51-540: Geoffrey Bay is a bay with a large sweeping beach on Magnetic Island , Queensland , Australia. It is offshore from the suburb of Arcadia . The wreck of the sailing barque the Moltke can be found in the bay. This North Queensland related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This North Queensland geography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Magnetic Island Magnetic Island ( Wulguru : Yunbenun )
102-505: A bay and settlement called Nelly Bay to the east-north-east, Horseshoe Bay on its northern coast, and Cockle Bay Reef off the western coast. The island is a haven for wildlife. 76% of the island is Magnetic Island National Park, which is mostly located on the steep hilly interior and rugged north-western side. The highest point on the island is Mount Cook reaching 497 m (1,631 ft) above sea level. A citizen science project at Magnetic has over 3500 observations of 1126 species with
153-683: A pamphlet published in 1864. One of Towns' vessels, the Don Juan under the command of Captain Grueber and labour recruiter Henry Ross Lewin , brought 73 South Sea Islanders to the port of Brisbane in August 1863. Towns specifically wanted adolescent males recruited and, although Towns denied the accusations, kidnapping was reportedly employed in obtaining these boys. Over the following two years, Towns imported around 400 more Melanesians to Townsvale on one to three year terms of labour. They came on
204-616: A regular ferry service to the island with his ship the Bee . Twelve months later this ship was wrecked on the rocks at Nobby Head, Picnic Bay, and the Phoenix was built by Hayles' sons to replace the vessel. The Hayles company remained operating services to Magnetic Island with a large number of different vessels until 1988. Magnetic Island became an important defensive position during World War II because of its proximity to Townsville, an important military base, and its views over Cleveland Bay ,
255-502: A significant anchorage and assembly point for large fleets and convoys operating in the south Pacific. As such, the Magnetic Battery , (AKA The Forts) an artillery battery and observation post, was built in the hinterland of Florence, Horseshoe and Arthur Bays. Picnic Bay also became a popular defence force rest and relaxation camp following the commandeering of a resort in the bay in 1939. The island slowly expanded following
306-545: A small amount of Melanesian labour imported for the beche-de-mer trade around Bowen, Towns was the major exploiter of blackbirded workers in Queensland prior to 1867. One of Town's agents paid the workers with trinkets, claiming that the labourers were "savages who did not know the use of money" and therefore did not deserve cash wages. This was despite the Polynesian Labourers Act of 1868 stipulating
357-432: A tender from Leisner and Sparre to construct the quarantine station for £3645. It was only after the tender was accepted that the site on West Point on the north-west was actually chosen. In 1896 Cyclone Sigma tore across the island and through Townsville. At least 23 people died, many buildings destroyed and boats wrecked. The ketch Lalla Rookh was torn off its moorings and found later on Magnetic Island. (She
408-498: Is an island 8 kilometres (5 mi) offshore from the city of Townsville , Queensland, Australia. This 52 km (20.1 sq mi) mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville. The island is accessible from Townsville Breakwater to Nelly Bay Harbour by ferry. There is a large 39.5 km (15.3 sq mi) National Park and bird sanctuary and walking tracks can be taken between
459-559: Is on the northern coast, and Cockle Bay Reef off the western coast. In the 2021 census , Magnetic Island had a population of 2,475 people. The Wulguru name for the island is Yunbenun . The first European accounts of the island come from Captain James Cook who, in 1770, while navigating the Australian coast, called the island Magnetical Island , as a magnetic pull interfering with his vessel's compass appeared to emanate from
510-427: The 2006 census , Magnetic Island had a population of 2,107 people. In the 2011 census , Magnetic Island had a population of 2,199. In the 2016 census , Magnetic Island had a population of 2,335 people. In the 2021 census , Magnetic Island had a population of 2,475 people. Geographic features include Rocky Bay, Picnic Bay and Hawkings Point (around the settlement named Picnic Bay) around its southern point,
561-470: The American Civil War , prompted the Queensland government to encourage the cultivation of cotton in the sub-tropical climate of the colony. Robert Towns was the first to take up this opportunity and brought in indentured Pacific Island labourers to work on his cotton plantation of Townsvale near Brisbane in 1863. Towns actively promoted this remedy to the labour shortage in rural Queensland in
SECTION 10
#1732780596351612-610: The Balmain Cemetery . The Balmain Cemetery closed in 1912 and, in 1941, it was decided to convert it into parkland (the Pioneer's Memorial Park) and advertisements were placed for families to make arrangements for re-interment of bodies or removal of memorials. As a result, the memorial stone from Robert Towns' grave was relocated to stand atop a monument at Castle Hill, Townsville . The pulpit of St Andrew's Cathedral
663-609: The Sydney Sailors' Home . At the opening of the latter institution in 1865 Towns claimed to be the, “father of the tars in the colony, having commenced his career in 1809.” He was also a supporter and promoter of trans-Pacific steam navigation. He lived from 1864 to 1873 in Cranbrook House on New South Head Road in Rose Bay , Sydney. A world-wide shortage of cotton, due to blockades of Confederate ports during
714-483: The Federal seat of Herbert , which is represented by Phillip Thompson . There are five settlements, namely Arcadia , Horseshoe Bay , Nelly Bay , Picnic Bay , and West Point . Geographic features include Rocky Bay , Picnic Bay and Hawkings Point , around its southern extremity, a bay, Nelly Bay to the east-north-east of Rocky Bay, followed by Geoffrey Bay , with Bremner Point as its northern arm. Horseshoe Bay
765-704: The Pacific Islands. The South Sea islanders who served as seamen on Towns' sandalwood vessels and pelagic whaling ships performed well and may have prompted him to import large numbers of them into Australia to work on his pastoral properties and cotton plantation in Queensland. Towns worked with recruiters to bring the islanders to Australia, including Henry Ross Lewin , a notorious blackbirders of South Sea Islander labour. Unscrupulous methods and kidnapping were commonly used to get labourers aboard their ships. Allegations of kidnap and slavery were frequently levelled at Towns during this period, who responded with
816-613: The Sydney agency of Robert Brooks & Co. He was joined by his wife and son the following year. He already had strong ties in Sydney. Apart from almost annual voyages to the colony in the preceding fifteen years, on 28 December 1833 he had married Sophia Wentworth, a sister of explorer and politician William Charles Wentworth , at St Philip's Church, Sydney ; the couple honeymooned at her brother's estate at Toongabbie . In 1843 he established Robert Towns & Co., General Merchants, Ship and Commission Agents, at Sydney. An early investment
867-704: The Tenth of November 1794. He was educated at a village school and went to sea in 1809 as an apprentice on a North Shields collier. He was a mate by the age of 17, and a master on a brig in the Mediterranean two years later. He made his first voyage to Australia as captain of Boa Vista in 1827. He was a regular trader to Australia by the time he arrived in command of the Brothers (325 tons) in August 1832. In 1838 he took command of Royal Saxon for London shipowner, merchant and banker Robert Brooks . Towns
918-488: The agent for London merchant Robert Brooks (MP) . He also became a merchant in his own right in Sydney with involvement in the sandalwood and pelagic whaling trades. He was an importer of sugar and tea , and an exporter of wool , whale oil , cotton and other commodities. He became a pastoralist and pioneered the cultivation of cotton in Queensland, often employing Kanakas . The head office of Robert Towns & Company
969-423: The area. They had seasonal camps at a number of bays, and travelled between the island and mainland using canoes . A number of Aboriginal burial sites are said to exist on the island, but have so far not been identified. Aboriginal middens and cave drawings can still be found in a number of bays around Yunbenun. Folklore of the local Wulguru tribe recounts a long association with the island and annual migrations to
1020-458: The board of the Bank of New South Wales in 1850. Later in the decade, he became president of the bank. Towns entry into the sandalwood trade began with a stroke of good fortune. His vessel Elizabeth returned to Sydney on 29 June 1845 from Tanna with 100 tons of sandalwood. It was sent to China where it arrived at a time of high prices of almost £50 a ton for a commodity the gathering of which by
1071-601: The council president) and then re-appointed for life on 23 June 1863, terminating at his death on 11 April 1873. Although he did not take a leading part in politics, his advice was much sought in matters affecting business. He was a member and president of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce , a member of the Pilot Board, on the committee of the Sydney Bethel Union and one of the founding councillors of
SECTION 20
#17327805963511122-439: The early 1840s, and his ready access to credit, allowed Towns to quickly become established as a leading figure in the shipping industry. He purchased eight vessels and also a well-located wharf at Millar's Point, Darling Harbour, that soon became known as Towns' Wharf. The vessels were put to work in the sandalwood trade, as pelagic whalers and as trading vessels. His standing in the Sydney commercial circles saw him invited to join
1173-653: The end of the Second World War . In 1953, Centaur House, a memorial convalescent and rest hostel for nurses, was officially opened in Geoffrey Bay. In late December 1971 Cyclone Althea hit the North Queensland coast directly crossing Magnetic Island. The island, along with much of the mainland, was devastated with 90% of the island's houses damaged or destroyed, some simply lifted off their foundations and tossed into trees. The island, along with
1224-494: The island. People have since explored the general area of Magnetic Island with various instruments to discover what might have caused the effect that Cook reported, but nothing has been discovered. Local names for the island are "Maggie Isle", "Maggie Island", or "The Island". Yunbenun is the traditional land of the Wulgurukaba people. It had a transient population of Aboriginal people well before European exploration of
1275-593: The labour shortage caused by the Australian Gold Rushes but he found it difficult to place them with other employers. Towns was the leading figure in the trade and had brought in 2,400 Chinese by 1854 as well as 86 Indian workers. He tried to import Chinese and Indian labourers to work on his cotton plantation in Queensland but was frustrated by British government emigration agents in India and Hong Kong. He then looked to bring in indentured labourers from
1326-417: The land. The coffee crop failed because the beans had been roasted before Towns acquired them. However, this detail did not prevent Towns from succeeding in his efforts to acquire the land. In 1870, Robert Towns was attacked by paralysis and his health was precarious thereafter. He suffered a further stroke on 7 April 1873 and died at his home, Cranbrook, on 11 April 1873. He was buried on 15 April 1873 in
1377-563: The mainland to avoid expeditions of head-hunters from Papua New Guinea and the Torres Strait , which used the northern trade winds to travel south along the Queensland coast. This head-hunting nearly ceased following the arrival of missionaries, led by Samuel MacFarlane to the Torres Straits in 1871. J.M. Black, funded by Robert Towns , founded the township of Townsville on the mainland nearby. As Townsville developed through
1428-753: The mainland, soon recovered. In July 2012, a six hectare (15 acre) section of the island was granted to the Wulgurukaba Yunbenun Aboriginal Corporation under freehold title and a further 55 hectare (135 acre) section under a Deed of Grant in Trust . In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Magnetic Island was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "Natural attraction". In
1479-547: The mid 19th century. He thought the close proximity of Port Jackson to the whaling grounds of the western Pacific made it a "legitimate" enterprise for maritime entrepreneurs based in Sydney. The "lottery aspect" of the industry he felt could be eliminated with a sufficient number of vessels and so he tried to have a fleet of a dozen deep-sea whalers operating at any one time. All told he owned, or part-owned, 23 Sydney whaling vessels at various times. These made 125 voyages from Port Jackson during his thirty or so years involvement in
1530-452: The mid-19th century, Magnetic Island became a valuable location for the gathering of hoop pine and granite , the latter of which was used in the reclamation of land for the Port of Townsville, and for construction of Townsville's Customs House. Picnic Bay was named after its popularity as a picnic spot for European tourists from the mainland during the 19th century , before Magnetic Island
1581-437: The most observed species the koala and the most observed marine species the goldstripe butterflyfish . Magnetic Island is famous for its fishing opportunities. Fish around the island include: mackerel , giant trevally , queenfish , coral trout , blackspot tuskfish , tuna , fingermark, red emperor and sea perch . As of 2013, there are over 800 koalas estimated to be present on the island; this population represents
Geoffrey Bay - Misplaced Pages Continue
1632-580: The natives at Eromanga had been paid for with old hoop-iron, axes and assorted ironmongery. Later in the 1840s he began to establish trading posts on the islands of the Pacific to gather sandalwood, beche-de-mer and coconut oil for collection by his island trading vessels. Trading posts were established at New Caledonia (in 1847), the Isle of Pines (1848) and at Aneityum (1853). The commodities collected there he sometimes shipped to China on his own vessels. On
1683-424: The northern limit of their geographic range. The areas of the island that are not covered by the conservation area are open for development subject to local authority approval. As of 2018 the island was undergoing an economic boom. The wreckage of SS City of Adelaide is located off the shore of Cockle Bay, the island and is a popular tourist attraction. The five villages of the island, which contain most of
1734-641: The populated bays and to a number of tourist destinations such as the World War II forts. The island is a holiday destination with many hotels and several resorts in operation to cater for all levels of service. The public facilities and infrastructure on the island are managed by the Townsville City Council . The island is part of the electoral district of Townsville in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland , and part of
1785-952: The population of 2017 (as of the census of population) Magnetic Island has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: There is a primary school at Nelly Bay. The nearest secondary school is Townsville State High School in Railway Estate in the Townsville mainland. The Magnetic Garbutt branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the CWA Hall at 42 Lancaster Street, Garbutt . Other groups include: Annual events include: To find out more visit whatsonmagneticisland.com.au 19°08′S 146°50′E / 19.133°S 146.833°E / -19.133; 146.833 Robert Towns Robert Towns (10 November 1794 – 11 April 1873)
1836-524: The publication of a pamphlet outlining the instructions he gave to Ross-Lewin in regards to recruitment of the labourers. This pamphlet was later criticised for possibly being written after voyage and for the conditions specified for the labourers not being met in that shelter was not provided, wages not paid and the Islanders not returned home. Towns was a major figure in whaling in Australia during
1887-854: The return journey they would bring consignments of tea, rice and sugar from ports in Asia. Some of these cargoes, particularly during the gold rush years, were highly profitable. Towns had trouble finding men to work in his various enterprises, as did other employers in New South Wales. A Coolie Immigration Society was established in Sydney in September 1842 to lobby the government to remove restrictions on importing labourers from India. The ship Orwell arrived in Sydney 23 March 1846 with 56 male and 13 female “ coolies ”, recruited for Robert Towns in Calcutta, supposedly to work as “domestic servants”. On
1938-482: The trade, this in spite of the fact he arrived late on the scene, the industry having peaked in the 1830s. His strategy was to purchase old and inexpensive vessels and crew them with South Sea islanders who were more tractable and prepared to work on the "lay" or share system of payment. He chose experienced and capable masters to command these vessels and keep them at sea in the face of the manifold difficulties routinely experienced on their long and demanding voyages. It
1989-664: The vessels Uncle Tom (Captain Archer Smith) and Black Dog (Captain Linklater). Between 1864 and 1904, an estimated 63,000 women and men came to Australia to work in the shipping and sugar industries. Many were poorly paid and endured harsh conditions. It has been alleged that those acting on behalf of Towns and others engaged in blackbirding, the practice of coercing and kidnapping labourers when they could not obtain workers to come voluntarily. Many attempts had been made to grow cotton in Australia before this time, but Towns
2040-491: The voyage out they had to work the pumps of the leaky ship day and night. They were given insufficient food and little warm clothing and all of them became unwell and one died soon after arrival. In Sydney the men were put to work on Towns wharf but they stopped work after a few days. They said their food was inadequate and the terms of their employment had never been made clear to them. Three hundred Chinese labourers were landed from Towns' ship Royal Saxon in 1853 to help meet
2091-495: The whaling trade alive from Sydney. He was flexible in the way he used his vessels. He would get his returning whalers to call at Pacific island trading stations to pick up casks of coconut oil , trepang of tortoise-shell. At other times he took some ships out of whaling altogether and sent them on trading voyages. Towns was a member of the initial New South Wales Legislative Council from 22 May 1856 to 10 May 1861 (a 5-year appointment, terminated by his resignation in support of
Geoffrey Bay - Misplaced Pages Continue
2142-401: The workers should have been paid in coin. Towns appears to have been involved in the first attempts to cultivate coffee in Australia. The story goes that Towns was privy to a plan by the government to grant title to land under cultivation. He procured a boat load of coffee beans, arranged for them to be planted on a substantial tract of land in the Townsville area and applied for the title to
2193-501: Was a British master mariner who settled in Australia as a businessman, sandalwood merchant, colonist, shipowner, pastoralist, politician, whaler and civic leader. He was the founder of Townsville , Queensland and named it after himself. He is also known for his involvement in blackbirding and labour exploitation of immigrant workers. After a career at sea as a master mariner based in Britain, Towns came to Australia in 1843 as
2244-501: Was able to be recovered and continued to carry loads of timber up and down the coast, until being wrecked off the Queensland coast in 1899. ) By 1890 a resort had been started in Picnic Bay. In 1898 Robert Hayles Sr was so impressed by the potential of Magnetic Island he sold his other interests to build a resort on the island. Hayles was responsible for much of the development of Magnetic Island through tourism. In 1901 he started
2295-582: Was also part-owner of the vessel. During the First Opium War (1839-1842) he broke the British blockade of Canton and took aboard a cargo of tea "at the highest freight rates yet seen in British private trade." On his return to London he was asked to go to Australia to put in order the affairs of Brooks’ agent in Sydney, Ranulph Dacre . Towns reached Port Jackson in March 1843, and took charge of
2346-506: Was first inhabited by Europeans. In the mid-19th century the island became a popular location for the collection of stone and coral needed for development on the mainland. Even substantial quantities of gold were mined in 1886. In 1875, the island was set aside as a quarantine station although it took another ten years for the proper facilities to be set up at West Point. In November 1884 the Queensland Government accepted
2397-727: Was in Sydney with branch offices in Melbourne , Brisbane , Dunedin and Townsville. His far-flung trading connections saw him do business with merchants in Mauritius , India , Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), the Philippines , New Zealand , New Caledonia , China , the New Hebrides (Vanuatu), California and Chile . Robert Towns was born at Longhorsley , Northumberland , England, on
2448-406: Was provided by Towns. After a number of subsequent owners, his home Cranbrook House would become Cranbrook School . On Sunday 1 November 1964, a monument commemorating the "100th Anniversary of Settlement in Townsville" was unveiled on The Strand in Townsville with particular mention made of four men: Robert Towns, Andrew Ball , Mark Watt Reid and John Melton Black . As at 2020, the monument
2499-473: Was sometimes hard to get insurance for his aged vessels, eight of which were lost at sea. Crews were difficult to find at times, especially during the gold rush period in the 1850s, forcing him to send his ships to Hobart or the South Sea islands for men. In spite of the challenges, and the disapproval of his business partners, he persisted through into the 1860s and 1870s when, almost single-handed, he kept
2550-566: Was the first to do so on a large scale. Realising that a port was needed on the Queensland coast north of Bowen, Towns arranged for explorations to be made from his stations, a suitable site was found at Cleveland Bay , and in October 1865 it was gazetted as a port of entry and named Townsville . Towns organised the first importation of South Sea Islander labour to that port in 1866. They came aboard Blue Bell under Captain Edwards. Apart from
2601-607: Was the purchase of the Elizabeth (174 tons) in 1843. She had been built in 1816 and the purchase of old vessels like her became a feature of his shipowning. In 1855 he took into the partnership (later Sir) Alexander Stuart . By 1857 the firm had made profits of £245,000. Much of this success relied on the ongoing business relationship with Robert Brooks. Brooks provided capital for joint ventures, made advances against Australian exports and provided general financial backing for Robert Towns & Co. The depressed colonial economy of
SECTION 50
#1732780596351#350649