Tryon Island facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tryon Island Queensland
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Tryon Island Location in Queensland
Nearest town or city	Gladstone
Area	21 ha (52 acres)
Managing authorities	Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
Website	Tryon Island
See also	Protected areas of Queensland

Tryon Island is a small, beautiful island made of coral and sand. It's located in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia. The island is about 86 kilometers (53 miles) northeast of Gladstone.

Tryon Island is a special protected area. It's part of the Capricornia Cays National Park. It's also part of the Capricornia Cays Important Bird Area, which means it's a very important place for birds. The island is about 0.21 square kilometers (0.08 square miles) in size. It is surrounded by a coral reef that you can sometimes see when the tide is low.

How Tryon Island Was Formed

Tryon Island has special beach rock along its northwestern and southeastern shores. In the past, the island was covered with thick plants and trees.

The Capricorn and Bunker Cays, including Tryon Island, are a unique group of islands. They are found at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. These islands and their reefs sit on a shelf near the coast. They are separated from the mainland by a channel. You usually can't see these islands from the mainland.

Island Age and Development

Geologically, these islands are quite young. They formed during the Holocene period, mostly around 5,000 years ago. During the last Ice Age, the sea level was much lower. The area where today's reefs and islands are was completely dry land.

Around 10,000 years ago, the sea level started to rise. It settled at its current level about 6,000 years ago. Once the sea level became stable, the coral reefs could grow. These reefs then provided the perfect spots for sand islands, like Tryon Island, to form. Tryon Island is a sandy island with plants growing on it, sitting on top of a coral reef.

Island History

First Discoveries

In 1803, Captain Eber Bunker was on a whaling ship called Albion. He was the first European to find this group of islands. He named the southern group of islands after himself, calling them the Bunker Islands.

Later, between 1819 and 1821, Lieutenant Phillip Parker King RN mapped these southern islands and reefs. The main mapping of all the islands and reefs happened in 1843. This was done by Captain Francis Blackwood on HMS Fly. A scientist named Professor J. Beete Jukes was also on board. His journal gives us valuable information about some of the islands.

Past Activities on the Island

Tryon Island was likely used for mining guano (bird droppings used as fertilizer) between 1898 and 1900. However, these operations were probably small. There aren't many signs of mining left on the island today.

In the 1960s, people collected shells and coral around Tryon Island. Some parts of the reef were leased out for this purpose.

Science on Tryon Island: Flu Research

In 1969, Professor Graeme Laver from the Australian National University visited Tryon Island. He made an amazing discovery: seabirds on the Great Barrier Reef carried influenza viruses! He collected blood samples from 201 shearwater birds. He found that some birds had natural defenses against flu viruses.

Live viruses were also found in these birds. One new type of flu enzyme was identified. Scientists then studied this enzyme's structure using special techniques. This information was very helpful for many drug companies. It helped them design new neuraminidase inhibitors. These are medicines that can fight the flu. For example, a company called Gilead Sciences used this knowledge to develop a flu medicine called Tamiflu.

Insect Outbreak on the Island

In August 1993, a problem happened on Tryon Island. A type of insect called a scale insect (Pulvinaria urbicola) had a huge outbreak. These insects attacked the pisonia trees, which covered almost half the island. This was the first time such an outbreak was seen in these islands.

People hoped that natural enemies, like ladybirds and parasitic wasps, would control the insects. For a while, it looked like the trees were getting better. But the insects kept coming back. Sadly, the repeated attacks killed many pisonia trees. It took 7 to 8 years for the insect numbers to go down.

Even after the insects were gone, the forest didn't grow back on its own. Today, 90 percent of Tryon Island's original pisonia forest is gone. To help the island, the Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service started planting new trees. They also worked to reduce the number of introduced ants, which can make the insect problem worse. This ant-baiting program has been successful.

The main lesson learned was that once these insect outbreaks start, they can destroy most of the pisonia trees on an island.

What Tryon Island is Used For Today

Most of Tryon Island is part of the Capricornia Cays National Park. People can camp on some of the islands in the park, but there are limits:

• North West Island: 150 campers
• Lady Musgrave Island: 50 campers
• Masthead Island: 60 campers (30 from October to March)
• Tryon Island: 30 campers (but it is currently closed to campers).

Many boats visit this area, including those cruising the Queensland coast. Day-trippers also come on fast boats, especially to Lady Musgrave Island. The area is also important for fishing, especially for king prawns.

Island Ecology

Plants of Tryon Island

The middle of Tryon Island is mostly covered by a thick forest of Pisonia trees. These include both birdcatcher pisonia and Pisonia grandis. Around the edges of the island, you can find screwpine trees, velvet soldierbush, and she-oaks.

Animals of Tryon Island

A small bird called the Capricorn silvereye lives on the island. This bird is special because it's only found in the southern Great Barrier Reef.

Introduced Ants

Introduced ants have been found on Tryon Island. These ants can make the scale insect problem worse. They can "farm" the scale insects and stop natural predators from controlling them. On the Capricornia Cays, a type of ant called the African big-head ant (Pheidole megacephala) is linked to these outbreaks.

Shipwrecks Near Tryon Island

The Agnes was a wooden schooner, 25 meters (82 feet) long. It was built in Singapore in 1875. The Agnes was wrecked near North Reef or Tryon Island reef on September 16, 1878. It was carrying wool and other goods from Sydney to Townsville.