Wonga Beach is a coastal

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

Shire of Douglas The Shire of Douglas is a local government area in Far North Queensland. It is located on the coast north of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mossman, covers an area of , and existed as a local government entity f ...

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. The town of Wonga is within the locality. In the , Wonga Beach had a population of 975 people.

Geography

Wonga Beach is a beachside locality situated between the small residential towns of Rocky Point (sometimes referred to as Dayman Point) and the Daintree township. It is approximately north of the town of Mossman. In 1985 a large volcanic eruption beneath the Coral Sea released thousands of

Pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular v ...

stones to the ocean surface which were then blown along north Queensland's shore by the trade winds.101 things to do in daintree, http://daintree.info/101thingstodoindaintree.htm

History

Rocky Point State School opened on 23 February 1939, about south of the current school at Rocky Point. In 1999, the school was relocated to Wonga Beach and renamed Wonga Beach State School. Most of the Rocky Point school buildings were sold for housing, but one was relocated to Wonga Beach. In the , Wonga Beach had a population of 746 people. In the , Wonga Beach had a population of 975 people.

Fauna

Birdwatchers visit Wonga Beach to see three uncommon bird species: Gould's bronze cuckoo, double-eyed fig-parrot and the

beach stone-curlew The beach stone-curlew (''Esacus magnirostris'') also known as beach thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird that occurs in Australasia, the islands of South-east Asia. At and , it is one of the world's largest shorebirds. At a mean of in ...

. The last species is easily confused with the ubiquitous

bush stone-curlew The bush stone-curlew or bush thick-knee, also known as the Iben bird (''Burhinus grallarius'', obsolete name ''Burhinus magnirostris'') is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. Its favoured habitat is open plains and woodlands, whe ...

noted for its wailing calls at night.

Services

In addition to automotive fuels, the Caltex service station incorporates a small convenience store with an ATM. The site was previously run as a British Petroleum and before that Mobil but changed to Caltex in 2007. Nearby there are picnic tables, a post box, telephone booth and a display of model cassowaries. In 2011 three shops were added to the complex. A pharmacy opened, and the other shops are available to rent. The Caltex service station is the only fuel outlet in the Daintree Valley and opens early (5:30am) and closes at 8:30pm.

Education

Wonga Beach State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 48-74 Snapper Island Drive (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 90 students with 10 teachers (6 full-time equivalent) and 7 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent). The school is known as a SunSmart school (an initiative of The Cancer Council Australia), enforcing strict rules on UV-protection. The school has a large area of swampland, the maintenance of which has been made a school project, with an 'eco-maze' currently being developed in the site. School buses run twice daily from New Wonga to Old Wonga, then on to Mossman. These buses are not available to the public. There are no secondary schools in Wonga Beach. The nearest government secondary school is Mossman State High School in Mossman to the south-west.

References

External links

* {{authority control Shire of Douglas Beaches of Queensland Localities in Queensland