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Period: to
Timeline
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Charting of Stradbroke
Lieutenant James Cook sailed in 1770 and charted Moreton Bay and other places on the island. -
Matthew Flinders Comes Ashore
In 1803, Matthew Flinders came ahore in search of fresh water. -
Shipwrecked
Three timber getters, Pamphlett, Finnegan and Parsons were shipwrecked on Moreton Island and spent eight months exploring around Moreton Bay. The trio was welcomed by the Noonucals who fed, housed and shared knowledge with them. The Noonucals showed the three men how to make a canoe from the local timber and it was in this vessel that they departed six weeks later. -
Minjerribah renamed
In June 1827, Minjerribah was renamed Stradbroke Island by Governor Darling in reverence of the Honourable Captain J.H. Rous, the son of the Earl of Stradbroke. -
Cultural Conflict
Tensions erupted between the convicts, local Aborigines and the Europeans. One of the first known conflicts erupted in 1828 when a cotton plantation was established at Myora, near Dunwich – the site was a favoured Aboriginal campsite and tempers flared. The site was inexplicably abandoned within six months. -
Racial conflict
Between 1831 and 1832 there were more than ten violent clashes between the Europeans and the Minjerribah people resulting in deaths on both sides. -
Fishing
From 1850 onwards fishing became a major industry. No more convicts had been sent to Moreton Bay for some time and the Island had been opened up to free settlers. Houses were constructed and the men set their sights on supplying the Redlands area with fish and their byproducts. -
Quarantine
On July 16 1850, Dunwich was proclaimed to be Moreton Bay’s Quarantine Station. Only a few weeks later a ship called the “Emigrant” pulled into port with Typhus onboard. All of her passengers were put into quarantine at Dunwich. Fifty six of them died and many are buried in the Dunwich cemetery. -
Closing of Quarantine Sation
The quarantine station closed in 1864 and Peel Island was declared as Moreton Bay’s official quarantine station, and Dunwich was nominated to accommodate the Benevolent Asylum which was completed in 1867. -
New Asylum
Dunwich was nominated to accommodate the Benevolent Asylum which was completed in 1867. -
Separation
Prior to 1894 North and South Stradbroke were one and the same island. The two islands were separated after a barque; the "Cambus Wallace" was shipwrecked in a narrow passage off the island that was carrying explosives that had to be detonated in the passage. It is believed that the recovery of cargo from the Cambus Wallace, the detonations, and a severe storm caused the separation of the island creating North and South Stradbroke as we know it today. -
Oyster Farming and Mud Worms
By 1901 oyster farming was well established on the Island, but a plague of mud worm wreaked havoc on this enterprise. Oyster farming had been the biggest seafood industry in Queensland at that time, employing many Aboriginal and European workers for years. The outbreak of mud worm was devastating but not terminal, and through perseverance the industry survived and still prospers in Moreton Bay. -
Skeletons at the Lookout
1902 saw the sinking of the “Prosperity” off Point Lookout, it is believed that a skeleton revealed on the beach in 1956 with a boot still intact on the foot, was the remains of the cook from the “Prosperity”. The discovery of these remains was the origin of the name given to the beach on which they were found – Deadman’s Beach at Point Lookout. -
Tourism Starts
Tourism came to the Island much later, when in the 1930’s, Bert Clayton bought land above the South Gorge to build a guesthouse. His first guests were accommodated in tents which he gradually replaced with one room cabins, the next owners of the property renamed it Samarinda. Samarinda still exists in a very modern form on the original site today. -
Point Lookout Lighthouse
The Point Lookout Lighthouse was constructed in 1932 and the materials used in its construction were deposited on one of the beaches including the cylinders used for assembling the light. The beach was named Cylinder Beach for this reason. In spite of the new lighthouse, the “Rufus King” ran aground in the South Passage Bar in 1942. It was a supply ship loaded with cargo from Los Angeles bringing supplies to Brisbane and field hospitals. -
Torpedoing
On the 14th of May 1943, the Australian Hospital Ship “Centaur” was torpedoed off the Island and 268 of its passengers were killed, leaving only 64 survivors. During this time that the first mention of a bridge being constructed between the mainland and North Stradbroke Island was discussed. This issue has arisen many times since and has faced fierce opposition each time. -
Stradbroke Ferries
The first vehicular ferry service commenced in 1947 with the “Amazon” soon renamed the “Karboora”. That same year the Surf Lifesavers began patrolling Point Lookout’s beaches. The following year saw the Point Lookout Club being affiliated with Queensland Surf Lifesaving and a permanent club house was erected on the Main beach Headland where it remains today. -
Sand Mining
Sand mining was first established on the Island in 1949 when Zinc Corp set up their operation. In the early stages sand was dug up by hand from Main Beach and sent by truck to Dunwich, this solved the unemployment problem giving jobs to many locals. 5 years later Titanium and Zirconium Industries set up and built a dredge on Main Beach and transporting the sand overland to Dunwich. Sand mining is still the #1 employer on the island and is still going today. -
Sand Handling Industry
Consolidated Rutile Ltd, established on the Island in 1963 still in operation today. Coming to a beach near you. -
Ferry Timetable
Stradbroke Ferries began a regular service to the Island in 1964 and over the years, the Island has seen many changes in its population, industry and construction.
