Magnetic Island ( Wulguru: ''Yunbenun'') is an island offshore from the city of

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

, Queensland, Australia. This mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville. The island is accessible from Townsville Breakwater to Nelly Bay Harbour by ferry. There is a large National Park and bird sanctuary and walking tracks can be taken between the populated bays and to a number of tourist destinations such as the

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 ...

forts. The island is a holiday destination with many hotels and several resorts in operation to cater for all levels of service. The public facilities and infrastructure on the island are managed by the Townsville City Council. The island is part of the

electoral district of Townsville Townsville is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland. The seat is one of four within the Townsville urban area in North Queensland, and covers the Eastern and Northern suburbs of the City of Tow ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

, and part of the federal seat of Herbert, which is represented by Phillip Thompson. There are five settlements, namely Arcadia, Horseshoe Bay, Nelly Bay, Picnic Bay, and

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. Geographic features include Rocky Bay, Picnic Bay and Hawkings Point, around its southern extremity, a bay, Nelly Bay to the east-north-east of Rocky Bay, followed by Geoffrey Bay, with Bremner Point as its northern arm. Horseshoe Bay is on the northern coast, and Cockle Bay Reef off the western coast. In the , Magnetic Island had a population of 2,475 people.

Naming

The Wulguru name for the island is ''Yunbenun''. The first European accounts of the island come from

Captain James Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

who, in 1770, while navigating the Australian coast, called the island ''Magnetical Island'', as a magnetic pull interfering with his vessel's compass appeared to emanate from the island. People have since explored the general area of Magnetic Island with various instruments to discover what might have caused the effect that Cook reported, but nothing has been discovered. Local names for the island are "Maggie Isle", "Maggie Island", or "The Island".

History

Pre-European settlement

Yunbenun is the traditional land of the Wulgurukaba people. It had a transient population of Aboriginal people well before European exploration of the area. They had seasonal camps at a number of bays, and travelled between the island and mainland using

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

s. A number of Aboriginal burial sites are said to exist on the island, but have so far not been identified. Aboriginal

midden A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human oc ...

s and cave drawings can still be found in a number of bays around Yunbenun. Folklore of the local Wulguru tribe recounts a long association with the island and annual migrations to the mainland to avoid expeditions of head-hunters from

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

and the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...

, which used the northern trade winds to travel south along the Queensland coast. This head-hunting nearly ceased following the arrival of missionaries, led by Samuel MacFarlane to the Torres Straits in 1871.

European settlement and development

J.M. Black, funded by Robert Towns, founded the township of Townsville on the mainland nearby. As Townsville developed through the mid-19th century, Magnetic Island became a valuable location for the gathering of hoop pine and

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, the latter of which was used in the reclamation of land for the Port of Townsville, and for construction of Townsville's Customs House. Picnic Bay was named after its popularity as a picnic spot for European tourists from the mainland during the 19th century, before Magnetic Island was first inhabited by Europeans. In the mid-19th century the island became a popular location for the collection of stone and coral needed for development on the mainland. Even substantial quantities of gold were mined in 1886. In 1875, the island was set aside as a

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

station although it took another ten years for the proper facilities to be set up at West Point. In November 1884 the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

accepted a tender from Leisner and Sparre to construct the quarantine station for £3645. It was only after the tender was accepted that the site on

on the north-west was actually chosen. In 1896 Cyclone Sigma tore across the island and through Townsville. At least 23 people died, many buildings destroyed and boats wrecked. The ketch ''Lalla Rookh'' was torn off its moorings and found later on Magnetic Island. (She was able to be recovered and continued to carry loads of timber up and down the coast, until being wrecked off the Queensland coast in 1899.) By 1890 a resort had been started in Picnic Bay. In 1898 Robert Hayles Sr was so impressed by the potential of Magnetic Island he sold his other interests to build a resort on the island. Hayles was responsible for much of the development of Magnetic Island through tourism. In 1901 he started a regular ferry service to the island with his ship the ''Bee''. Twelve months later this ship was wrecked on the rocks at Nobby Head, Picnic Bay, and the ''Phoenix'' was built by Hayles' sons to replace the vessel. The Hayles company remained operating services to Magnetic Island with a large number of different vessels until 1988.

World War II

Magnetic Island became an important defensive position during

because of its proximity to Townsville, an important military base, and its views over Cleveland Bay, a significant anchorage and assembly point for large fleets and convoys operating in the south Pacific. As such, the Magnetic Battery, ''(AKA The Forts)'' an artillery battery and observation post, was built in the hinterland of Florence, Horseshoe and Arthur Bays. Picnic Bay also became a popular defence force rest and relaxation camp following the commandeering of a resort in the bay in 1939.

Post-war era

The island slowly expanded following the end of the

Second World War 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 ...

. In 1953, Centaur House, a memorial convalescent and rest hostel for nurses, was officially opened in Geoffrey Bay. In late December 1971

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, Queensland, Townsville area, Althea was the fourth sy ...

hit the North Queensland coast directly crossing Magnetic Island. The island, along with much of the mainland, was devastated with 90% of the island's houses damaged or destroyed, some simply lifted off their foundations and tossed into trees. The island, along with the mainland, soon recovered. In July 2012, a six hectare (15 acre) section of the island was granted to the Wulgurukaba Yunbenun Aboriginal Corporation under freehold title and a further 55 hectare (135 acre) section under a Deed of Grant in Trust.

21st century

In 2009, as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia ...

celebrations, the Magnetic Island was announced as one of the

Q150 Icons The Queensland's Q150 Icons list of cultural icons was compiled as part of Q150 celebrations in 2009 by the Government of Queensland, Australia. It represented the people, places and events that were significant to Queensland Queensland ...

of Queensland for its role as a "Natural attraction".

Demographics

In the , Magnetic Island had a population of 2,107 people. In the , Magnetic Island had a population of 2,199. In the , Magnetic Island had a population of 2,335 people. In the , Magnetic Island had a population of 2,475 people.

Geography

Geographic features include Rocky Bay, Picnic Bay and Hawkings Point (around the settlement named Picnic Bay) around its southern point, a bay and settlement called Nelly Bay to the east-north-east, Horseshoe Bay on its northern coast, and Cockle Bay Reef off the western coast.

Natural heritage and attractions

The island is a haven for wildlife. 76% of the island is Magnetic Island National Park, which is mostly located on the steep hilly interior and rugged north-western side. The highest point on the island is Mount Cook reaching above sea level. A citizen science project at Magnetic has over 3500 observations of 1126 species with the most observed species the

koala The koala (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only Extant taxon, extant representative of the Family (biology), family ''Phascolar ...

and the most observed marine species the goldstripe butterflyfish. Magnetic Island is famous for its fishing opportunities. Fish around the island include:

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

giant trevally The giant trevally (''Caranx ignobilis''), also known as the lowly trevally, barrier trevally, ronin jack, giant kingfish, or ''ulua'', is a species of large ocean, marine fish classified in the jack Family (biology), family, Carangidae. The gian ...

, queenfish, coral trout, blackspot tuskfish,

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

, fingermark, red emperor and sea perch. As of 2013, there are over 800

s estimated to be present on the island; this population represents the northern limit of their geographic range. The areas of the island that are not covered by the conservation area are open for development subject to local authority approval. As of 2018 the island was undergoing an economic boom. The wreckage of SS ''City of Adelaide'' is located off the shore of Cockle Bay, the island and is a popular tourist attraction.

Settlements

The five villages of the island, which contain most of the population of 2017 (as of the census of population)

Heritage listings

Magnetic Island has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

sites, including: * East side of island: Fort Complex * Esplanade: Picnic Bay Jetty

Education

There is a primary school at Nelly Bay. The nearest secondary school is

Townsville State High School Townsville State High School, also colloquially known as Town High, is a secondary school in Railway Estate, Townsville (Queensland, Australia), an area administered by Townsville City Council. History Townsville State High School was e ...

in Railway Estate in the Townsville mainland.

Community groups

The Magnetic Garbutt branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the CWA Hall at 42 Lancaster Street, Garbutt. Other groups include: * Magnetic Island Community Development Association (MICDA) * Magnetic Island Nature Care Association (MINCA) * Magnetic Island Fauna Care Organisation (MIFCO) * Magnetic Island Network for Turtles (MINT) * Magnetic Island Residents & Ratepayers Association (MIRRA) * Magnetic Island Community Care (MICC) * Magnetic Island Museum * Magnetic Island RSL Sub-Branch * Magnetic Island Rotary Club * Magnetic Island Bowls Club * Magnetic Island Country (Golf) Club * Men's Shed Magnetic Island * Tourism Magnetic Island * U3A Magnetic Island

Annual events

Annual events include: * Mother's Day Classic (May) * SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week (August/September) * The Great Island Trek (September) * Maggie Island Triathlon (October) To find out more visi
whatsonmagneticisland.com.au

Notable residents

Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...

–

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...

co-founder, sporadically lived the first years of his life in Nelly Bay with his mother in the early 1970s. * Izzy Bee and family – Izzy's Koala World * Breanna Koenen – captain of the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...