Raine Island
Geography | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 11°35′30.24″S 144°2′17.14″E / 11.5917333°S 144.0380944°E |
Area | 32 ha (79 acres) |
Administration | |
Australia | |
State | Queensland |
Protected Area | Great Barrier Reef Marine Park |
Raine Island is a vegetated coral
Raine Island is the site of the oldest European structure in tropical Australia, a stone beacon built in 1844, and harbours the world's largest remaining population of
Geography
Raine Island is a vegetated coral cay dominated by low herbaceous annual vegetation (Batianoff et al. 1993). The cay is composed of a central core of phosphate rock surrounded by sand and extensive fringing reefs. It lies just off the eastern edge of the continental shelf, next to a shipping channel known as the Raine Island Entrance and Pandora entrance. The entrance allows shipping to enter the water of the Great Barrier Reef.
Environment
Turtles
Raine Island is the largest and most important
Up to 100,000 nesting females have been observed in a season, with the cay producing 90% of the region's green turtles. However, the hatching rate declined in the 1990s, and a further decline in the population was threatened by the deaths of thousands of females as they struggled to climb the small sandy cliffs. In addition, as the shape of the island had changed over time, the spread of the beaches outwards had led to greater risk of inundation of the turtle nests. Between 2011 and 2020, a collaborative project by the
As of June 2020[update], a project called "The Turtle Cooling Project" is being undertaken by scientists from the
Birds
More than 30 bird species have been observed on the island.
History
Raine Island falls within the
During the 1890s the island was mined for guano.[1]
The beacon and the Raine Island Corporation
The waters around the island were treacherous for early European navigators. More than thirty shipwrecks can be found off the coast of the island including HMS Pandora, a vessel that in 1791 was involved in the capture of a group of mutineers from HMS Bounty.[1][9] As a consequence, the beacon was built by convict labour in 1844, on the orders of the British Admiralty. It is the oldest European structure in the Australian tropics. The stone used in its construction was quarried from the island's phosphate rock, the timber salvaged from shipwrecks, and shells burnt to make lime for mortar. The structure took four months to complete. While the beacon never served as a lighthouse, it is visible over 13 nautical miles (24 km) from the island.
Over the years, the structure deteriorated; undermining, stone bedding loss, natural erosion, harsh weather and lightning strikes all contributed to its dilapidation.[10] In 1988, the Raine island Corporation carried out repairs to secure the structure, for which it was honoured with the Australian Bicentennial National Trust of Queensland John Herbert Award for Excellence in Heritage Conservation.[10] The beacon is considered one of the most important historical monuments in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register and the Commonwealth Register of the National Estate.
The Raine Island Corporation was a self-funding
National Park (Scientific)
In August 2007 Raine Island, along with the neighbouring Moulter and MacLennan Cays, was declared a National Park (Scientific) under Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992.[8]
"Not only does Raine Island have the largest known green turtle rookery in the world with tens of thousands of turtles coming to lay their eggs each year, it is home to the endangered herald petrel and the vulnerable red-tailed tropic bird and is arguably the most significant seabird rookery on the Great Barrier Reef,"
"By upgrading Raine Island from Nature Refuge status to National Park (Scientific), its special values and adjacent cays and ensuring nature conservation research can continue to be conserved."
By declaring Raine Island to be National Park (Scientific), the seabirds and turtles breeding colonies were able to be provided the State's highest possible level of legal protection, strictly limiting all access to scientific research and essential management only.[8]
The declaration was made possible by the Wuthathi people and interested Torres Strait Islanders entering into a special Indigenous Land Use Agreement with the State, formally registering the agreement with National Native Title Tribunal, and so allowing the declaration to proceed.[11]
Heritage listings
Raine Island has a number of
- Eastern end of Raine Island: Raine Island Beacon[12]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Raine Island Corporation". Archived from the original on 10 April 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
- ^ "Raine Island – island in Shire of Cook (entry 27936)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ^ Alberts, Elizabeth Claire. "An armada of turtles, caught on drone cam, flocks to the Great Barrier Reef". Mongabay. Mongabay. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "Raine Island Moulter Cay and MacLennan Cay Site Management Arrangements". Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ Kim, Sharnie; Rigby, Mark (12 June 2020). "Green turtle rookery on Raine Island brought back from brink, but scientists' fight not over yet". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ Kilvert, Nick (12 June 2020). "Turning female: The race to save the northern green turtle". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Raine Island, Moulter and Maclennan Cays. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 26/09/2011.
- ^ a b c Premier Peter Beattie & Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr Media Release, August 22, 2007, World's Largest Green Turtle Rookery Given Highest Protection Status Accessed 18 February 2009
- ISBN 0-00-257221-4.
- ^ a b "Raine Island National Park (Scientific): Nature, culture and history". Department of Environment and Resource Management. 16 September 2010.
- ^ ATNS Database of Agreements, Treaties, and Negotiated Settlements Entry "Raine Island National Park (Scientific) Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA)" Accessed 18 February 2009
- ^ "Raine Island Beacon (entry 600432)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
External links
- Media related to Raine Island, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons
- About Raine Island