Dunk Island
Dunk Island, known as Coonanglebah in the Warrgamay and Dyirbal languages, is an island within the locality of Dunk in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It lies off the Australian east coast, opposite the town of Mission Beach. The island in one of the Family Islands. Most of Dunk Island lies within the Family Islands National Park and in the larger Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
The island is surrounded by reefs and has a diverse population of birds. The Bandjin and Djiru peoples once used the island as a source for food. Europeans first settled on the island in 1897. Dunk Island was used by the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. In recent years the island and its resort facilities have been adversely affected by both Cyclone Larry and Cyclone Yasi.
Geology and wildlife
Dunk Island is by far the largest island in the Family Islands National Park, all of which consist of granite rock. All of the islands were part of the mainland before the last sea level rise began 8,000 years ago. Dunk Island covers 970ha, of which 730 ha is national park and the rest is freehold. Its topography varies, with sandy beaches and rocky shores, slightly undulating slopes, foothills and steeper semi-rugged terrain. Mount Kootaloo is the island's highest point, at 271 m above sea level.There are over 100 species of birds on Dunk Island, including rare and vulnerable seabirds. During the summer months, the island becomes a breeding site for terns and noddies. The lack of predators, along with a plentiful supply of food from the surrounding reef waters, make it an ideal nesting site. Dunk Island is also home to reptiles such as pythons, tree snakes, geckos and skinks. The island's fringing reefs and surrounding waters are home to an array of marine life such as sea turtles, dugongs, sharks, corals, fish, shellfish and crabs. Purtaboi Island is closed and inaccessible for guests from October through to April each year due to the crested terns nesting on the island.
History
Early history
The traditional Aboriginal owners of Dunk Island are the Bandjin and Djiru people, who have lived in this area for tens of thousands of years. After the sea level rise, they paddled to the islands in bark canoes to gather food and materials. The Warrgamay and Dyirbal name for Dunk Island is Coonanglebah, meaning "The Island of Peace and Plenty". It received its European name from James Cook, who sailed past it in the Endeavour on 8 June 1770. He noted that it was a "tolerable high island" and named it after George Montague-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax.Europeans settled the nearby mainland during the 19th century, seeking gold, timber and grazing land. In 1848, John MacGillivray studied the fauna and flora of the island while HMS Rattlesnake was anchored off the island for ten days. He subsequently wrote of its natural features in the Narrative of the Voyage of HMS Rattlesnake, published in England in 1852.
Edmund Banfield
In 1897, suffering from work anxiety and exhaustion, and advised by doctors that he had just six months to live, writer Edmund James Banfield moved to Dunk Island with his wife Bertha – so becoming the island's first white settlers. Previously a journalist and senior editor with the Townsville Bulletin for fifteen years, Banfield let the tranquillity of this unspoilt tropical paradise weave its magic and he lived on Dunk Island for the remaining 26 years of his life until his death in 1923.A small hut built with the assistance of an Aborigine called Tom was the Banfields' first home. Over a period of time they cleared four acres of land for a plantation of fruit and vegetables. Combined with their chickens, cows and goats as well as the abundance of seafood and mangrove vegetation, they lived very self-sufficiently. Fascinated by Dunk Island's flora and fauna Banfield meticulously recorded his observations and went on to write a series of articles about island life under the pseudonym Rob Krusoe. He was further inspired to write a full-length book entitled Confessions of a Beachcomber. The book became a celebrated text for romantics and escapists and established Dunk Island's reputation as an exotic island paradise.
In the ensuing years, Banfield wrote several other books about Dunk including My Tropical Isle and Tropic Days. In these he shared the secrets of nature that he had uncovered and described the customs and legends of the Aboriginal people on the island. E. J. Banfield died on 2 June 1923 and his final book Last Leaves from Dunk Island was published posthumously in 1925. His widow remained on the island for another year before moving to Brisbane where she died, ten years after her husband. Today both are buried on the trail to Mt Kootaloo.
Commencement of the resort and World War II
The island was bought in 1934 by Captain Brassey and Banfield's bungalow provided the basis for the beginnings of a resort. The resort was commenced in 1936. The Royal Australian Air Force occupied Dunk Island during World War II, building its airstrip in 1941. They installed a radar station on the island's highest point a year later, which was then dismantled when the war ended in 1945.Post-war development of the resort
The Brassey family returned to run the resort for a period at the end of the war. The island then went through a succession of owners. In 1956, Gordon and Kathleen Stynes purchased it and relocated their family there from Victoria. They then redeveloped and upgraded the resort's facilities to establish the island as a tourist destination. As a result, Dunk Island became a popular destination for celebrities including Sean Connery, Henry Ford II, and Australian Prime Ministers Harold Holt and Gough Whitlam. The Stynes family owned and operated the island and resort until 1964, when it was sold to Eric McIlree, founder of Avis Car Rental.In 1976, P&O and Trans Australia Airlines purchased Dunk Island, each holding 50%. TAA took full ownership in July 1978. Ownership passed to Qantas in 1992, following its merger with Australian Airlines. In December 1997, the island was purchased by P&O, before being sold to Voyages Hotels & Resorts in July 2004. In September 2009, it was purchased by Hideaway Resorts.
Artists' colony
Dunk Island was also home to a small community of artists who lived, worked and showcased their work to many international and local visitors on a property on the southern side of the island. The Colony was established in 1974 by former Olympic wrestler Bruce Arthur, who died at his home on Island in March 1998. The community continued to operate under resident metalsmith Susi Kirk until Cyclone Larry damaged much of the colony. Kirk continued to live at the colony until Cyclone Yasi destroyed her home in 2011, and has subsequently continued to live and work on Dunk Island as the last member of the artist colony.After Cyclone Yasi, 2011–2022
After Cyclone Yasi, Dunk Island was bought by Australian entrepreneur Peter Bond and redevelopment of the resort commenced in 2014. This redevelopment never took place.In September 2019 Mayfair 101, an Australian family-owned investment conglomerate led by James Mawhinney, purchased Dunk Island. Mayfair 101 also secured over 250 properties on mainland Mission Beach as part of its estimated AUD1.6 billion 10–15-year plan to restore the region. Mayfair 101 was awarded the Dunk Island Spit tender on 14 November 2019 by the Cassowary Coast Regional Council, providing the opportunity for Mayfair 101 to negotiate a 30-year lease over the iconic Dunk Island Spit. The island's redevelopment is being undertaken by Mayfair 101's property division, Mayfair Iconic Properties, which has established a team based at Mission Beach to undertake the significant rejuvenation of the region.
In August 2020, the previous owners of the island, Family Islands Operations, owned by the family of Australian businessman Peter Bond repossessed the island after the owners Mayfair 101 failed to meet their payment obligations.
In 2021, numerous abandoned resort buildings were visible from the shore line with significant cyclone damage still visible. Windows were missing, roofs folded back, air conditioning units hanging from ceilings and plants growing inside the buildings.