Just eight kilometres from Townsville, Magnetic Island may feel pretty familiar to North Queenslanders. But behind the pristine beaches a surprisingly complicated past.
Here are five things you might not know about the island.
1. Its name came from a compass problem
Captain James Cook named the island Magnetic Island in 1770 after believing its landmass was affecting the compass aboard the Endeavour.
It remains unconfirmed whether the island actually had anything to do with his navigational troubles, but the name endured.
The island’s traditional name is Yunbenun, part of a much older story. The Wulgurukaba people, the Traditional Custodians of the island, have enduring connections to Yunbenun and the surrounding mainland dating back thousands of years. Shell middens, stone tools and art sites are evidence of that connection.
2. It was once connected to the mainland
Magnetic Island is a continental island. That means it was once no island at all.
About 7,500 years ago, rising sea levels separated the island from the mainland. Now, it stands as 5,184 hectares, with 78 per cent protected as national or conservation park.
The island’s distinctive granite formed about 275 million years ago, when molten rock was forced towards the Earth's surface. Weathering eventually produced the enormous rounded boulders and rocky domes that have become one of Magnetic Island's signatures.
3. Those koalas? They were put there.
Magnetic Island's koalas are wild, but they aren't native to the island in the strictest sense.
In 1931–32, 16 koalas were introduced onto the land as part of an attempt to establish an island sanctuary, at a time when mainland populations were declining.
A 2012 scientific survey estimated there to be a population of 825 koalas, plus or minus 175, across the island outside urban areas. About 80 per cent of the estimated population was found in mixed eucalypt woodland, despite that habitat covering only about 45 per cent of the island.
So, the koala's favourite part of Magnetic Island isn't the postcard view. It’s the bush.
4. It was heavily armed during World War II
The concrete ruins scattered through the hills were once part of a defence network protecting Townsville and its harbour.
A signal station, radar installation and coastal battery were constructed on the island during 1942–43. Two enormous searchlights, each rated at three million candlepower, were installed at Horseshoe and Florence bays and could reportedly spot aircraft at 30,000 feet.
Today, the remains form part of the four-kilometre Forts Walk, which takes about two hours and combines wartime history with views across Cleveland Bay.
5. It's drier than it looks
With tropical beaches and palm-dotted coastline, it would be easy to assume Magnetic Island is covered in lush rainforest.
It isn't.
The island sits in Queensland's dry tropics, with much of its interior covered by open eucalypt woodland. Bloodwoods, stringybarks and grey ironbarks dominate, while pockets of vine-thicket survive in sheltered gullies.
The surrounding waters are equally important. Seagrass meadows provide habitat for dugongs and green turtles, while the island's beaches provide nesting habitat for sea turtles.
For an island that can be reached from Townsville in less time than it takes to drive across the city, Magnetic Island packs an extraordinary amount of history and geology into 52 square kilometres.
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