Picnic Bay (formerly Camoomilli) is a town and

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Magnetic Island Magnetic Island ( Wulguru: Yunbenun) is an island offshore from the city of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. This mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville, with 2,335 permanent residents. The island ...

in the

City of Townsville The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock ...

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 , established_ ...

, Australia. In the , Picnic Bay had a population of 291 people. It is named for the bay on the southernmost corner of

where the town is situated.

Geography

The town of Picnic Bay is on the southernmost point of the island. It has Cockle Bay () to the west, the bay Picnic Bay () to the south and Rocky Bay () to the east. Nobby Head which is also known as Point Burgamunda () separates the Cockle Bay coast from the Picnic Bay beach, while Hawkins Point () separates Picnic Bay coast from the Rocky Bay coast. Until recently, the bay was the landing site for ferry services from the mainland, but ferries now arrive at a new terminal at nearby Nelly Bay.

History

Early European settlement

On 27 September 1877, 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 ...

sold 100 allotments in the "Town of Camoomillla situate on Picnic Bay". The first known settlement of Picnic Bay was by Harry Butler and his family who established a small dairy, orchard and mixed farm in Picnic Bay in 1877 when Magnetic Island was declared a quarantine station. The family experimented in the cultivation of pineapples in the bay and as part of a tourism venture built a guest house establishing an intermittent ferry service from Townsville. The Butler family cared for the sick who were quarantined on the island prior to the construction of the permanent quarantine station at West Point. Having purchased the Butler family's huts in Picnic Bay in 1898 Robert Hayles, an entrepreneur formerly a pastoral worker in western Queensland, erected a two storey hotel, dance hall and a temporary jetty at the western end of the bay to establish a larger tourist operation in the bay.

1900-1949

In 1900 Hayles applied to build a permanent wooden jetty (6 feet wide and 100 feet long). The jetty was approved by the Queensland Marine Department in March 1900 and the jetty hurriedly constructed. In 1903

Cyclone Leonta Cyclone Leonta was a tropical cyclone that caused severe damage in North Queensland on 9 March 1903. It lasted for around twelve hours, and was the most damaging cyclone ever to hit Townsville at that time, surpassing Cyclone Sigma of 1896, wi ...

struck Townsville and Magnetic Island and caused serious damage to Hayles' new jetty. Hayles carried out extensive repairs on the structure but by 1910 the structure was in poor condition. In 1909 Hayles was granted a creek-front location in Ross Creek on the mainland and was able to establish a consistent passenger service to Magnetic Island. With Hayles establishing a regular ferry service to Magnetic Island the permanent population of the Island began to grow. In June 1910 Hayles was granted another permit to construct a jetty in Picnic Bay. Although it is unclear whether the second jetty was constructed in addition to the one constructed in 1900 or to replace it, a letter dated February 1917 from the Townsville Harbour Board to the Marine Department acknowledges the presence of two privately owned jetties in the bay. In 1911, Hayles' hotel was destroyed by a fire and a new hotel began construction. At around the same time, Hayles further expanded his business on Magnetic Island launching further tourism ventures in Nelly Bay, Horseshoe Bay and

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

. In June 1920 the Townsville Harbour Board were vested control of the jetty at Picnic Bay, as well as those established in other bays. In November 1916, the Queensland Government reserved at Camoomilli for a school. Magnetic Island State School opened on 1 March 1917. On 24 September 1925 it was renamed Picnic Bay State School. It closed in 1970. Magnetic Island Post Office opened on 1 July 1927 (a

receiving office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

had been open from 1912). It was renamed Picnic Bay in 1935. With the outbreak of war in 1939 Hayles' facilities in Picnic Bay were commandeered by Australian defense forces as a rest and recreation camp for service personnel and were not returned until the end of

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 ...

in 1945. Hayles undertook a large upgrade of the facilities on Magnetic Island during the period following the war including upgrades of roads, buildings and the dredging of a channel for vessels entering Picnic Bay.

1950 onwards

In 1957 a permit was issued for a construction of a new jetty in picnic bay by the Department of Harbours and Marine. Successfully completed in October 1959, the Picnic Bay Jetty was completed by John Holland using £43,000 financed by The Commonwealth Aid Marine Works Trust Fund . It was leased from 1960 to 1981 to Hayles Magnetic Island Pty Ltd. (established by Robert Hayles in 1922) who were also responsible for maintenance of the structure during the lease period. On 1 December 1962 the

Queensland Place Names Board ) , 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 , established_ ...

officially gazetted the town with the name ''Picnic Bay'' which was in common use, replacing the former town name of ''Camoomilli''. The suburb was formally named and bounded on 12 June 1992. On Christmas Eve 1971 Magnetic Island and Townsville were struck by

Cyclone Althea Severe Tropical Cyclone Althea was a powerful tropical cyclone that devastated parts of North Queensland just before Christmas 1971. One of the strongest storms ever to affect the Townsville area, Althea was the fourth system and second severe ...

, While the Picnic Bay jetty remained structurally sound despite receiving some damage, serious damage was inflicted upon most buildings in the bay and foliage stripped off trees. In 1977 a shelter was erected for passengers waiting for ferries at the end of the Picnic Bay jetty by the

Townsville City Council The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock an ...

. In 1985 the Townsville Harbour board gained approval to build a larger shelter shed on the Jetty. Following the completion of Magnetic Harbour in 2003 ferry operations to the Picnic Bay jetty ceased In 2020 the city council invested in new underwater lighting for the jettyIn July 2022, Maggie Island Brewery opened.

Demographics

At the , Picnic Bay had a population of 360. At the , Picnic Bay had a population of 291. At the , Picnic Bay had a population of 367.

Heritage listings

Picnic Bay 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: * Esplanade ():

Picnic Bay Jetty Picnic Bay Jetty is a heritage-listed jetty at Esplanade, Picnic Bay, Magnetic Island, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1959 to 1977. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 April 2004. History The ...

* Granite Street (): former Picnic Bay State School

Transport

Picnic Bay is connected to the other bays of Magnetic Island by road. It is connected to the island's eastern towns by Nelly Bay Road, which climbs Hawkings Point from the northeastern corner of the bay, east over the point where it follows the coastline down into Nelly Bay. It is also connected to the western towns, Cockle Bay and West Point, by partially sealed West Point Road, which starts at the end of Yule Street in the northwestern corner of the bay. The town is serviced by Magnetic Island Bus Service, which runs regular services to coincide with Ferry arrivals and departures at the Nelly Bay Ferry Terminal. The foreshore bus stop, which is located at the base of the Picnic Bay Jetty is the

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

for bus services which run from Horseshoe Bay, via

and Nelly Bay. Picnic Bay is also serviced by Magnetic Island Taxi Service and a number of vehicle hire companies operate in Picnic Bay and Nelly Bay which allow tourists to hire vehicles for use on the Island's road network. Use of hire vehicles on West Point Road is discouraged by vehicle hire companies due to a large portion of the road being unsealed and impassible in most vehicles.

Education

There are no schools in Picnic Bay. The nearest primary school is Magnetic Island State School in Nelly Bay on the island. The nearest secondary school is

Townsville State High School Townsville State High School, also known as Town High, is a secondary school in Railway Estate, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. History Townsville State High School was established in 1924 as part of the Townsville Technical College at th ...

Railway Estate Railway Estate is a suburb of Townsville in the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In the Railway Estate had a population of 2,852 people. Geography Railway Estate is located on the south end of Ross Island, bounded by Ross Creek ...

on the Townsville mainland.

Amenities

The town of Picnic Bay features an open-air shopping complex, The Picnic Bay Mall, and a patrolled beach along the waterfront. The town also has the Magnetic Island Golf Course () and the Magnetic Island Police Station ().

Attractions

Off the coast the wreck of the George Rennie is visible at low tide ().

References

External links

Magnetic Island Website
* {{authority control Towns in Queensland Bays of Queensland Suburbs of Townsville Queensland in World War II Magnetic Island