Double Island Point is a coastal headland in Queensland, Australia. It is the next headland north of Noosa and is within the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park, at the southern end of Wide Bay. It is approximately 12 km south along the beach from the tourist township of Rainbow Beach.
The Kabi Kabi people have lived, hunted and fished in this area for tens of thousands of years. The site had obvious cultural significance and was used as a burial site by local indigenous people. [1] The point was named by Captain Cook when he passed it on 18 May 1770, "on account of its figure" (i.e. shape). In the original of his journal he had written Fiddle Head, but crossed that out. [2]
Despite the name, there is no (double) islands, but rather a sandspit. It is the southern point of Wide Bay. Wolf Rock is a set of four volcanic pinnacles off Double Island Point. [3]
There is no road access to the point, but four-wheel drive vehicles can go along the beach, either from the township of Rainbow Beach in Wide Bay, or the longer way up from Noosa Heads (after taking a ferry across the Noosa River). [4]
The northern side of the point is a surfing location. On a good swell, a right-hander breaks over sand, and for perhaps as much as 300 metres in ideal conditions.[ citation needed ]
Double Island Point has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with hot, rainy summers and very mild, relatively dry winters. Being an island, conditions are windy year round, as 100 km/h wind gusts have been recorded in all months of the year. [5]
On 16 December 2006, the Bureau of Meteorology-operated weather station located at the Double Island Point Lighthouse recorded a wind gust of 196 km/h (122 mph), which accompanied a severe supercell thunderstorm. [6] It was the highest non-tornadic wind gust ever recorded from a thunderstorm in Australia, and was equivalent to winds in a category 3 tropical cyclone. [7]
| Climate data for Double Island Point Lighthouse (25º56'S, 153º11'E, 96 m AMSL) (1938-2024 normals and extremes) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.2 (97.2) | 35.9 (96.6) | 33.7 (92.7) | 32.4 (90.3) | 29.5 (85.1) | 27.8 (82.0) | 26.6 (79.9) | 28.2 (82.8) | 31.4 (88.5) | 33.9 (93.0) | 34.4 (93.9) | 37.3 (99.1) | 37.3 (99.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.0 (82.4) | 27.8 (82.0) | 26.9 (80.4) | 25.0 (77.0) | 22.4 (72.3) | 20.2 (68.4) | 19.7 (67.5) | 20.8 (69.4) | 22.8 (73.0) | 24.7 (76.5) | 26.2 (79.2) | 27.5 (81.5) | 24.3 (75.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.6 (72.7) | 21.9 (71.4) | 19.9 (67.8) | 17.4 (63.3) | 15.1 (59.2) | 14.2 (57.6) | 14.8 (58.6) | 16.7 (62.1) | 18.6 (65.5) | 20.2 (68.4) | 21.6 (70.9) | 18.8 (65.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 14.2 (57.6) | 12.2 (54.0) | 10.6 (51.1) | 8.9 (48.0) | 6.4 (43.5) | 3.1 (37.6) | 6.1 (43.0) | 1.1 (34.0) | 8.0 (46.4) | 8.9 (48.0) | 10.0 (50.0) | 10.0 (50.0) | 1.1 (34.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 158.3 (6.23) | 162.5 (6.40) | 160.6 (6.32) | 124.6 (4.91) | 144.4 (5.69) | 114.3 (4.50) | 82.5 (3.25) | 61.3 (2.41) | 49.5 (1.95) | 72.4 (2.85) | 86.5 (3.41) | 125.2 (4.93) | 1,342.1 (52.84) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 10.1 | 11.1 | 12.7 | 12.0 | 11.9 | 9.6 | 7.9 | 6.7 | 5.9 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 9.0 | 111.2 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 74 | 76 | 75 | 73 | 71 | 69 | 67 | 64 | 66 | 69 | 71 | 73 | 71 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | 20.8 (69.4) | 21.0 (69.8) | 19.9 (67.8) | 17.8 (64.0) | 15.1 (59.2) | 12.5 (54.5) | 11.1 (52.0) | 11.5 (52.7) | 13.8 (56.8) | 16.1 (61.0) | 18.0 (64.4) | 19.9 (67.8) | 16.5 (61.6) |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology [8] | |||||||||||||
Double Island Point has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
In 1884, a lighthouse was built on the point. It is a timber with metal cladding construction, like many lighthouses in Queensland, made that way because it is cheaper than masonry, but also better suited for soft-sandy soils. It was planned for only halfway up the point, but then it was realised the light wouldn't be visible to the north and so the tower was built on top of the point. The lantern was initially burning oil, then in 1923, vaporized kerosene was introduced. Later it was converted to electric power. In 1992, it was converted to solar power and demanned. [10] The light characteristic is a single flash every 7.5 seconds, the focal plane is located 96 metres above sea level. [11]
Great Sandy National Park is a coastal national park in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.
The Sunshine Coast is a peri-urban region in South East Queensland, Australia. In 1967, it was defined as "the area contained in the [former] Shires of Landsborough, Maroochy and Noosa, but excluding Bribie Island". Located 100 km (62 mi) north of the centre of Brisbane in South East Queensland, on the Coral Sea coastline, its urban area spans approximately 60 km (37 mi) of coastline and hinterland from Pelican Waters to Tewantin.
Peregian Beach is a beach and small coastal town on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is a suburb split between two local government areas with the eastern coastal in the Shire of Noosa and the western hinterland part in the Sunshine Coast Region. In the 2021 census, Peregian Beach had a population of 4,972 people.
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Teewah Beach is a beach that extends from Double Island Point in Cooloola, Gympie Region through Noosa North Shore in the Shire of Noosa to the Noosa River in Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Great Sandy National Park. The beach extends from approximately 25°56'11"S, 153°11'18"E to 26°22'44"S, 153°04'38"E, a distance of about 51 kilometres.
Tin Can Bay is a coastal town and locality in the Wide Bay–Burnett region in Queensland, Australia. The locality is split between the Fraser Coast Region and the Gympie Region, but the town itself is within Gympie Region. In the 2021 census, the locality of Tin Can Bay had a population of 2,293 people.
The Gympie Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about 170 kilometres (110 mi) north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is between the Sunshine Coast and Hervey Bay and centred on the town of Gympie. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shires of Cooloola and Kilkivan and part of the Shire of Tiaro.
The Cooloola Great Walk is a 102 kilometres (63 mi) coastal bushwalking route in the Great Sandy National Park of South East Queensland, Australia. Opened in 2010, it runs from Noosa North Shore through Cooloola to Rainbow Beach, and is planned as a five-day trek. The hiking trail was officially opened by Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones in March 2010.
Sandy Cape is the most northern point on Fraser Island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The place was named Sandy Cape for its appearance by James Cook during his 1770 voyage up the eastern coast of Australia aboard the Endeavour.
Double Island Point Light is an active lighthouse located at the summit of Double Island Point, a coastal headland within the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park. It is located at the southern end of Wide Bay, 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia.
Wide Bay–Burnett is a region of the Australian state of Queensland, located between 170–400 km (110–250 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane. The area's population growth has exceeded the state average over the past 20 years, and it is forecast to grow to more than 430,000 by 2031. It is the subject of the Draft Wide Bay–Burnett Regional Plan, which aims to facilitate this growth while protecting over 90% of the region from urban development.
Woorim is a town and suburb of Bribie Island in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the suburb of Woorim had a population of 1,843 people.
The Cooloola Tramway is a heritage-listed tramway at Great Sandy National Park, Cooloola Recreation Area, Cooloola, Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 1870s it was known as the Kaloola Railway. It is also known as Cooloola Railway, SEQ-5N 22, Pettigrew's Railway, and Pettigrew's Tramway. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 12 July 2013.
