Magnetic Island with Townsville suburbs in the foreground

Magnetic Island is the southernmost island in this map, Ingham & Townsville are marked on the mainland (click to zoom)

Magnetic Island, just offshore from the city of Townsville, Queensland, Australia in Cleveland Bay is a 52 km² mountainous island which has effectively become a suburb of Townsville having 2,107 permanent residents.^[1] It is accessible from Townsville to Nelly Bay by ferry operated by Sunferries. There is a large 27 km² national park and bird sanctuary and excellent walking tracks can be taken between the populated bays and to a number of tourist destinations such as the World War II Forts. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 171 KB)Magnetic Island, Queensland. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 171 KB)Magnetic Island, Queensland. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 720 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (805 × 670 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 720 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (805 × 670 pixel, file size: 1. ... Ingham is a town in North Queensland, Australia. ... Townsville (Postcodes: 4810-4819) is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, located in the state of Queensland. ... Townsville (Postcodes: 4810-4819) is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, located in the state of Queensland. ... Sunferries is a transport organisation based in Townsville, Queensland. ...

The island has long become established as a holiday destination with many hotels and several resorts in operation to cater for all levels of service.

The Island is a haven for wildlife and is 54% National Park which is mostly located on the steep hilly interior and rugged north western side.

One of the most distinctive features of Magnetic Island is the native Bush Stone-curlews - a bird with a piercing cry which has awakened many a visitor in the night when they are most active. Binomial name Burhinus grallarius Latham, 1802 The Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius) is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. ...

Koalas are relatively common on the Island and can easily be found on the famous Forts Walk. Binomial name Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss, 1817) The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae. ...

The pressure of coastal development has, in recent years, begun to make a significant impact on this Island that lies in the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. At present many millons of dollars in development are planned for the Island and the impact of these has led to considerable opposition from some residents who fear the effects this development will have on the environmental values of Magnetic's lowlands which are not protected by the national park, these areas represent only 20 percent of the whole Island, and of this 20 percent, most is freehold land and is already developed.

The name of the island came about because of the apparent "magnetic" effect it had on the ship's compass of Captain Cook as he passed the island when sailing up the east coast of Australia in 1770. People have since explored the general area of Magnetic Island with various instruments to discover whatever it was magnetic like Cook experienced, but nothing has been discovered. James Cook, portrait by Nathaniel Dance, c. ... Battle of Chesma, by Ivan Aivazovsky. ...

The Public facilities and Infrastructure on the island are managed by the Townsville City Council. The Island is part of the Electoral district of Townsville (represented by Mike Reynolds) in the Queensland Legislative Assembly. The Island is also part of the Federal seat of Herbert which is represented by Peter Lindsay. The City of Townsville is a Local Government Area (LGA) in the Australian city of Townsville, North Queensland. ... The Electoral district of Townsville is a Queensland State Parliament seat serving the Central suburbs of the City of Townsville as well as Magnetic Island and Palm Island. ... Mike Reynolds MP (born 16 September 1946) is the current Speaker of the Queensland Legislative Assembly (Australia). ... The Legislative Assembly. ... The Division of Herbert is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. ... Peter Lindsay Peter John Lindsay (born 4 May 1944), Australian politician, has been a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Herbert, Queensland. ...

Villages

Horseshoe Bay

• Picnic Bay, Queensland
• Nelly Bay, Queensland
• Arcadia, Queensland
• Horseshoe Bay, Queensland

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 1703 KB) Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island, North Queensland, Australia. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 1703 KB) Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island, North Queensland, Australia. ... Picnic Bay (19°10′S 146°50′E) refers to both a bay in the south of Magnetic Island (offshore from Townsville in Queensland, Australia) and the islands main town. ... Nelly Bay, is a village of Magnetic Island, and a suburb of the City of Townsville, Australia. ... Arcadia is a village and town of Magnetic Island, Australia. ... Horseshoe Bay is a village of Magnetic Island, Queensland. ...

Bays and Beaches

• Picnic Bay
• Radical Bay
• Florence Bay
• Horseshoe Bay
• Geoffrey Bay
• Alma Bay

Neighbouring Islands

• Acheron Island
• Brisk Island
• Fly Island
• Havannah Island
• Herald Island
• Rattlesnake Island
• Palm Island

Acheron Island is one of the islands South of the Great Palm Island group. ... Brisk Island is one of the islands in the Great Palm Island group. ... Fly Island is one of the islands in the Great Palm Island group. ... Havannah Island is one of the islands in the Great Palm Island group. ... Herald Island is in Halifax Bay, South of the Great Palm Island group, North West of Magnetic Island and North East of Rollingstone, in Queensland, Australia. ... Rattlesnake Island is one of the islands South of the Great Palm Island group, North West of Magnetic Island and directly East of Rollingstone in the Halifax Bay. ... Palm Island (also known as Great Palm Island, or by Aboriginal name Bukaman[2]) is an island and community 65 km north-west of Townsville, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. ...

Annual events

• Great Tropical Jazz Party (October)
• Schoolies (November)

Schoolies or Schoolies week (known as Leavers or Leavers week in Western Australia) refers to the Australian tradition of high-school graduates (known as Schoolies) having week-long holidays following the end of their final exams in late November and early December. ...

Island media

• Magnetic Island Community News (print, weekly)
• The Magnetic Times (Internet, daily)

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• The Magnetic Times Community Newspaper
• Great Tropical Jazz Party
• Sunferries Magnetic Island - Townsville Ferry Service

Coordinates: 19°08′S, 146°50′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

• Queensland Holidays:Magnetic Island