Wreck Island facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wreck Island Queensland
IUCN Category Ia (Strict Nature Reserve)
Wreck Island Location in Queensland
Nearest town or city	Gladstone
Area	14 ha (35 acres)
Managing authorities	Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
Website	Wreck Island
See also	Protected areas of Queensland

Wreck Island is a small coral cay, which is a low-lying island made of sand and coral. It is located near the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef. The island is about 93 kilometers (58 miles) northeast of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia. It is also about 460 kilometers (286 miles) north of Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland.

Wreck Island is part of the Great Barrier Reef's chain of islands. It belongs to the Capricorn and Bunker Group of islands. It is also part of the Capricornia Cays National Park, which protects these special places. The island is also recognized as part of the Capricornia Cays Important Bird Area, meaning it is a vital home for many birds.

About Wreck Island

Wreck Island is mostly made of beach rock. This is a type of rock formed when sand and coral fragments get cemented together. This rock is very strong along the southern beach. The island sits on the southwest end of a large coral reef platform. This platform is about 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) long and 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) wide. The plants on Wreck Island are similar to those on Tryon Island. However, the Pisonia grandis forest, a type of tree, is not as big here.

How Wreck Island Was Formed

The Capricorn and Bunker Cays are unique islands at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. These islands and their reefs are located on the western edge of the continental shelf. They are separated from the mainland by a deep channel called the Curtis Channel. You usually cannot see these islands from the mainland.

These islands are quite young in terms of geological time. They formed during the Holocene period, mostly about 5,000 years ago. Before this, during the last Ice Age (at the end of the Pleistocene period), the sea level was much lower. The area where the reefs and islands are now was completely dry land. Around 10,000 years ago, the sea level started to rise. It reached its current level about 6,000 years ago. Once the sea level became stable, the flat reef areas could grow. This created places where islands like Wreck Island could form. Wreck Island is a shingle cay, meaning it is made of small, loose stones or pebbles. It is part of a platform reef, which is a flat, shallow coral reef.

Discovering Wreck Island

Early European Discoveries

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

Wreck Island itself was discovered around the same time by Mathew Flinders. His ship and another ship sailed into the reef and both became wrecked there. A third ship sailed away without trying to help. Flinders, some officers, and 12 sailors then rowed a small boat. They went all the way to Fraser Island and then down the coast to Sydney to get help.

Later, Captain Bunker found the Bunker Islands again during another whaling trip.

Charting the Islands

The southern islands and reefs were first mapped between 1819 and 1821. This was done by Lieutenant Phillip Parker King of the Royal Navy. He used the ships Mermaid and later the Bathurst. The main mapping of all the islands and reefs happened in 1843. This was led by Captain Francis Price Blackwood on HMS Fly. The Fly was joined by another ship called the Bramble. A scientist named Professor J. Beete Jukes was on board the Fly. His notes provide important information about some of the islands.

In 1841, Captain Blackwood was given command of HMS Fly. His job was to explore and map the northeast coast of Australia. The Fly had special instruments and two scientists: Joseph Jukes (a geologist) and John MacGillivray (a zoologist). They sailed from England in April 1842 with the Bramble. After stopping in Hobart Town and Sydney, they began their survey in December 1842.

Over the next three years, the Fly mapped the coast from Sandy Cape to Whitsunday Island. This included the Swain Reefs and the Capricorn Islands. On January 7, 1843, the crew of the Fly first landed on Lady Elliot Island.

How Wreck Island Got Its Name

On January 18, 1843, Captain Blackwood and Mr. Evans landed on Wreck Island. They named it because they found parts of a large ship there. The island was about a quarter of a mile long and 100 yards wide. It was a pile of sand covered by thick bushes.

On January 21, Captain Blackwood and Mr. Evans found more clues about the wrecked ship's crew. They saw carvings on trees like "The America, June 1831," "Mary Ann Broughton," "Capt. E. David," and "Nelson November, 1831." They also found child's shoe soles, bottles, broken dishes, and an old barrel. It is believed the wreck was a whaling ship. The crew was likely rescued by another whaling ship, as there were no signs of graves or bones.

This shipwreck is likely the one that gave the island its name. This happened during the main mapping effort in 1843.

The Shipwreck of the America

The ship America was a 391-ton vessel built in Canada in 1827. Captain Robert Donal was its captain. The America had carried convicts to Sydney in 1829 and to Hobart in 1831. While sailing from Sydney to Batavia, the ship hit a reef near Bunker Island. It was wrecked on June 20, 1831.

The crew launched two boats and eventually reached Morton Bay. Other ships, the whaling barque Nelson and the Caledonia, later helped to salvage parts of the wreck.

Here is a summary of what happened to the crew of the America:

• June 20: The ship hit the reef in the early morning during a storm. The ship quickly filled with water. The crew managed to get the long-boat and pinnace (smaller boats) out. They loaded them with some food, water, and clothes. Around 11 AM, they left the ship and went to a small island about two miles away. They landed on the reef and carried their goods to the island. They set up a tent and caught a turtle for food.
• June 21: The crew went back to the wreck to get more items. They also searched the island for water and fruit, but found none. The reef had many turtles, and the island had many birds like doves, magpies, and sea fowl. They moved their tent to a better spot among the trees.
• June 22: They continued to salvage items from the wreck. They had to walk on the coral reef, which was very difficult and cut their feet. They caught a very large turtle. Everyone was healthy and in good spirits.
• June 23: They had removed everything useful from the wreck. The long-boat was ready for sea. Their water supply was getting very low. They decided to sail for Moreton Bay.
• June 24 - July 6: They waited for a good wind to sail.
• July 7: They finally set sail with a fair wind. The weather was good.
• July 8: The weather became bad with high seas. They had to throw some supplies overboard to keep the long-boat from sinking. They passed an island and found shelter there.
• July 9: The crew landed on the island and worked to make their boats safer for the sea. They could see the mainland of New South Wales from this island. They stayed there until July 16 because they ran out of water.
• July 16: They sailed again.
• July 18: They landed on another island close to the mainland. Luckily, they found water there. After getting supplies, they continued their journey.
• July 27: The shipwrecked sailors safely reached Moreton Bay. They were kindly welcomed and helped by the Commandant there.

Past Uses of Wreck Island

Wreck Island has been used for oil exploration in the past. There is a capped drill-hole on the island from these activities, which happened over 30 years ago. There is also an old, broken-down hut on Wreck Island. This hut is from when the island was used as a private home.

Wildlife on Wreck Island

Amazing Animals

Wreck Island is an important place for Green turtles. These turtles come to the island to lay their eggs. Other important turtle nesting sites are West Fairfax Island and West Hoskyn Islands. These areas are kept natural and free from human disturbance to protect the turtles.

Up to eight types of seabirds breed on Masthead Island, One Tree Island, and Wreck Island. Seven types of seabirds are found on Tryon Island, Erskine Island, and West Fairfax Islands. The Capricorn silvereye, a small bird found only in the southern Great Barrier Reef, lives here.

The White-bellied sea eagle also breeds on Wreck Island during the winter months. This large bird used to nest on most of the islands in the Capricorn and Bunker Group. Now, their nesting spots are limited to Tryon, North West, Wilson, Wreck, East Fairfax, and West Hoskyn Islands.

Protecting the Wildlife

In the late 1980s, a group of black rats (Rattus rattus) was living on Wreck Island. These rats were removed from the island to protect the native wildlife. This was an important step to keep the island healthy for its birds and turtles.