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One Tree Island (Queensland)
Encyclopedia
One Tree Island is a small coral
cay
. It is located near the Tropic of Capricorn
in the southern Great Barrier Reef
, 96 km due east nor east of Gladstone
, Queensland
, Australia
, and 450 km north of the state capital Brisbane
. The island is part of the Great Barrier Reef chain of islands, and is part of the Capricorn and Bunker Group
of island and forms part of the Capricornia Cays National Park
. It is also part of the Capricornia Cays Important Bird Area
.
Vegetation consists of scattered Velvet Soldierbush and Scaevola
taccada with several. small groves of Pisonia grandis
. A small. pond of brackish water is situated near the centre of tile cay. A Research Station conducted by Sydney University is located on the cay.
s and their reefs lie on the western marginal shelf, and are separated from the mainland by the Curtis Channel. The cays are not generally visible from the mainland, although Masthead Island may be viewed from Mount Larcom on a clear day.
Geologically the cays are young, having developed during the Holocene
period, they are mostly around 5000 years old. The sea level was much lower during the last Ice Age
(at the end of the Pleistocene
period) and the coastal plane on which today’s reefs and cays developed was completely exposed. Early in the Holocene (around 10,000 years ago) the sea level
began to rise, until it stabilised at its present level around 6000 years ago. Once the sea level stabilised, it was possible for reef flats to expand and provide potential sites for the formation of cays.
One Tree Island is a Shingle cay and part of a Lagoonal Platform Reef:
of the whaling ship Albion was the first European to discover the region and gave his name to the southern group.
During a second whaling voyage from England in the Albion he discovered the Bunker Islands off the Queensland coast.
The Albion was 362 tons and registered in London, the ship was fitted with 10 guns, and a crew of 26; she was built in Deptfordand, Britain ownered by, Messrs. Champion; and used for general cargo
The southern cays and reefs were first chartered between 1819 and 1821 by Lieutenant Phillip Parker King RN initially in the Mermaid and later in the Bathurst. The main charting exercise for all the islands and reefs was carried out in 1843 under the command of Captain Francis Blackwood in HMS Fly which was accompanied by the Bramble. The naturalist, Professor J. Beete Jukes, was on board the Fly and his published journal provides valuable information on some of the cays.
The research Station provides basic accommodation. Three new buildings were constructed in 1987 to replace the former scientists' accommodation building, the resident officers' house and the wet laboratory/workshop/storage building. The fourth building, the main laboratory and station office, was constructed in 1983 and is cyclone-resistant. The new buildings provide comfortable living on the island, with timber-louvred windows, coral rubble and timber floors, screens and ceiling fans. Solar panels backed up by a 240V diesel generator provide electricity to a 120V DC battery bank and 240 volt AC inverter for lighting and laboratory equipment. For cooking LPG powered appliances are used. The only freshwater supply for the island is rainwater which is stored in (rainwater) tanks.
, West Fairfax and West Hoskyn Islands; these are maintained in a natural condition, free from human disturbance. Up to eight seabird species breed on Masthead, One Tree and Wreck Islands, and seven species are recorded from Tryon, Erskine and West Fairfax Islands. The Capricorn Silvereye
, a small bird endemic to the southern Great Barrier Reef, is found on the island. There are also Brown Booby
breeding colonies at East and West Fairfax and East Hoskyn Islands.
Jane Lockhart sunk between the 11 through to the 17th December 1868 on Lady Musgrave Island / Heron Island / Masthead Reef or One Tree Island The vessel was a 2 Mast Schooner
. Departed from Sydney with general cargo for Broadsound; and ran aground on Lady Musgrave Is; maybe on Heron Is or One Tree Island or Masthead Reef Lost on a reef off Heron Island on the night of 17 December 1868. The crew took to the boat and safely reached the Pilot Station at Keppel Island.
Originally stated as on Lady Musgrave reef (most unlikely) later news reports claim wreck on Heron Island with some other reports mention the wreck on either One Tree Island or Mast Head.
The vessel was built in 1861 at Ulladulla New South Wales and registered in Sydney with the Official number of 36858 and a Registered number of 9/1861
From the original reports
and 6 months later it was reported as
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
cay
Cay
A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...
. It is located near the Tropic of Capricorn
Tropic of Capricorn
The Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, marks the most southerly latitude on the Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent.Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five...
in the southern Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
, 96 km due east nor east of Gladstone
Gladstone, Queensland
- Education :Gladstone has several primary schools, three high schools, and one university campus, Central Queensland University. It is also home to CQIT Gladstone Campus.- Recreation :...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and 450 km north of the state capital Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. The island is part of the Great Barrier Reef chain of islands, and is part of the Capricorn and Bunker Group
Capricorn and Bunker Group
The islands and reefs of the Capricorn and Bunker Group are situated astride the Tropic of Capricorn at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, approximately 80 kilometres east of Gladstone, which is situated on the central coast of Queensland....
of island and forms part of the Capricornia Cays National Park
Capricornia Cays National Park
Capricornia Cays is both a national park and a scientific national park in Queensland , located 486 km and 472 km north of the state capital Brisbane respectively. Collectively they comprise 241 ha of coral cays....
. It is also part of the Capricornia Cays Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
.
General
One Tree Island is a rubble or shingle cay at the eastern end of a coral reef which is about 5.5 km by 3.5 km in sizeVegetation consists of scattered Velvet Soldierbush and Scaevola
Scaevola
Scaevola is a genus of flowering plants in the Goodenia family, Goodeniaceae. It consists of more than 130 tropical species, with the center of diversity being Australia and Polynesia, including Hawaii....
taccada with several. small groves of Pisonia grandis
Pisonia grandis
Pisonia grandis is a species of flowering tree in the Bougainvillea family, Nyctaginaceae.-Description:The tree has broad, thin leaves, smooth bark and bears clusters of green sweet-smelling flowers that mature into sticky barbed seeds....
. A small. pond of brackish water is situated near the centre of tile cay. A Research Station conducted by Sydney University is located on the cay.
Geomorphology and landscape
The Capricorn and Bunker Cays form part of a distinct geomorphic province at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. The cayCay
A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...
s and their reefs lie on the western marginal shelf, and are separated from the mainland by the Curtis Channel. The cays are not generally visible from the mainland, although Masthead Island may be viewed from Mount Larcom on a clear day.
Geologically the cays are young, having developed during the Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
period, they are mostly around 5000 years old. The sea level was much lower during the last Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
(at the end of the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
period) and the coastal plane on which today’s reefs and cays developed was completely exposed. Early in the Holocene (around 10,000 years ago) the sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
began to rise, until it stabilised at its present level around 6000 years ago. Once the sea level stabilised, it was possible for reef flats to expand and provide potential sites for the formation of cays.
One Tree Island is a Shingle cay and part of a Lagoonal Platform Reef:
Discovery
In 1803 Captain Eber BunkerEber Bunker
Eber Bunker was a sea captain and pastoralist, born on 7 March 1761 at Plymouth, Massachusetts. His parents were James Bunker and his wife Hannah, née Shurtleff.-1776-1786: Background:...
of the whaling ship Albion was the first European to discover the region and gave his name to the southern group.
During a second whaling voyage from England in the Albion he discovered the Bunker Islands off the Queensland coast.
The Albion was 362 tons and registered in London, the ship was fitted with 10 guns, and a crew of 26; she was built in Deptfordand, Britain ownered by, Messrs. Champion; and used for general cargo
The southern cays and reefs were first chartered between 1819 and 1821 by Lieutenant Phillip Parker King RN initially in the Mermaid and later in the Bathurst. The main charting exercise for all the islands and reefs was carried out in 1843 under the command of Captain Francis Blackwood in HMS Fly which was accompanied by the Bramble. The naturalist, Professor J. Beete Jukes, was on board the Fly and his published journal provides valuable information on some of the cays.
Current uses
The island and reef are zoned for scientific research in a Zoning Plan under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act, 1975Research station
One Tree Island Research Station which was established in 1976 and accommodates up to 20 visiting scientists. It is a strategically located facility with a long history of documented research relating to reef and cay environments, with particular relevance to research where the relative absence of human impact is important and valued as a scientific benchmark. The research station, operated by Sydney University, is located on a special lease over a small part of One Tree Island Research StationThe research Station provides basic accommodation. Three new buildings were constructed in 1987 to replace the former scientists' accommodation building, the resident officers' house and the wet laboratory/workshop/storage building. The fourth building, the main laboratory and station office, was constructed in 1983 and is cyclone-resistant. The new buildings provide comfortable living on the island, with timber-louvred windows, coral rubble and timber floors, screens and ceiling fans. Solar panels backed up by a 240V diesel generator provide electricity to a 120V DC battery bank and 240 volt AC inverter for lighting and laboratory equipment. For cooking LPG powered appliances are used. The only freshwater supply for the island is rainwater which is stored in (rainwater) tanks.
Natural
Green turtle rookeries are located at Wreck IslandWreck Island (Queensland)
Wreck Island is a small coral cay. It is located near the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern Great Barrier Reef, 93 km due northe east of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, and 460 km north of the state capital Brisbane....
, West Fairfax and West Hoskyn Islands; these are maintained in a natural condition, free from human disturbance. Up to eight seabird species breed on Masthead, One Tree and Wreck Islands, and seven species are recorded from Tryon, Erskine and West Fairfax Islands. The Capricorn Silvereye
Capricorn Silvereye
The Capricorn Silvereye , also known as the Capricorn White-eye or Green-headed White-eye, is a small greenish bird in the Zosteropidae or White-eye family...
, a small bird endemic to the southern Great Barrier Reef, is found on the island. There are also Brown Booby
Brown Booby
The Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail...
breeding colonies at East and West Fairfax and East Hoskyn Islands.
Known shipwrecks on the reef
Wisteria Sunk 14 September 1887 Barque Built as the 'LOOK AT HOME'; not salvaged One Tree Island /Wistari Reef? With a cargo of flour, bran, chaff and cement, she broke up on One Tree Island. An inquiry found that her loss was caused by the incompetence of her master and mate. The master's certificate was cancelled.Jane Lockhart sunk between the 11 through to the 17th December 1868 on Lady Musgrave Island / Heron Island / Masthead Reef or One Tree Island The vessel was a 2 Mast Schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
. Departed from Sydney with general cargo for Broadsound; and ran aground on Lady Musgrave Is; maybe on Heron Is or One Tree Island or Masthead Reef Lost on a reef off Heron Island on the night of 17 December 1868. The crew took to the boat and safely reached the Pilot Station at Keppel Island.
Originally stated as on Lady Musgrave reef (most unlikely) later news reports claim wreck on Heron Island with some other reports mention the wreck on either One Tree Island or Mast Head.
The vessel was built in 1861 at Ulladulla New South Wales and registered in Sydney with the Official number of 36858 and a Registered number of 9/1861
From the original reports
One of the boats dispatched to the wreck of the Jane Lockhart, schooner, has returned with the sails and a portion of the running and standing gear. The vessel, it appears, did not strike on Bunker's Group, as reported by Captain Machen, but upon what is known as Heron Island, about ninety miles to the northward of Bunker's Group. When the boat reached the vessel she was settled in a hollow in one of the reefs, the outer formation of the hollow acting as a breakwater against the seas. One side of the vessel was quite visible, and the new copper sheathing appeared uninjured. Captain Norris, who went down in charge of the boat, unbent the sails, so that the position of the vessel might as much as possible remain unaltered; he left the yards and masts standing.
and 6 months later it was reported as
The Rose, schooner, has returned from the wreck of the Jane Lockhart, on Masthead Reef, whither she went on June 15 Captain Dwyer informs us that the Jane Lockhart still lies in a very snug position, and he has no doubt but that himself, and Mr Norris, the purchaser of the wreck, will be able, ultimately, to raise the vessel and bring her safely to Rockhampton
Nearly the whole of the period that they were at the reef, very heavy weather prevailed, staving operations towards the recovery of the cargo, but luckily the strong SE winds lulled for about three days Captain Dwyer availed himself of the occasion, set to work, rigged up a staging between the masts of the Lockhart, schooner, and by means of a rope and a South Sea Island diver, managed to bring up from eighty to ninety large iron pulley wheels, besides a quantity of machinery and sundries, comprising Ale, porter, liqueur brandy, cutlery, ironmongery, etc Unfortunately the Roses water ran out, much to the chagrin of the crew, who would have raised a great deal more, only having to run into port for supplies
See also
- Capricorn and Bunker GroupCapricorn and Bunker GroupThe islands and reefs of the Capricorn and Bunker Group are situated astride the Tropic of Capricorn at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, approximately 80 kilometres east of Gladstone, which is situated on the central coast of Queensland....
- Great Barrier ReefGreat Barrier ReefThe Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
- Capricornia Cays National ParkCapricornia Cays National ParkCapricornia Cays is both a national park and a scientific national park in Queensland , located 486 km and 472 km north of the state capital Brisbane respectively. Collectively they comprise 241 ha of coral cays....