Flying Fish Point is a coastal town,

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

and headland in the

Cassowary Coast Region The Cassowary Coast Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Far North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, south of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and centred on the towns of Innisfail, Queensland, Innisfail, ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. In the , the locality of Flying Fish Point had a population of 395 people.

Geography

Flying Fish Point is on the northern shore of the mouth of the

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

as it enters the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

History

The town was originally called Musgrave, but on 1 December 1961 it was officially changed to Flying Fish Point. The town's name comes from the headland, which in turn was named by explorer

George Elphinstone Dalrymple George Augustus Frederick Elphinstone Dalrymple (6 May 1826 – 22 January 1876) was a colonist, explorer, public servant and politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. He founded the towns of Bowen and Cardwell, and pionee ...

on 4 October 1873, after the twelve ton cutter Flying Fish which was the principal vessel of his North East Coast Expedition. The southern shore of the mouth of the Johnstone River, Coquette Point, was named after another cutter in the expedition. C Thomas Henry Fitzgerald had successfully established sugarcane plantations in the Mackay area and in April 1880 came to Flying Fish Point and planted

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

there on 15 June 1880. The focus of his sugarcane interests shifted further up the Johnstone River resulting in the establishing of Geraldton (later Innisfail) as the major sugarcane growing area. Flying Fish Point with its sandy beach instead became a popular holiday town for the area. The first Catholic mass was celebrated in Flying Fish Point on 1 January 1940 in Edwin Shaw's hut. Flying Fish Point Provisional School opened on 23 January 1899. It closed on a number of occasions due to low student numbers. It also closed for a period in 1918 after the school building was destroyed in a cyclone in March 1918. The school also closed for a period in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from about February 1942 when people were evacuated from the district due to fears of a Japanese invasion but the school did not reopen until 1947. It is unclear when it became Flying Fish Point State School as it is today.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Flying Fish Point had a population of 425 people. In the , the locality of Flying Fish Point had a population of 395 people.

Education

Flying Fish Point State School is a government co-educational primary (P-6) school on Maud Street (). In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 56 students with 5 teachers (4 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent).

Community groups

The Flying Fish Point branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

meets at QCWA Hall on Alice Street.

Amenities

The town is home to the Flying Fish Point Tourist Park
. Tripadvisor. Retrieved 19 September 2021

Gallery

Image:Flying Fish Point beach.jpg, Flying Fish Point Beach Image:Flying Fish Point sign.jpg, Beach Warning Sign Image:Flying Fish Point CP.jpg, Flying Fish Point Tourist Park Image:Flying Fish Point cafe.jpg, Flying Fish Point Cafe

References

External links

*
Town map of Flying Fish Point, 1984
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Cassowary Coast Region Localities in Queensland