No picnic start for Magnetic
Island ignored by explorers
ON June 6, we celebrated Queensland Day and also the landing of allied troops on the coast of France. Maybe we should have been celebrating Magnetic Island Day.
On or about June 6, 1770, 247 years ago, James Cook named Cape Cleveland, Cleveland Bay and Magnetic Island, though Cook called it Magnetical Island.
The western coast of Australia was already well known following the voyages of Dutch explorers and of William Dampier but the eastern coast remained largely uncharted. Cook’s successful voyage of 1770 filled in a gap on the map, when he put Magnetic( al) Island on the world map for the first time.
The name derived from a deviation of the ship’s compass in the vicinity of the island that seemed to indicate it possessed some magnetic qualities. However, he did not investigate further and he did not land at the island. His description of it was certainly not designed to attract tourists – “the whole appear’d to have the most ruged ( sic) rocky and barrenest surface of any we have yet seen”.
June was a popular month for the visits of early hydrographic expeditions.
The first visitors to record landing in Cleveland Bay were botanist Allan Cunningham and Lt P. P. King, master of the vessel Mermaid, in June 1819. Their descriptions, though perhaps a little more favourable, did little to improve on Cook’s description.
In June 1841, J. L. Stokes in charge of the Beagle brought his vessel to anchor in the lee of the island.
A sketch by a crew member, Lt Gore, appeared in the published account of the voyage. It depicts the northwestern part of the island and seems to be the first visual representation of any part of Cleveland Bay. It showed a very rocky shore with some vegetation, among which one can identify the hoop pines that still grow on parts of the island. It did not look particularly inviting.
So time passed, but no early maritime explorers discovered the existence of Ross River or of Ross Creek that both flowed into Cleveland Bay, so dense was the fringe of mangroves that obscured their mouths.
It was not until about 1863 that Andrew Ball and Mark Watt Reid, coming from the hinterland, discovered them. Until then, no one considered that Cleveland Bay might provide the site for a useful river port that would eventually become a large city.
Soon after the first settlers arrived in late 1864, Magnetic Island became a resort for early settlers.
The name Picnic Bay derives from the popularity of the bay with early picnic parties held there. It is recorded that Robert Towns on his only visit to Townsville was entertained with a picnic there.
One is left to wonder if any of the participants ever thought that the island might become the popular tourist destination it is today.