Magnetic Island, known to its Indigenous inhabitants as Yunbenun, is an island 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) offshore from the city of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. This 52 km2 (20.1 sq mi) mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville, with 2,335 permanent residents. The island is accessible from Townsville Breakwater to Nelly Bay Harbour by ferry. There is a large 39.5 km2 (15.3 sq mi) National Park and bird sanctuary and walking tracks can be taken between the populated bays and to a number of tourist destinations such as the World War II forts.
Mission Beach is a small coastal town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Mission Beach and surrounding villages had a total population of 3,597 people.
HMAS Canberra was an Adelaide class guided missile frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Based on the Oliver Hazard Perry class design, Canberra was one of four Adelaide class ships constructed in the United States of America, and one of six to serve in the RAN.
HMAS Manoora was a passenger liner that served in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. She was built in Scotland in 1935 for the Cairns to Fremantle coastal passenger run for the Adelaide Steamship Company. She was requisitioned by the RAN for naval service in 1939. Manoora was initially converted into an armed merchant cruiser (AMC), operating primarily in Australian, New Guinea, and Pacific waters, with deployments to Singapore and the Bay of Bengal.
Picnic Bay is a town and suburb of Magnetic Island in the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Picnic Bay had a population of 291 people.
Burns Philp was once a major Australian shipping line and merchant that operated in the South Pacific. When the well-populated islands around New Guinea were targeted for blackbirding in the 1880s, a new rush for labour from these islands began. James Burns and Robert Philp purchased several well-known blackbirding ships to quickly exploit the human resource in this region, and Burns Philp entered the slave trade. The company ended its involvement in blackbirding in 1886. In later years the company was a major player in the food manufacturing business. Since its delisting from the Australian Stock Exchange in December 2006 and the subsequent sale of its assets, the company has mainly become a cashed up shell company. It is wholly owned by Graeme Hart's Rank Group.
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and identity.
Nelly Bay is a town on Magnetic Island and a suburb of the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Nelly Bay had a population of 1,196 people. A tourism hub on the island, it is especially significant as the site of the ferry terminal, which links it to Townsville.
Arcadia is a coastal suburb on Magnetic Island in the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Arcadia had a population of 248 people.
Rowes Bay is a coastal suburb of the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Sea Swift is Australia's largest privately owned shipping company. It operates in Northern Australia, mainly servicing remote and regional communities in Far North Queensland and the Northern Territory. The company provides freight and passenger services, and maritime logistical support, operating four container ships in addition to barges, tugs and landing craft.
Robert Hayles was an Australian entrepreneur who formed a series of passenger and cargo ferry services in the north of Australia after 1889.
Cockle Bay is a small bay within the locality of Picnic Bay on south-western corner of Magnetic Island, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
The City of Adelaide was a passenger steam ship launched during 1863 from Glasgow, Scotland. The vessel was later converted to a barque for use as a cargo transport. In 1912 the vessel was gutted by fire, and in 1916 the burnt hulk was run aground in Cockle Bay, Magnetic Island, Australia. During the Second World War four people were killed in a training accident when a RAAF aircraft struck the masts of the vessel.
The Moltke was a three-masted barque built in Hamburg, Germany in 1870. The vessel was wrecked off the coast of northern Queensland, Australia in 1890 before being refloated and hulked. In 1911 the vessel was scuttled off Geoffrey Bay, Magnetic Island. The wreck of the vessel now hosts a wide range of underwater life and is a popular open-water dive site.
The Magnetic Battery, Fort War or The Forts, as it is commonly referred, is a former Royal Australian Navy artillery battery in the hinterland of Horseshoe. Florence and Arthur Bays on Magnetic Island. Built in 1942/1943, the battery operated from July 1943 until the end of World War II. The remains of the facility are now maintained by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service as part of the Magnetic Island National Park and are open to visitors year round.
Bay Rock Light is an inactive lighthouse which used to be located on Bay Rock, a rocky islet northwest of Magnetic Island, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. First lit in 1886, it was automated in 1920 and deactivated in the 1980s. It was relocated in 1992 to the Townsville Maritime Museum, where it is now displayed.
HMAS Koolonga was a 4,260 gross tons cargo ship built by Sunderland Shipbuilding Company, South Dock Sunderland, England, in 1914 and bought by McIlwraith, McEacharn Line Pty Ltd, Melbourne and named SS Koolonga. She was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy on 6 August 1914, as a collier and supply ship. She was returned to her owners in late 1915. She was sold in 1937 to Madrigal & Company, Philippines and renamed Paz. She was scuttled during the Second World War at Sourabaya Harbour in 1942 and was later salvaged by the Imperial Japanese and renamed Hatsu Maru. While at anchor in Manila Bay, Philippines on 13 November 1944, she was attacked by United States Navy carrier aircraft and was sunk.
The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to recreational dive sites:
South Mission Beach is a coastal town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, South Mission Beach had a population of 932 people.
Australia
