primarily on Moreton and North Stradbro ...
were granted native title of Mulgumpin on 27 November 2019. Joint management of the national park gives responsibility for camping book to the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation


Heritage listings

Moreton Island has a number of
heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...
sites, including: * Cape Moreton:
Cape Moreton Light Cape Moreton Light, also listed as North Point Range Rear Light, is a heritage-listed active lighthouse located on Cape Moreton, a rocky headland located at the north eastern tip of Moreton Island, a large sand island on the eastern side of ...
station * 25 Dorothy Newnham Street: Signal Station, Moreton Island * 30 Jessie Wadsworth Street: Fort Cowan Cowan (Cowan Cowan Battery) The island was also listed in 1981 on the now-defunct
Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...
.


Recreation

Established in 1966, 98% of the island is contained within the
Moreton Island National Park Gheebulum Kunungai (Moreton Island) is a national park which covers 98% of Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) in Queensland, Australia, 58km northeast of Brisbane. It has three main townships, Bulwer, Cowan Cowan and Kooringal. The island is home to ...
, which has a
World Conservation Union The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
(IUCN) category of II. The park is managed by the
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) is a business division of the Department of Environment and Science within the Government of Queensland. The division’s primary concern is with the management and maintenance of protected areas ...
. Camping and four wheel driving is permitted and possible in many parts, with the appropriate fee. Motor vehicle access is by ferry, but is for four wheel drive vehicles only, as there are no sealed roads on the island. Camping is permitted, however permits must be obtained on the mainland. There are plenty of recreational activities including sand tobogganing which Moreton is famous for, snorkeling & diving, bird watching, feeding dolphins, whale watching from land, fishing and
parasail Parasailing, also known as parascending, paraskiing or parakiting, is a recreational kiting activity where a person is towed behind a vehicle while attached to a specially designed canopy wing that resembles a parachute, known as a parasail w ...
ing. There are more islands to the south, South Stradbroke Island and North Stradbroke Island, and to the north;
Bribie Island Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island is ...
and
Fraser Island Fraser Island (Butchulla: ) is a World Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fraser ...
(reputed to be the biggest sand island in the world, Moreton Island being the third largest to Fraser).


Management plan

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 fr ...
implemented a new management plan called the Moreton Island Management Plan on 1 July 2007. This plan includes a new camping booking system, designated routes for quads, trikes and trail bikes and other zoning which defines rules for access and recreational opportunities. The plan incorporated existing fire management plans, pest and plant control measures and
feral animal A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
eradication programs.


Transport

Access to the island is via vehicle ferry service from the Moreton Island Adventures MICAT at
Port of Brisbane Port of Brisbane is the shipping port and coastal suburb of the City of Brisbane, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. In the , Port of Brisbane had no residents living in the suburb. The port is the largest in the state of Queensland. ...
in Lytton, and the resort passenger services on the Tangalooma Island Resort Fleet departing from the Brisbane River at Holt St
Pinkenba Pinkenba is a town and eastern coastal suburb within the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Pinkenba had a population of 368 people. Geography Pinkenba is a long narrow strip of land on the northern side of the Brisbane River ...
. A service from Amity Point on North Stradbroke Island was discontinued. Timetable details are available at . The Combie Trader barge service from
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
in
Redcliffe City The Redcliffe Peninsula is a peninsula located in the Moreton Bay Region LGA in the northeast of the Brisbane metropolitan area in Queensland, Australia. The area covers the suburbs of Clontarf, Kippa-Ring, Margate, Newport, Redcliffe, Ro ...
to Bulwer no longer operates. It ceased in July 2008 due to matters with the terminal and landing areas. There is no public bus service on the island. Tours and taxi transfers by four wheel drive (off-road) vehicles operate from Bulwer. Private vehicles may be brought to the island by ferry. They can be driven on the island but require a vehicle access permit as the island is a national park. Four wheel drive (off-road) vehicles are necessary as roads are unsealed and often sandy tracks beyond resort areas. Many beaches, particularly on the east shore, also serve as roads. There is little or no petrol on the island.


See also

* List of islands of Queensland *
Protected areas of Queensland Queensland is the second largest state in Australia. It contains around 500 separate protected areas. In 2020, it was estimated a total of 14.2 million hectares or 8.25% of Queensland's landmass was protected. List of terrestrial protected are ...


References


External links


Moreton Island HistoryImage of Northern tip of Moreton IslandMoreton Oil Spill Recovery Website
{{Authority control Islands of Moreton Bay Beaches of Queensland Geography of Brisbane Barrier islands Queensland in World War II Queensland places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate