South Mission Beach Queensland | |||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 17°56′36″S146°05′34″E / 17.9433°S 146.0927°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 968 (2021 census) [1] | ||||||||||||||
• Density | 30.25/km2 (78.35/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 4852 | ||||||||||||||
Area | 32.0 km2 (12.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||||||||
Location |
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LGA(s) | Cassowary Coast Region | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Hill | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Kennedy | ||||||||||||||
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South Mission Beach is a coastal town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. [2] [3] In the 2021 census, the locality of South Mission Beach had a population of 968 people. [1]
As the name suggests, South Mission Beach is south of Mission Beach, although not immediately south as the town of Wongaling Beach lies between them. The three towns are bounded on the east by a shared sandy beach 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) long facing the Coral Sea commencing at Clump Point in Mission Beach at the northern end through to Tam O'Shanter Point in South Mission Beach at the southern end ( 17°58′00″S146°06′00″E / 17.9666°S 146.1000°E ). [4] [5] [6]
South Mission Beach is bounded in the south and south-west by the Hull River with the North Hull River (a tributary of the Hull River) forming part of its north-western boundary. Most of the land in the locality is low-lying (less than 10 metres above sea level) and undeveloped and forms part of the Hull River National Park. However, there are some hills along the south-eastern coastline rising to unnamed peaks of up to 120 metres above sea level. The only development in the locality is residential along the north-east coast where the land is freehold. [4]
The locality of South Mission Beach includes the former township of Kenny. [3]
Tam O'Shanter Point creates two bays to the north and south of the headland, Lugger Bay to the north ( 17°57′59″S146°05′48″E / 17.9665°S 146.0966°E ) and Kennedy Bay to the south ( 17°58′34″S146°05′49″E / 17.9762°S 146.0969°E ). [4] [7] [8]
Dunk Island lies off the coast. [4]
There is only one road into the locality, South Mission Beach Road, which is a side-road of the more major Tully Mission Beach Road which connects to the Bruce Highway at Birkalla immediately to the north of Tully. [4]
The area lies within the traditional tribal territory of the JiDjiru-speaking Aboriginal people, who were closely related linguistically and culturally to the Jirrbal, Gulngay and Mamu speaking people in the adjacent rainforests. [9]
Tam O'Shanter Point was named by Captain Owen Stanley of the Royal Navy survey ship HMS Rattlesnake, after the barque Tam O'Shanter which was the ship sailed by explorer Edmund Kennedy to North Queensland on his ill-fated expedition to reach Cape York Peninsula. [10] Kennedy Bay was named after Edmund Kennedy. [8]
The first European settlers in the general area were the Cutten family at present day Bingil Bay and the Garner family at present day Garners Beach. In 1912 the settlers arrived at present day South Mission Beach (the Reid family, Ben Beamon and George Webb). [9]
In September 1913, 2,900 acres of land on the Hull River were gazetted as an Aboriginal Reserve creating the Hull River Aboriginal Settlement. On 15 September 1914 John Martin Kenny, who had previously been a non-commissioned officer of the native police and an overseer at the Cape Bedford Mission was appointed Superintendent at the new settlement. The settlement site was in the north of present-day South Mission Beach. On 10 March 1918 the settlement was demolished by a cyclone and the superintendent and his daughter were killed along with 12 Aboriginal people from the settlement. According to a report on the destruction of the settlement, over 400 Aboriginal people lived on the reserve at the time of the cyclone. The Hull River settlement was not rebuilt and many of the people were relocated from the reserve to Palm Island in 1918. [11] [12] All the materials at the Hull River settlement that might be useful at Palm Island were removed and then abandoned. [9]
After the removal of the Hull River Aboriginal Settlement, European settlers moved to the area to farm. However, access remained principally by sea due to a lack of road access In December 1938 a road from Tully to the Mission Beach area was completed. [13] A township which was established in 1939 was named Kenny in honour of John Martin Kenny of the Hull River Aboriginal Settlement, [14] but it was known locally as South Mission Beach and was officially renamed so on 1 November 1963. The former township of Kenny was named after John Martin Kenny of the Hull River Aboriginal Settlement. [3] [9]
In the 2016 census, the locality of South Mission Beach had a population of 932 people. [15]
In the 2021 census, the locality of South Mission Beach had a population of 968 people. [1]
There are no schools in South Mission Beach. The nearest government primary school is Mission Beach State School in neighbouring Wongaling Beach to the north. [16] The nearest government secondary school is Tully State High School in Tully to the south-west. [4]
South Mission Beach is home to many community groups including a Surf Life Saver's Club, [17] an Outriggers Club [18] and a Scout Group. [19]
There are two boat ramps, both managed by the Cassowary Coast Regional Council, at:
The Kennedy walking track is a boardwalk that follows the coast just south of the town (starting at the Kennedy Esplanade boat ramp) and is known for giving hikers a glimpse into the coastal rainforests within the region. [21]
The Mija Memorial, commemorating the victims of the cyclone at the Hull River Settlement, was unveiled 100 years later, on 10 March 2018. It is at the junction of South Mission Beach Road and the Kennedy Esplanade ( 17°56′14″S146°05′39″E / 17.93729°S 146.09427°E ). [22]
Tully is a town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is adjacent to the Bruce Highway, approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi) south of Cairns by road and 210 kilometres (130 mi) north of Townsville. Tully is perhaps best known for being one of the wettest towns in Australia, and home to the 7.9 m tall Golden Gumboot.
Mission Beach is a coastal town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Mission Beach had a population of 1,014 people.
Cardwell is a coastal town and rural locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Cardwell had a population of 1,320 people.
Edmund Besley Court Kennedy J. P. was an explorer in Australia in the mid nineteenth century. He was the Assistant-Surveyor of New South Wales, working with Sir Thomas Mitchell. Kennedy explored the interior of Queensland and northern New South Wales, including the Thomson River, the Barcoo River, Cooper Creek, and Cape York Peninsula. He died in December 1848 after being speared by Aboriginal Australians in far north Queensland near Cape York.
Hull River Aboriginal Settlement, sometimes incorrectly referred to as Hull River Aboriginal Mission, was an Aboriginal reserve established in 1914, located at the present location of Mission Beach in the Hull River National Park, Queensland, Australia.
Tam O'Shanter Point is a headland located in South Mission Beach, Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia on the north-eastern part of Rockingham Bay in the Coral Sea. It is part of the Coastal Wet Tropics Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for the conservation of lowland tropical rainforest birds.
The Coastal Wet Tropics Important Bird Area comprises a disjunct 521 km2 stretch of coastal and subcoastal land in tropical Far North Queensland, Australia. It extends from just south of Cairns in the north for about 150 km to Cardwell in the south. It is important for the conservation of lowland rainforest birds, especially southern cassowaries.
Bingil Bay is a coastal town, locality and bay in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Bingil Bay had a population of 438 people.
Garners Beach is a coastal locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Garners Beach had a population of 31 people.
The Djiru, otherwise spelt Jirru, Are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are along the coasts of Northern Queensland, mainly the area around Mission Beach.
Lower Tully is a rural locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Lower Tully had a population of 88 people.
Wongaling Beach is a tropical beachside coastal town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Wongaling Beach had a population of 1,323 people.
Granadilla is a rural locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Granadilla had a population of 101 people.
Ellerbeck is a coastal locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Ellerbeck had a population of 207 people.
Tully Heads is a coastal town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Tully Heads had a population of 354 people.
Hull Heads is a coastal town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Hull Heads had a population of 127 people.
Tam O'Shanter is a rural locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Tam O'Shanter had "no people or a very low population".
Kurrimine Beach is a coastal town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Kurrimine Beach had a population of 742 people.
Goondi Hill is a semi-urban locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Goondi Hill had a population of 437 people.
Goolboo is a rural locality in the Cassowary Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Goolboo had a population of 25 people.
This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander missions and reserves in Queensland published by the State Library of Queensland under CC BY licence , accessed on 15 April 2014.