Molle Islands National Park

Molle Islands National Park
View from South Molle Island to North Molle Island and Daydream Island (on the left side of the picture)
Coordinates: 20 ° 22 ′ 36 ″  S , 148 ° 51 ′ 27 ″  E
Location:	Queensland , Australia
Specialty:	Volcanic islands, eucalyptus and rainforests, grasslands
Next city:	Shute Harbor
Surface:	17.7 km²
Founding:	1937

The Molle Islands National Park (English: Molle Islands National Park ) is a national park in the east of the Australian state of Queensland .

location

It is 913 km northwest of Brisbane and about 100 km north of Mackay . The Molle Islands are located west of the Whitsunday Islands National Park on the continental shelf in the Coral Sea .

The Molle Islands consists of 8 islands: Long Island , Daydream Island (formerly: West Molle Island), Denman Island, Goat Island, Mid Molle Island, North Molle Island, Planton Island and South Molle Island . All islands are part of the Great Barrier Reef UNESCO World Heritage Site .

In the vicinity are the national parks Repulse Islands , Whitsunday Islands , Lindeman Islands and Gloucester Island ; on the mainland of Conway National Park .

history

The Ngaro Aborigines have lived on the islands off this coastal area for thousands of years . The Ngaro (also called Island People in Australia) were a tribe of the Aborigines who are classified as seafarers and not as typical Coastal People (indigenous coastal people) of Australia. They were the only seafaring Aboriginal tribe in Australia and lived in this island area for about 9,000 years. The Ngaro became extinct as a tribe during the time of British colonization.

The European settlers used the land as pasture and displaced the indigenous population. In 1937 the archipelago was declared a national park. The national park is named after Colonel George James Molle , who was Lieutenant Governor in New South Wales during the British colonial era .

geology

Like the Whitsunday Islands , the Molle Islands are of volcanic origin. Eruptions 110 million years ago created mountains in the area that later sank into the Coral Sea.

The Molle Islands were formed as islands during an Ice Age when the polar ice melted and the land flooded.

flora

On the islands you will mainly find light eucalyptus forest , in the more protected areas also rainforest , otherwise grassland on the exposed slopes. Frequent burning of the grasslands by the Ngaro prevented the encroachment.

Facilities

Resort hotels are located on three inhabited islands, Daydream Island , South Molle Island and Long Island . Camping is permitted on South Molle Island (Sandy Bay, Paddle Bay) and several other islands, but there are no facilities. There are picnic areas and toilets on South Molle Island , Long Island, and North Molle Island . There are no created hiking trails.

Driveway

The group of islands directly east of Shute Harbor can be reached from there and from Airlie Beach by private or commercial boats.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Australian Government - CAPAD 2010 ( MS Excel ; 166 kB), DSEWPaC , accessed on January 7, 2013 (English)
2. ^ Steve Parish: Australian Touring Atlas . Steve Parish Publishing. Archerfield QLD 2007. ISBN 978-1-74193-232-4 . P. 11
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Molle Islands National Park . Department of Environment and Resource Management. Retrieved November 27, 2012
4. ↑ Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management Strategy - Visitor Management Settings - Map 2 'Whitsunday' ( Memento of the original from July 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.2 MB), Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service , accessed January 7, 2013 
5. ↑ Fiona Dickson: The Ngaro people of the Whitsundays on abc.net, June 25, 2008, accessed May 23, 2010