Hayman Island facts for kids
Hayman Island, 1973
|
|
 |
|
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Coral Sea |
| Coordinates | 20°03′S 148°53′E / 20.050°S 148.883°E |
| Archipelago | Whitsunday Islands |
| Total islands | 74 |
| Area | 4 km2 (1.5 sq mi) |
| Length | 4 km (2.5 mi) |
| Width | 3 km (1.9 mi) |
| Administration | |
|
Australia
|
|
| State | Queensland |
| LGA | Whitsunday Region |
Hayman Island is the most northern island in the Whitsunday Islands. It is located off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The island is about 294 hectares (726 acres) in size.
Hayman Island is a special private island that welcomes visitors. It is famous for its fancy resort, which was built in the 1950s. The island is a very important place for tourism in Queensland. The resort is currently managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group.
Contents
Discovering Hayman Island's Past
The Ngaro people, who are an Aboriginal group, have lived in this area for over 9,000 years. This makes them one of the oldest known Aboriginal groups in Australia.
In 1770, Captain James Cook was the first European to map these waters during his famous voyage.
The island got its name in 1866. A mapmaker named Commander George Nares named it after Thomas Hayman. Thomas Hayman was the master of the ship HMS Salamander, which they were sailing on.
In 1933, a schoolteacher and scientist named Edwin Embury started a special lab on the island. He wanted to study the amazing plants and animals there. Hayman was perfect because it had lots of wildlife and was close to the Great Barrier Reef.
Fishing and Films
In 1935, local fishermen Bob and Bert Hallam started a fishing club on the island. It attracted many people who loved fishing, even from other countries. One famous visitor was Zane Grey, an American writer and big-game fisherman.
Zane Grey planted the first coconut palm tree on the island. In 1936, Hayman Island became the beautiful tropical setting for his comedy film called White Death.
Building a Luxury Resort
In 1947, a company called Ansett Transport Industries bought the island. They started building a big hotel called the Royal Hayman Hotel. It opened in 1950. The Australian Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur Fadden, opened it.
Back then, people arrived at Hayman by special flying boats.
In 1985, a huge project began to turn the island into a very fancy resort. It cost $300 million and took two years. In 1987, Hayman was invited to join a group called The Leading Hotels of the World, which includes some of the best hotels globally.
In 1998, the island was sold to the BT Hotel Group. The resort had another big makeover in 2001, adding many modern five-star features.
In 2004, Mulpha Australia bought Hayman. They spent almost six years planning new designs for the resort. This included making the Hayman pool look new and building amazing new beach villas.
Hayman Island had to close for five months in 2011. This was because of two strong storms, Tropical Cyclone Anthony and Cyclone Yasi. After repairs, the island reopened on August 1, 2011.
A famous landscape designer named Jamie Durie helped replant the gardens around the resort. He added about 33,000 new plants and 327 new types of plants to Hayman's 16 hectares of gardens.
Hayman Island's Weather
Hayman Island has a tropical savanna climate. This means it has a hot, rainy season during the summer months. It also has a warm, mostly dry season during the winter months.
| Climate data for Hayman Island (20º04'S, 148º53'E, 2 m AMSL) (1969-1985 normals and extremes, rainfall 1934-present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 38.6 (101.5) |
33.5 (92.3) |
34.3 (93.7) |
31.6 (88.9) |
30.0 (86.0) |
28.6 (83.5) |
26.8 (80.2) |
28.3 (82.9) |
31.2 (88.2) |
31.0 (87.8) |
35.0 (95.0) |
34.0 (93.2) |
38.6 (101.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.6 (87.1) |
30.3 (86.5) |
29.6 (85.3) |
28.4 (83.1) |
26.0 (78.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.0 (73.4) |
24.2 (75.6) |
25.9 (78.6) |
27.5 (81.5) |
29.6 (85.3) |
30.5 (86.9) |
27.4 (81.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 24.9 (76.8) |
24.9 (76.8) |
24.1 (75.4) |
22.7 (72.9) |
20.4 (68.7) |
17.2 (63.0) |
16.7 (62.1) |
17.4 (63.3) |
19.2 (66.6) |
21.3 (70.3) |
23.4 (74.1) |
24.5 (76.1) |
21.4 (70.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 21.5 (70.7) |
21.5 (70.7) |
20.4 (68.7) |
17.8 (64.0) |
12.7 (54.9) |
9.8 (49.6) |
8.7 (47.7) |
11.0 (51.8) |
11.9 (53.4) |
16.2 (61.2) |
19.4 (66.9) |
20.2 (68.4) |
8.7 (47.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 240.3 (9.46) |
296.0 (11.65) |
226.6 (8.92) |
135.6 (5.34) |
119.8 (4.72) |
54.6 (2.15) |
39.1 (1.54) |
25.1 (0.99) |
16.9 (0.67) |
41.7 (1.64) |
57.1 (2.25) |
120.8 (4.76) |
1,406.2 (55.36) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 12.7 | 14.5 | 15.3 | 14.5 | 13.0 | 8.8 | 6.1 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 6.1 | 8.0 | 112.6 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 70 | 73 | 71 | 68 | 71 | 68 | 67 | 64 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 68 | 68 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | 23.0 (73.4) |
23.4 (74.1) |
22.4 (72.3) |
20.8 (69.4) |
18.8 (65.8) |
16.0 (60.8) |
15.3 (59.5) |
15.5 (59.9) |
17.0 (62.6) |
18.6 (65.5) |
21.2 (70.2) |
22.4 (72.3) |
19.5 (67.2) |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology | |||||||||||||
Getting to Hayman Island
Visitors to Hayman Island arrive in style! They can come by Hayman's own luxury motor yachts. People can also arrive by private charter helicopter or Air Whitsunday seaplane.
Hayman Island in Pop Culture
Hayman Island has been part of some interesting events:
- In 1969, a TV show called Barrier Reef started filming on Hayman Island.
- In 1972, two people, Sylvia Cook and John Fairfax, rowed across the Pacific Ocean all by themselves. They arrived at Hayman Island after 361 days at sea!
- In 1995, Tony Blair, who later became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, met with important media leaders on Hayman Island. This meeting helped him gain support for his political party.
- Many famous people have visited Hayman Island. These include Jane Fonda, Bill Gates, Bob Geldof, Anthony Hopkins, Chris Isaak, Nicole Kidman, Kellan Lutz, Slash, and Rod Stewart.
