Bedarra Island facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bedarra Island Queensland
Bedarra Island.
Bedarra Island Location in Queensland
Nearest town or city	Mission Beach
Area	1 km2 (0.4 sq mi)

Bedarra Island (also called Richards Island) is a beautiful island in the Family Islands National Park in Queensland, Australia. It's part of a group of islands known as the Family Islands.

Exploring Bedarra Island's Geography

Bedarra Island is about seven kilometres off the coast of North Queensland. It sits between the towns of Townsville and Cairns. The closest town on the mainland is Mission Beach. Bedarra is a "continental island." This means it was once connected to the mainland. It became an island when sea levels rose about 8,000 years ago.

The island has lovely sandy beaches and hidden coves. These coves are formed by huge granite rocks. Lush green jungle surrounds the beaches. The island's granite rocks rise into moderately high peaks. There are also steep granite cliffs on some sides.

The Sandspit: A Natural Feature

Many islands in the Family Group have a special feature. They have a sandy point called a "sandspit" at their northwestern corner. This gives them a similar look. These sandspits are great for boats to land safely. They also offer deep water for swimming, even when the tide is low. The sand is shaped into a narrow spit by waves and ocean currents. Bedarra Island also has one of these sandspits on its northwest side.

Bedarra Island's Past

Captain James Cook first put the 'Family Isles' on his map in 1770. He was exploring the coast of Australia in his ship, the Endeavour. He named the largest island "The Father Isle," which is now Dunk Island. He named it after Montagu Dunk, the Earl of Sandwich. The next largest island he called "The Mother Isle." This island later became known as Bedarra Island. He called the other smaller islands "The Children."

At first, maps called Bedarra Island "Richards Island." Then it was called "Allason Island" after Captain Henry Allason. He was the first European to settle there. In the early 1900s, an author named Edmund James Banfield started using the name Bedarra. He lived on Dunk Island. Bedarra is a misspelling of an Aboriginal word, Biagurra. It means "the place of endless water."

Captain Henry Allason bought Bedarra Island in 1913 for just 20 pounds. He was inspired by Banfield's book, Confessions of A Beachcomber. He and his wife lived there until he had to return to Europe for World War I. Later, in 1934, Allason sold the island. For a while, it seemed like it might become a home for boys who needed help.

Today, the island is privately owned. Noel Wood, a famous Australian artist, bought part of East Bedarra in the late 1930s. Over time, it grew into a fancy place for tourists to visit.

Weather on Bedarra Island

Bedarra Island has warm weather all year. In winter (June and July), daytime temperatures are around 23 degrees Celsius. In summer (December and January), it can reach 30 degrees Celsius. The island gets a lot of rain from December to March. This is because it's in a tropical area.

Cyclone Yasi's Impact

In February 2011, a very strong storm called Cyclone Yasi hit Bedarra Island. It was a Category 5 tropical cyclone. The eye of the cyclone passed right over the island. Many buildings were damaged, and gardens were stripped bare. After a lot of hard work and money, Bedarra Island Resort and the private homes were fixed. They reopened for holidays in July 2013.

Amazing Animals of Bedarra Island

Bedarra Island's wet tropical rainforest is home to many different animals and insects. You might see the bright blue Ulysses butterfly or the huge Giant Birdwing butterfly. There are also northern rainforest skinks, Scrub Fowl, and the beautiful Wompoo fruit dove. Other creatures include Sun birds, tree frogs, geckos, and pythons. You might even spot an echidna.

In the waters around Bedarra Island, you can see sea turtles and dugongs. Sometimes, Migaloo, the famous white humpback whale, is seen during its yearly trip north.

The island doesn't have many large mammals. The biggest is the echidna. There's also a small native rodent called the fawn-footed melomys. It was first described by Edmund James Banfield. This fruit-eating rat is called "Uromys banfieldi."

At night, you can see and hear several types of bats and flying foxes. A special bat found here is the Little bent-wing bat, "Miniopterus Australis." This tiny bat gets its name from its long finger bone that supports its wing. They often live together in groups in caves or even in house ceilings.

One of the easiest birds to spot in the rainforest is the Orange-footed scrubfowl. These birds build large mounds on the ground.

Visiting Bedarra Island

Bedarra Island is split into three main parts. One part is Bedarra Island Resort. This resort has eight villas and is a luxury place for tourists. Another part is called East Bedarra. It has seven privately owned holiday homes. These homes are on the land that artist Noel Wood once owned. The third part is Bedarra Hideaway. This used to be a 16-room resort, but it hasn't been open since 1991.

Noel Wood: The Island Artist

Australian artist Noel Wood (1912–2001) first visited Bedarra Island in 1936. He bought a piece of land near the mangroves. Noel Wood was a unique artist who painted landscapes. He also cared a lot about nature. He lived and painted at East Bedarra for almost 60 years.

Noel Wood named many of the beautiful spots on the island. These include Melaleuca Beach, The Mangroves, and Orchid Beach. This is confirmed by author James Porter, who is related to Wood. Wood also named the Coral Gardens. This was a nod to Banfield's memories of Dunk Island.

You can find Wood's artwork in public collections across Australia. His art is also in private collections in the UK and US. He worked in Ireland, Britain, and Europe in the 1940s and 1950s. But he always came back to his studio and gardens on East Bedarra. He lived on the island from 1936–1947 and again from 1957-2001. He lived there until 1993, when his land was divided into smaller plots. Now, eight private homes are on this part of Bedarra Island.

A Place for Artists

From 1941 to 1957, artist John Busst and his wife Alison lived on Bedarra Island. John Busst played a big part in getting the Great Barrier Reef listed as a World Heritage Park. He achieved this even after he passed away. Harold Holt, who later became Prime Minister, and his wife Zara were friends with the Bussts. They often visited them on the island.

The original Busst house on Bedarra had a large art studio. It was built in a Spanish style with mud brick walls. It had wide, shady verandas. The house was taken down in the 1980s.

After selling their part of the island, the Bussts moved to Bingil Bay. This area is still known as a place for "greenies." John Busst was seen as one of the first environmentalists. A brass plaque honors him at Bingil Bay. The poet Judith Wright wrote on it: "John Busst, Artist and lover of beauty, who thought that man and nature might survive."

Another respected local artist, Helen Wiltshire (1945–2011), lived on Bedarra Island from 1986. She and her husband rebuilt the old studio. It was in a quiet valley among old fruit trees. Helen worked on a footpath from her studio to the beach. The island residents nicknamed it "Helen's Highway."

Changes in Ownership

In 1938, Frank Coleman and his family bought the rest of Bedarra Island. In 1940, artist John Busst rented a part of the island. Later, Dick Greatrix and Pierre Huret bought the island. They loved the place and lived there for seven years. They created beautiful gardens and brought new plants to the rainforest. Then they sold it to John Busst and his sister Phyllis.

Over the years, parts of the island were divided and sold. In 1957, Ken and Cynthia Druitt took over and started a small tourist resort. That same year, John Busst sold his remaining land to Colin Scott. Scott used the property as a private retreat. In 1979, Tor Hulten from Sweden turned it into a tourist resort called Toranna Plantation.

In 1980, Australian Airlines, which owned the nearby Dunk Island Resort, bought Ken and Cynthia Druitt’s resort. They created Bedarra Hideaway Resort. They also bought Toranna Plantation, which became the fancy Bedarra Bay Resort in 1988. Bedarra Hideaway Resort closed in 1991. Later, P&O Australian Resorts bought the properties in 1998. After fixing them up, they sold them to Voyages Hotels & Resorts in 2004. In 2009, a group called the McCall MacBain Foundation took over parts of Bedarra and Dunk Island. In 2011, the Charlton Hotel group bought Bedarra Island Resort. They fixed the damage from Cyclone Yasi and reopened the resort in July 2013.