Palfrey Island is part of the Lizard Island Group and south of

Lizard Island Lizard Island is an island on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland (Australia), northwest of Brisbane and part of the Lizard Island Group that also includes Palfrey Island. It is part of the Lizard Island National Park. Lizard Island is within ...

proper, being 270 km north of

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. There is an automated lighthouse structure situated on this island.

Geography

Lizard Island is a high granite island about 7 square kilometres in size, with three smaller islands nearby (Palfrey, South and Bird). Together these islands form the Lizard Island Group and their well-developed fringing reef encircles the 10 metre deep Blue Lagoon. The only settlements on the island are the Research Station, the Lizard Island Resort operated by Delaware North Australia Parks & Resorts and a basic camping area operated by the Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service. All islands in the Lizard Island Group are part of the

Lizard Island National Park Lizard Island is an island on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland (Australia), northwest of Brisbane and part of the Lizard Island Group that also includes Palfrey Island, Queensland, Palfrey Island. It is part of the Lizard Island National Par ...

, administered by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Lizard Island is situated in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, administered jointly by the

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority 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 ...

and the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency. Permits are required for all manipulative research in the Lizard Island Group and the waters surrounding it. The Lizard Island Group is a mid-shelf reef, situated 30 kilometres from the Australian mainland. Most reef and island types characteristic of the Great Barrier Reef are accessible from the Research Station.

Historic significance

During his epic voyage of 1770,

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 and ...

climbed the peak on Lizard Island to chart a course out to sea through the maze of reefs which confronted him.

References

{{Reflist Islands on the Great Barrier Reef Shire of Cook