Daydream Island is one of seven islands of the Molle Group, a sub-group of the Whitsunday Islands

Whitsunday Islands

The Whitsunday Islands are a collection of continental islands of various sizes off the central coast of Queensland, Australia, situated between just south of Bowen and to the north of Mackay, some north of Brisbane. The island group is centred on Whitsunday Island, while the group's commercial...

 in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The island is small, measuring 1 km in length and 400 m at its widest point. The highest point on the island is 51 metres above sea level.

There are two tourist resorts on the island: the original resort at the southern end and a newer resort at the north-eastern end. The original resort caters to day visitors and the newer resort, which opened in 1990, caters to overnight guests. Tourists from the mainland port of Abel Point Marina regularly visit the island.

History

Christened West Molle Island in 1881, the present name "Daydream" came into use during the 1930s when Lee (Paddy) and Connie Murray established the first tourist resort on the island. Day Dream was the name of a yacht owned by the Murrays. Ownership of the resort has transferred to a number of individuals or groups since the 1930s. Notable owners include Reg Ansett

Reg Ansett

Sir Reginald Myles "Reg" Ansett KBE was an Australian businessman and aviator; best known for founding Ansett Transport Industries Limited, which owned one of Australia's two leading domestic airlines between 1957 and 2001...

, who dismantled the resort in 1953 and shipped the buildings to his new resort on Hayman Island

Hayman Island

Hayman Island is the most northerly of the Whitsunday Islands, part of the Cumberland Islands, which are located off the coast of Central Queensland, Australia at...

; and Bernie Elsey, whose massive redevelopment of the island in 1967 was destroyed by Cyclone Ada three years later. The resort is currently owned by Vaughan Bullivant.

Attractions

Daydream Island is a mecca for sailing enthusiasts. It has a unique outdoor aquarium, with exotic sea life from the Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...

. The aquarium has about 80 different types of sea life and about 50 different corals. Wallabies roam around outside the resort by the beach. It is a short ferry ride from Great Barrier Reef airport on Hamilton Island to Daydream Island, and also just minutes away by boat to Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach, Queensland

Airlie Beach is a town in the Whitsunday Region of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, the suburb of Airlie Beach itself had a population of 2,751. The greater Whitsunday region had a population of approximately 31,000...

. Activities like snorkeling, sail-boarding, jet-skiing, parasailing, coral viewing, scuba diving, volleyball, tennis, and badminton are popular.

External links

• Daydream Island, Queensland is at coordinates 20.2567°N 148.814°W
• Daydream Island Resort & Spa