Heron Island (Queensland)
| Heron Island | ||
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| Waters | Coral sea | |
| Archipelago | Capricorn Group | |
| Geographical location | 23 ° 26 '31 " S , 151 ° 54' 50" E | |
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| length | 800 m | |
| width | 300 m | |
| surface | 17 ha | |
| Highest elevation | 3.6 m | |
Heron Iceland is an approximately 17-hectare island in the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef , 80 kilometers north-east of Gladstone ( Queensland ), Australia , and part of the Gladstone Region . The island is located on the western part of the Heron Reef and has a remarkable biodiversity which is protected by the Capricornia Cays National Park .
history
The island was first sighted by James Cook in 1770 and Matthew Flinders in 1802 . However, both avoided going ashore on Heron Island, probably because of the shallows of the Great Barrier Reef. Finally, the island was taken by Charles Bampfield Yule in 1843 as part of a voyage of discovery to Great Britain and was given its name by Francis Blackwood , officer of the crew that landed with a cutter .
The island remained uninhabited until well into the 20th century and was only visited occasionally for the seasonal hunt for green turtles. In 1936, Captain Christian Poulsen, who had been fishing trips to the island for several years, bought Heron Island for £ 290. In 1943, however, large parts of Heron Island were bought up by the Australian state and declared a national park.
Todays use
The travel company Delaware North from the United States operates a vacation resort on the island . Diving and snorkeling are popular with mainly foreign tourists. The HMAS Protector , which sank in the port of the island in 1943, is a popular diving destination.
There is also a research station on Heron that has been researching the ecology of coral reefs in particular since the middle of the 20th century .
Since there is no fresh water on the island, a small desalination plant was built that uses an environmentally friendly, osmotic process to extract fresh water. Electricity is generated with the help of two diesel generators and solar panels .
Flora and fauna
The island's nature is characterized by a great diversity of species and is typical of the Great Barrier Reef. A diverse flora particularly determines the image of the national park in the east of the island. In addition to typical native species, you will find papaya , oleander , red frangipani , bougainvillea and coconut palms here .
Native animal species include herring head gulls , reef freons , gallirallus , copper -necked pigeons , Götzenliest , black-faced caterpillars , spectacled birds and Pacific rats . Furthermore, green turtles , hawksbill turtles and loggerhead turtles in the coral banks around Heron and whales in the open sea off the island (mostly in October on their forays into the Antarctic) can be found.
Voyager
A photo of the island is in the Voyager Golden Record memory of the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft . Heron Island was included in the selection of photos of places on earth as an outstanding example of the great biodiversity of the earth.
Web links
swell
- Homepage of the holiday resorts (Engl.)
- Bird life of the island (Engl.)
- Research station of the island (eng.)