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Green Island (Queensland)
Encyclopedia
Green Island is a very popular coral cay
27 km (17 mi) offshore from Cairns, Queensland
, Australia
located within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
World Heritage Area
. The island is surrounded by coral reef and protected in the Green Island National Park
. Most visitors come for the day. A luxury resort with 46 rooms is situated on the island.
Today the island supports a diverse range of vegetation, including dry coastal/beach plants and a vine thicket rain forest. There are no natural freshwater springs on the island so all vegetation relies on rainwater and a small freshwater lens located under the island.
The local Aboriginal
people (particularly Dick Moses, speaking Yidinyji) have reported that some time back in the past (in time immemorial
) Dabuukji (Green Island) was approximately four times the size it is now. The present coral cay is only the north-east portion of the whole, original island.
Dabuukji, as a name, may refer to the island having been within local Aboriginal mythology and history a larger island with a freshwater marsh or 'hole' (later a well) at its centre. Alternatively it may be a reference to the story of the turtle which first obtained holes in its nose (nostrils) on this coral cay. It may also be a reference to some aspect of young Gungganyji male initiation rituals reported to have been conducted on this coral cay in times past. There is a strong chance the name alludes to all three of the above, in combination.
Whatever the case may be, all local Aboriginal language speakers appear to have grown up with the understanding the coral cay was a place to be generally avoided, being wunjami, that is, "a place haunted by spirits".
The State of Queensland has listed 'Green Island' as the cay's official name, this being the name given it by Lieutenant James Cook
on 10 June 1770, either because of the appearance of the coral cay's vegetation, or possibly after Charles Green
, who was an astronomer aboard the Endeavour
at the time.
In 1994, the current resort, Green Island Reef Resort, was opened.
Reachable by a 45-minute catamaran
ride from the mainland city of Cairns.
Cay
A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...
27 km (17 mi) offshore from Cairns, Queensland
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
, 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...
located within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef from damaging activities. Fishing and the removal of artefacts or...
World Heritage Area
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. The island is surrounded by coral reef and protected in the Green Island National Park
Green Island National Park
Green Island National Park is a protected area declared over a small coral cay known to the local Gungganyji Aboriginal peoples as Dabuukji...
. Most visitors come for the day. A luxury resort with 46 rooms is situated on the island.
Origins
The island was formed approximately 6,000 years ago by waves depositing sand, coral and other debris onto its coral foundations.Today the island supports a diverse range of vegetation, including dry coastal/beach plants and a vine thicket rain forest. There are no natural freshwater springs on the island so all vegetation relies on rainwater and a small freshwater lens located under the island.
The local Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
people (particularly Dick Moses, speaking Yidinyji) have reported that some time back in the past (in time immemorial
Dreamtime
In the animist framework of Australian Aboriginal mythology, The Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed The Creation.-The Dreaming of the Aboriginal times:...
) Dabuukji (Green Island) was approximately four times the size it is now. The present coral cay is only the north-east portion of the whole, original island.
Naming
Local Aboriginal language speakers (Roy Banning, Robert Patterson, and Henry Fourmile) advised and confirmed the Gungganyji language group are especially connected with Green Island. To them it is named Dabuukji, being "..the place of the hole in the nose".Dabuukji, as a name, may refer to the island having been within local Aboriginal mythology and history a larger island with a freshwater marsh or 'hole' (later a well) at its centre. Alternatively it may be a reference to the story of the turtle which first obtained holes in its nose (nostrils) on this coral cay. It may also be a reference to some aspect of young Gungganyji male initiation rituals reported to have been conducted on this coral cay in times past. There is a strong chance the name alludes to all three of the above, in combination.
Whatever the case may be, all local Aboriginal language speakers appear to have grown up with the understanding the coral cay was a place to be generally avoided, being wunjami, that is, "a place haunted by spirits".
The State of Queensland has listed 'Green Island' as the cay's official name, this being the name given it by Lieutenant James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
on 10 June 1770, either because of the appearance of the coral cay's vegetation, or possibly after Charles Green
Charles Green (astronomer)
Charles Green was a British astronomer, noted for his assignment by the Royal Society in 1768 to the expedition sent to the Pacific Ocean in order to observe the transit of Venus and the transit of Mercury, aboard James Cook's Endeavour.A farmer's son, he became assistant to the Astronomer Royal...
, who was an astronomer aboard the Endeavour
HM Bark Endeavour
HMS Endeavour, also known as HM Bark Endeavour, was a British Royal Navy research vessel commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of discovery, to Australia and New Zealand from 1769 to 1771....
at the time.
Settlement
The first person to reside on the island was J.S.V. Mien in 1857. Coconut palms were planted on the island in 1899 to provide food for shipwrecked sailors.In 1994, the current resort, Green Island Reef Resort, was opened.
Access
Commercial charter boats, helicopter and seaplane services all provide transport to the island.Reachable by a 45-minute catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
ride from the mainland city of Cairns.
External links
- Green Island Resort - Queensland Holidays.