Allen Island, Queensland facts for kids
Allen Island, also sometimes called Allens Island or Allen's Island, is a small island in Queensland, Australia. It is part of the South Wellesley Islands group, located in the large bay known as the Gulf of Carpentaria.
The island was named by a famous explorer, Matthew Flinders. He named it after John Allen, who was a miner from Derbyshire, England. John Allen was part of a group of naturalists (people who study nature) who traveled with Flinders. They were on a ship called HMS Investigator during a voyage from 1801 to 1803. On November 20, 1802, Flinders sent a group of botanists (plant scientists) to Allen Island to look for new plants.
Why Allen Island is Interesting
Allen Island is special because of its location. It lies just east of a place called Point Parker. Point Parker was once planned to be the end point for a very long railway line. This railway was meant to connect Point Parker all the way to Charleville, a town far to the south.
The Planned Railway
This railway was part of a "land grant" idea. This meant that the company building the railway would get land from the government as payment. However, the railway was never built. It's often called a "still-born" project, meaning it was planned but never came to life. Even though Point Parker was important for this plan, it's not always shown on maps today.
