Orpheus Island National Park
Queensland
Sunset at Orpheus Island National Park
Orpheus Island National Park is located in Queensland
Orpheus Island National Park
Orpheus Island National Park
Nearest town or cityIngham
Coordinates18°37′06″S 146°29′37″E / 18.61833°S 146.49361°E / -18.61833; 146.49361
Established1960
Area13 km2 (5.0 sq mi)
Managing authoritiesQueensland Parks and Wildlife Service
WebsiteOrpheus Island National Park
See alsoProtected areas of Queensland

Orpheus Island National Park is a national park on Orpheus Island, in North Queensland, Australia. The Aboriginal (possibly Nyawaygi) name for this island is Goolboddi Island. It is one of the Palm Islands group, 1,189 km (739 mi) northwest of Brisbane, as is Pelorus Island 800 metres (2,600 ft) to the north; both are in the Shire of Hinchinbrook. Besides Orpheus Island, the national park also includes Albino Rock, which is located 2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi) east of Great Palm Island (usually known as Palm Island). Orpheus Island is a continental island.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Orpheus Island was inhabited by an Aboriginal people, probably the Nyawigi people.[1] The name "Orpheus" was given to the island in 1887 by Lieutenant G. E. Richards, referring to HMS Orpheus, a Royal Navy ship which was wrecked off the coast of New Zealand in 1863.[1]

In 1960 it was declared a national park. In 2002 the island was bought by Jim Wilson who had developed the Freycinet Lodge in Tasmania, and bought off him in 2011 by Chris Morris, the Computershare mogul.[1]

A research station, operated by James Cook University, is located on the island. Since 2000, St Michael's Grammar School (of St Kilda, Victoria) has run a marine biology project each June.[2] Since 2018 Reef Ecologic has run an annual reef restoration and leadership workshop at the research station. The group published a research paper on findings from citizen scientists on a rare, large coral bommie at Orpheus Island in 2021[3] A citizen science database using iNaturalist has recorded over 700 observations of 334 species with the most observed species the Australian Green Tree Frog[4]

There is also a luxury resort on the island, the Orpheus Island Great Barrier Reef Luxury Resort.[5]

Great Palm Island is the closest location with government facilities.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Orpheus Island, QLD". Aussie Towns. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  2. ↑ "The Great Barrier Reef Project". St Michael's Grammar School. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Smith, Adam; Cook, Nathan; Cook, Kailash; Brown, Rachelle; Woodgett, Richard; Veron, John; Saylor, Vicki (19 August 2021). "Field measurements of a massive Porites coral at Goolboodi (Orpheus Island), Great Barrier Reef". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 15334. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94818-w. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8376919. PMID 34413333.
  4. ↑ "Citizen science at Orpheus Island and Marine Park".
  5. ↑ "Island Accommodation Queensland". Orpheus Island Great Barrier Reef Luxury Resort. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  • "Home". Orpheus Island Research Station.


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