Oyster Point lies at the mouth of Stoney Creek, about one kilometre south of Cardwell

Cardwell, Queensland

Cardwell is a tropical coastal town in northeastern Queensland. It is located at the southern extremity of the Cassowary Coast. At the 2006 census, Cardwell had a population of 1,250. The Bruce Highway National Highway 1 and the North Coast railway line are the dominant transport routes;...

 in northern 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...

. The location provides excellent boating access to the shallow, warm waters of the Hinchinbrook Channel

Hinchinbrook Channel

The Hinchinbrook Channel is a channel between the Australian mainland and Hinchinbrook Island. It runs between Oyster Point, just south of Cardwell, and Lucinda in Far North Queensland. The Aboriginal name for the channel is Bolan Milbirmi. The Herbert River flows into the channel's southern...

, numerous reefs and many islands including Hinchinbrook Island

Hinchinbrook Island

Hinchinbrook Island lies east of Cardwell and north of Lucinda, Queensland Australia. Hinchinbrook Island is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and wholly protected within the Hinchinbrook Island National Park, except for a small resort. It is the largest island on the Great Barrier Reef...

 and Goold Island.

The point was the location for one of the countries most important conservation battles

Conservation in Australia

Conservation in Australia is an issue of state and federal policy. Australia is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world, with a large portion of species endemic to Australia...

. The developer Keith Williams controversially built a 1500-bed resort

Resort

A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....

 and 250-berth marina

Marina

A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....

 called Port Hinchinbrook that now includes the construction of two breakwaters into the channel.

The project gained approval from the local Shire of Cardwell

Shire of Cardwell

The Shire of Cardwell was a Local Government Area of Queensland. It was located on the Coral Sea coast about halfway between the cities of Cairns and Townsville...

. Support from the Queensland Government, led by Rob Borbidge

Rob Borbidge

Robert Edward Borbidge AO , Australian politician, was the 35th Premier of Queensland, and leader of the Queensland branch of the National Party...

 at the time, was forthcoming. Local public support was reported as being high due to economic benefits of having a large resort nearby.

Environmental groups were concerned the development was a threat to 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...

 and Wet Tropics world heritage areas and that local dugong

Dugong

The dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...

 population would be threated. Activists in groups of up to 300 attempted to block the destruction of mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...

 habitats that existed on the point prior to development by trespassing onto the 240-hectare site and placing themselves at risk.

They took the federal environment minister Senator Robert Hill

Robert Hill

Robert Hill may refer to:*Robert Hill , former Australian Senator, Defence Minister and Ambassador to the United Nations*Robert Andrews Hill , U.S. federal judge*Robert C. Hill , American diplomat...

 to the High Court

High Court of Australia

The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...

. The development was finally approved, this despite numerous protests and government reports on the suitability for this area becoming a boat harbour concluding the location was not suitable for marina construction.