Nearest town or city Lockhart River Established 1989 | Area 26 ha | |
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Managing authorities Website Ma'alpiku Island National Park See also Protected areas of Queensland Address Lockhart QLD 4892, Australia Management Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Similar Three Islands National, Claremont Isles National, Mount Cook National, Mount Webb National, Barnard Island Group Na | ||
Ma'alpiku Island National Park is a national park at Iron Range in the Shire of Cook in Far North Queensland, Australia, 1928 km northwest of Brisbane and a few hundred metres from Cape Weymouth and the Iron Range National Park. The park includes part of Restoration Island and nearby Restoration Rock.
Contents
Environment
The continental island rises to 116 m. The landscape features granite boulders, closed scrub, open paperbark scrub and wind-sheared heath.
History
On 29 May 1789, after the mutiny on the Bounty, Captain Bligh and the men who remained loyal to him arrived on the island in the ship's boat. This was the first Australian island they came to, and he named it Restoration Island because the food they found (oysters and native fruits) greatly restored their spirits and because that date was the anniversary of the restoration of King Charles II (in 1660).
Bligh saw evidence of the local aborigines using the island (rough huts and places fires had been made). He also saw kangaroo tracks and wondered if the aborigines brought them from the mainland to breed, since they would be easier to catch later in the confined space of an island. (When leaving the following day he saw aborigines on an opposite shore, but didn't communicate with them.)
Tourist lease
Today Restoration Island is not just a National Park; one third of the island is leased to David Glasheen, a former businessman who moved to the island in 1993. Visitors who want to see the island and live there for a while first have to go to Lockhart River and try to get in contact with friends of the caretaker to arrange a meeting.
Traditional owners
The island contains places of cultural significance to the traditional owners. In 2009, formal native title was granted over the island to the Kuuku Ya’u people. The park is now jointly managed between the Northern Kuuku Ya’u Kanthanampu Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC Land Trust and the Government of Queensland.
Access
Access to the national park is provided by private boat only.