Yorkeys Knob, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Yorkeys Knob is one of the beach suburbs of Cairns, the regional capital of Far North Queensland
, Australia
. It is located approximately 13 km north of the centre of Cairns, and is the third beach suburb after Machans Beach and Holloways Beach
.
There are three restaurants at Yorkeys, including at the Half Moon Bay marina, which has an over-the-water deck looking across Half Moon Bay to Double Island
and Haycock Island (also known as Scout's Hat due to its shape).
. Trust the lifesavers and swim between the flags - there have been drownings around the rocks just a short distance away. Nearby you will find barbecue and picnic facilities, and public toilets and showers. The beach is lined with she-oak casuarinas
, beach almonds
, ballnuts
and coconut palms
. At the southern end it meets Thomatis Creek, which lies between Yorkeys Knob and Holloways Beach.
The beach is a popular location for kitesurfing
and windsurfing
.
Half Moon Bay Golf Club is located at the western end of Wattle Street, and is a short but challenging layout which features a number of water hazards. It's 5,129 metres and par is 70. Most of the course is sand-based, and it dries rapidly after heavy rains. A 9-hole course is generally open even if all the other Cairns courses are closed due to flooding, although cyclones can force the course to close for a couple of days.
s fairly easy to find. Between the 12th and 13th holes lies Ray Howarth Park, which is home to a huge colony of flying foxes
, which you can see heading out searching for food in the early evenings. During the day they hang upside down from the mangrove's trees, and make an almighty din. When the melaleuca
s are in flower you will find them gorging on nectar in the trees at the northern end of Sim's Esplanade.
A small bush track near the State school offers a chance to see a variety of birdlife, monitor lizards, and lots of skink
s. Along the beach you will find pied oyster catchers, bush stone-curlews, ghost fiddler crabs and sand-bubbler crabs. At the rocks at the end of the beach keep an eye out of the beach tree skink
scampering around the rocks looking for lunch, while you also watching for a pod of bottlenose dolphin
s that sometimes visit the small bay on the northern side of the groyne.
shopping centre, the nearest large shopping complex. A direct service, the 1D, is available during the peak periods, travelling to Cairns in the mornings and back to Yorkeys in the late afternoon.
-born, Cairns-based beche-de-mer
fisherman. On June 10, 1886 George Lawson reported the loss of a man and his wife from Green Island
. The couple had left to visit the wreck of the Upolu
, with the understanding that they would return the same day. George made a search for them, but was unable to find any evidence of them, or an accident. The pilot currer was dispatched to search for the couple.
Yorkey built a homestead
adjoining the Mount Buchan estate in the vinicity of what is now Yorkeys Knob. During the off-fishing season he and his boys farmed pumpkin
s, sweet potatoes and paddy melons, but not very successfully, whatever the bandicots and pigs didn't eat, the crocodiles devoured. He used the mangroves near his homestead to obtain the firewood and water needed for his beche-de-mer smoking station on Green Island.
Locals are now rather attached to the name, despite the reaction it sometimes gets, and recently successfully stopped a developer from advertising a development as being at "Yorkeys Beach".
Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...
, 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...
. It is located approximately 13 km north of the centre of Cairns, and is the third beach suburb after Machans Beach and Holloways Beach
Holloways Beach, Queensland
Holloways Beach is a 12 minute drive north of Cairns, Queensland, Australia. The population is about 3,000. It has a lifeguard for much of the year....
.
Facilities
There are a number of small shops at Yorkeys Knob, near the centre of the suburb. There's a supermarket, post office, bottleshop, bakery, and a variety of other stores. There's a newsagent and store on the beachfront, near the main swimming area.There are three restaurants at Yorkeys, including at the Half Moon Bay marina, which has an over-the-water deck looking across Half Moon Bay to Double Island
Double Island, Queensland
Double Island is an island close to the Queensland coast, inside the Great Barrier Reef approximately 1.5 km, north east of Palm Cove and about 30 km north of Cairns....
and Haycock Island (also known as Scout's Hat due to its shape).
Recreation
At Yorkeys Knob you'll find the swimming area at the northern end of Sims Esplanade. It is patrolled for 6 months of the year by Surf Lifesaving Queensland, and has a stinger net to protect swimmers from box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri)Chironex fleckeri
Chironex fleckeri, commonly known as sea wasp, is a species of Box jellyfish found in coastal waters from northern Australia and New Guinea north to the Philippines and Vietnam. It has been described as "the most lethal jellyfish in the world", with at least 63 known deaths from 1884 to...
. Trust the lifesavers and swim between the flags - there have been drownings around the rocks just a short distance away. Nearby you will find barbecue and picnic facilities, and public toilets and showers. The beach is lined with she-oak casuarinas
Casuarina
Casuarina is a genus of 17 species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australasia, southeast Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera .They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall...
, beach almonds
Terminalia catappa
Terminalia catappa is a large tropical tree in the Leadwood tree family, Combretaceae. The tree has been spread widely by humans and the native range is uncertain. It has long been naturalised in a broad belt extending from Africa to Northern Australia and New Guinea through Southeast Asia and...
, ballnuts
Calophyllum inophyllum
Calophyllum inophyllum is a large evergreen. It is native from East Africa, southern coastal India to Malesia and Australia.-Distribution and description:...
and coconut palms
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
. At the southern end it meets Thomatis Creek, which lies between Yorkeys Knob and Holloways Beach.
The beach is a popular location for kitesurfing
Kitesurfing
Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...
and windsurfing
Windsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
.
Wildlife
The golf club is a very good bird-watching location, with masked lapwings, bush stone-curlews, a range of kingfishers, rainbow lorikeets and sea eagleSea Eagle
Sea eagle mainly refers to Sea eagle, birds of prey of the genus Haliaeetus.It may also refer to:-Aerospace:* Sea Eagle , British, anti-ship missile* Sea Eagle * Supermarine Sea Eagle, 1920s British passenger flying boat-Sports:...
s fairly easy to find. Between the 12th and 13th holes lies Ray Howarth Park, which is home to a huge colony of flying foxes
Pteropus
Bats of the genus Pteropus, belonging to the megabat or Megachiroptera sub-order, are the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as the fruit bats or flying foxes among other colloquial names...
, which you can see heading out searching for food in the early evenings. During the day they hang upside down from the mangrove's trees, and make an almighty din. When the melaleuca
Melaleuca
Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae known for its natural soothing and cleansing properties. There are well over 200 recognised species, most of which are endemic to Australia...
s are in flower you will find them gorging on nectar in the trees at the northern end of Sim's Esplanade.
A small bush track near the State school offers a chance to see a variety of birdlife, monitor lizards, and lots of skink
Skink
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...
s. Along the beach you will find pied oyster catchers, bush stone-curlews, ghost fiddler crabs and sand-bubbler crabs. At the rocks at the end of the beach keep an eye out of the beach tree skink
Cryptoblepharus litoralis
Cryptoblepharus litoralis is a small skink found in North Queensland, AustraliaThe Coastal tree skink or Supralitoral shinning-skink are generally found darting around the rocky outcrops on beaches and headlands, not far from the water, hunting for small insects. Its genus name means "hidden...
scampering around the rocks looking for lunch, while you also watching for a pod of bottlenose dolphin
Bottlenose Dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin , instead of one...
s that sometimes visit the small bay on the northern side of the groyne.
Public transport
Yorkeys Knob is serviced by Sunbus seven days a week. Yorkeys Knob Sunbus Service The normal service, the 1C, runs hourly Monday to Saturday, and every second hour on Sundays. This service also runs to the SmithfieldSmithfield, Queensland
Smithfield, about 15 km to the north of Cairns, Queensland, Australia that was first established in 1876, was a rival for dominance of the area to Cairns at that time...
shopping centre, the nearest large shopping complex. A direct service, the 1D, is available during the peak periods, travelling to Cairns in the mornings and back to Yorkeys in the late afternoon.
History
The suburb got its name from George Yorkey Lawson, a YorkshireYorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
-born, Cairns-based beche-de-mer
Bêche-de-mer
Bêche-de-mer can refer to:* Bislama; Vanuatu Pidgin English* Sea cucumber...
fisherman. On June 10, 1886 George Lawson reported the loss of a man and his wife from Green Island
Green Island (Queensland)
Green Island is a very popular coral cay offshore from Cairns, Queensland, Australia located within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park World Heritage Area. The island is surrounded by coral reef and protected in the Green Island National Park. Most visitors come for the day...
. The couple had left to visit the wreck of the Upolu
Upolu
Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long, in area, and is the second largest in geographic area as well as the most populated of the Samoan Islands. Upolu is situated to the east of...
, with the understanding that they would return the same day. George made a search for them, but was unable to find any evidence of them, or an accident. The pilot currer was dispatched to search for the couple.
Yorkey built a homestead
Homestead (buildings)
A homestead is either a single building, or collection of buildings grouped together on a large agricultural holding, such as a ranch, station or a large agricultural operation of some other designation.-See also:* Farm house* Homestead Act...
adjoining the Mount Buchan estate in the vinicity of what is now Yorkeys Knob. During the off-fishing season he and his boys farmed pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
s, sweet potatoes and paddy melons, but not very successfully, whatever the bandicots and pigs didn't eat, the crocodiles devoured. He used the mangroves near his homestead to obtain the firewood and water needed for his beche-de-mer smoking station on Green Island.
Locals are now rather attached to the name, despite the reaction it sometimes gets, and recently successfully stopped a developer from advertising a development as being at "Yorkeys Beach".