magneticisland

Nelly Bay is a town on Magnetic Island and a suburb of the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. Nelly Bay is the principal township, and since 1971 has been under threat of comprehensive development. Rights for development were onsold several times and Magnetic Keys (later known as Magnetic Quay) mounted an ambitious 30 ha tourist/commercial complex in 1986, involving breakwaters, dredging, and a marina basin. When the breakwaters were nearly complete the promoter went into receivership, leaving a fenced-off eyesore. Tidal flushing of the bay was facilitated by a culvert in the breakwater. The residents kept to the shoreline and used the breakwaters for exercise walking. Nelly Bay has the island's main shopping center, a primary school, a church, and a swimming pool. Picnic Bay to the south has a golf course, a surf life-saving club, a swimming enclosure, and a church. Its ferry terminal was transferred to Nelly Bay in 2003 but the jetty remains there. Arcadia, in the opposite direction, has a bowling club and two churches. Its surf life-saving club is on Alma Bay. Source: queenslandplaces.com.au/magnetic-island

One of Queensland’s top 10 beaches – Alma Bay is located in Arcadia, on the Eastern coast of Magnetic Island. Alma Bay faces due east and has two prominent granite headlands which run out for 300 meters at either end of the beach. The Bay pays tribute and commemorates military staff who died during World War I, II, and the Vietnam War, with a touching war memorial. Ideal for swimming, snorkeling, or just relaxing. In 1886 a surveyor by the name of J. G O’Connell named ‘Alma Bay’ after the Pearce family children living in Townsville at the time. Alma Bay – located in Arcadia is a very picturesque little bay, just 150 m in width at the beach. The beach is often calm and only receives waves when the south easterlies are blowing. “It’s a safe beach, it’s well patrolled for swimmers and there are a limited number of stingers.” according to Arcadia Surf Life Saving Club president Paul -Demopoulos. Source: magneticislandonline.com.au/alma-bay/

Landscape Magnetic Island is well known for its distinctive environment and picturesque landscape featuring large granite boulders, hoop pines, sandy beaches, and fringing coral reefs. The story of Magnetic Island began 275 million years ago when molten granite was pushed to the earth’s surface with volcanic force. Over time the overlying volcanic rocks weathered away. The underlying granite mass has decomposed along fracture lines, creating today's extraordinary landscape of rounded domes and boulders (tors), many of which are larger than a house and spectacularly perched. Fault lines have eroded to form gullies and valleys. Today, a shallow sea separates the island from the mainland. However, before the sea level rose 7,500 years ago, Magnetic Island was connected to the mainland between Cape Pallarenda and Kissing Point. Indigenous history The Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Yunbenun (Magnetic Island), the Wulgurukaba people, and the ‘canoe people’, have lived on the island and nearby mainland for thousands of years. Shell middens, stone tools, and art sites are some of the physical reminders of their strong connection with the island. The Wulgurukaba people have stories, such as the Big Carpet Snake story linking Magnetic and Palm Islands and the mainland, which tell of the creation of this landscape during the Dreamtime. The Wulgurukaba people were able to maintain their traditional lifestyle until the mid-1890s when the Townsville port was established. As more European people moved into the area, the Wulgurukaba people were forced to move off their traditional lands, and confrontations with settlers, loss of traditional food sources and disease took their toll. They remained on the island until the 1920s and 30s but were eventually forced to live in missions on the mainland. A small group of Wulgurukaba people remain on or have returned to the island. Non-Indigenous history Magnetic Island was named by Lt James Cook in 1770 when he believed the magnetic compass on his ship the Endeavour was affected by the island. During the 1800s Magnetic Island became a popular picnic area and by the late 1890s, the first resort was established in Picnic Bay. Tourism prospered during the early 1900s as Townsville grew to be a major city in North Queensland. Source: parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/magnetic-island/about/culture