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Hamilton Island is an
island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
of the
Whitsunday Islands The Whitsunday Islands are 74 continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Brisbane. The northernmost of the islands are off the coast by the town of Bowen, while the southernmost islands ar ...
in
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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. It is approximately north of
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
and south of
Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...
. It is the largest inhabited island of the Whitsunday Islands and a popular year-round tourist destination. Hamilton Island is one of the only islands in the
Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
with a commercial airport, offering direct flights from
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. In the , Hamilton Island had a population of 1,759 people.


Geography

Like most in the Whitsunday group, Hamilton Island was formed as sea levels rose, creating numerous drowned mountains that are situated close to the east coast of Queensland. It is one of the larger islands in the Whitsundays. The central north-facing Catseye Beach is man-made. It is open to the public as well as the island's guests.


Climate

Hamilton Island has a
tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Aw'') with a hot, rainy season during the summer and a warm, relatively dry season during the winter months. The previous site, which collected data from 1985 to 2002, is still open. Measurements are now taken from the airport, 1.5 km away.


History

Hamilton Island is believed to be named after a crew member of the survey vessels that charted the area in 1866-8. The island was purchased in 1975 by Keith Williams and Bryan Byrt for a grazing lease. In 1978, Keith Williams commenced construction of Hamilton Island Harbour and the resort complex shortly after. The resort opened in phases between 1982 and 1984. In 1985, a fire destroyed most of the central portion of the resort complex, which was completely rebuilt by 1986. The current Whitsunday Holiday Apartments opened in 1986 followed by the current Reef View Hotel in 1990. In 1992 the resort was placed in receivership and between 1995 and 2003 it was owned by BT Australia and managed by
Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...
for a portion of that time. In 1999, the five-star Beach Club opened. The island was purchased by the Oatley family, operators of a winemaking business, in 2003 and was listed for sale in 2023. Hamilton Island State School opened on 28 January 1986. In 1987
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
and his wife Olivia Harrison built a compound on the island in the South Pacific theme, which they called "Letsbeavenue". They lived there seasonally throughout the remainder of George's life. The residence still exists and is located on Melaleuca Ave, but was sold by the family in 2008. In 2009, there were two key infrastructure and tourism developments completed for the resort: the Hamilton Island Yacht Club, officially completed and opened by former Queensland Premier
Anna Bligh Anna Maria Bligh (born 14 July 1960) is an Australian lobbyist and former politician who served as the 37th Premier of Queensland, in office from 2007 to 2012 as leader of the Queensland Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch), Labor Party. ...
during Hamilton Island Race Week, and the
Hamilton Island Golf Club Hamilton Island Golf Club is a golf course located in near the Island Resort Town of Hamilton Island in Queensland's Whitsunday Islands The Whitsunday Islands are 74 continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensla ...
's new championship resort course, which opened in August 2009. The 18-hole course, on neighbouring Dent Island, measures and is billed as the only championship island golf course in Australia. In 2009, Tourism Queensland promoted the
Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
as a global tourism destination with a website encouraging people worldwide to apply for " The Best Job in the World", to be a "Caretaker of the Islands" to "house-sit" the islands of the Great Barrier Reef for half a year, based on Hamilton Island.(12 January 2009)
BBC: Wanted: Paradise island 'caretaker'
. BBC News. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
Glen Scanlon (12 January 2009)

. CNN. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
In September 2016, it was reported by
news media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc. History Some of the fir ...
outlets that the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP) had issued damage mitigation permits that resulted in over 1,000 animals being culled on Hamilton Island between November 2014 and May 2016 by the resort's operator. Over 18 months, the cull resulted in the death of 599
common brushtail possum The common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula'', from the Ancient Greek, Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae ...
s, 393 agile wallabies, 36 pied currawongs, 35
sulphur-crested cockatoo The sulphur-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua galerita'') is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being ...
s, three
torresian crow The Torresian crow (''Corvus orru''), also called the Australian crow or Papuan crow, is a passerine bird in the crow family native to the north and west of Australia and nearby islands in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The species has a black p ...
s and a
laughing kookaburra The laughing kookaburra (''Dacelo novaeguineae'') is a bird in the kingfisher subfamily Halcyoninae. It is a large robust kingfisher with a whitish head and a brown eye-stripe. The upperparts are mostly dark brown but there is a mottled light ...
. The EHP stated the role of the permits were to allow the "ongoing management of some wildlife species to prevent unacceptable levels of damage, and to protect public safety at the airport and in the resort itself". The resort management stated that "any culling of animals and birds is done as a last resort when all other methods have been exhausted". The RSPCA were unaware of any culling on the Island. The resort's management carried out the culls “to prevent damage or loss of property and to protect the health and wellbeing of staff, guests and other visitors”. Social media users were critical of the cull.


Demographics

In the , Hamilton Island had a population of 1,208 people. In the , Hamilton Island had a population of 1,867 people. In the , Hamilton Island had a population of 1,759 people.


Education

Hamilton Island State School caters for students from the Preparatory Year to Year 6. It is in the north-west of the island between the marina and Catseye Beach (). The school also offers a range of extra-curricular offerings, such as year 4, 5 and 6 students having the opportunity to learn how to sail, and from 2018 year 4 students will have the opportunity to complete a PADI Seal Diving certificate. There are no secondary schools on the island nor nearby. The options are
distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...
and boarding school.


Facilities

Drinking water is provided by a combination of rainwater recycling, a dam, and seawater desalination. A
reverse osmosis Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane, semi-permeable membrane to separate water molecules from other substances. RO applies pressure to overcome osmotic pressure that favors even distribu ...
seawater desalination plant was commissioned in 1996 and can supply up to 1.3 million litres of potable water per day. The plant's seawater intake is driven by two vertical turbine pumps installed on a purpose made jetty. Waste brine is discharged to a pit where it gravitates to an ocean outfall away from the seawater intake. Electricity is provided by an undersea cable connected to the mainland, as well as by generators on the island. Hamilton Island Airport, was one of the earlier infrastructure installations and was built in the early 1980s. The island hosts approximately 500 weddings per year at various venues. Neighbouring Dent Island was purchased by the Oatley family and now houses the world-class Hamilton Island Golf Course.
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
stayed at the luxury resort, Qualia, in 2015.


Transport

Hamilton Island Airport is the only airport in the Whitsunday Islands that is big enough to cater for larger commercial aircraft. Hamilton Island is also served by several
ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...
, which can only carry passengers. Mainland motor vehicles are prohibited on the island with the exception of those for tradespeople and island public transport.


See also

*
List of islands of Australia This is a list of selected Australian islands grouped by state or territory. Australia has 8,222 islands within its maritime borders. Largest islands The islands larger than are: * Tasmania (Tas) ; * Melville Island, Northern Territory (NT ...
*
Tourism in Australia Tourism in Australia is an important part of the Economy of Australia, Australian economy, and comprises domestic and international visitors. Australia is the fortieth most visited country in the world according to the World Tourism Organ ...


References


External links


Hamilton Island Official Website

University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Hamilton Island
{{Authority control Whitsunday Islands Ansett Australia Coastal towns in Queensland Car-free islands of Oceania