Wonga Beach is a coastal

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 ...

in the

Shire of Douglas The Shire of Douglas is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Far North Queensland. It is located on the coast north of the city of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mossman, Queensland, Mos ...

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. The town of Wonga is within the locality. In the , Wonga Beach had a population of 1,042 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 extremely vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicula ...

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.

Demographics

In the , Wonga Beach had a population of 746 people. In the , Wonga Beach had a population of 975 people. In the , Wonga Beach had a population of 1,042 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 last species is easily confused with the ubiquitous

bush stone-curlew The bush stone-curlew or bush thick-knee (''Burhinus grallarius'', obsolete name ''Burhinus magnirostris'') is a large, ground-dwelling bird Endemism, endemic to Australia. Its favoured habitat is open plains and woodlands, where it stalks slowly ...

noted for its wailing calls at night.

Services

A service station is the only fuel outlet in the Daintree Valley and opens early (5:30am) and closes at 8:30pm. In addition to automotive fuels, the service station incorporates a small

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...

with an ATM.

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