Raine Island (Queensland)

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Raine Island is a small island situated about 120 km east-north-east of Cape Grenville, Cape York Peninsula in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Queensland, Australia. It is just off the eastern edge of the continental shelf, next to a shipping channel known as the Raine Island Entrance and Pandora entrance. The entrance allows shipping to enter the Great Barrier Reef.

1 Beacon
2 Type
3 Corporation
4 Aerial photos & maps

[edit] Beacon

The Raine Island beacon is the oldest European structure in the Australian tropics and is a monument of great historical value. It was constructed in 1844, under the order of the British Admiralty, using convict labour. Stone for the beacon was quarried from the phosphate rock found on the island. Shells were burnt to make lime for mortar and timbers were taken from shipwrecks in the area. The work was completed in four months.

The beacon has never been lit but can be seen for up to 13 nautical miles from Raine Island. Over the years, it has suffered damage from undermining, stone bedding loss, cracking walls due to lightning strikes, and natural deterioration due to the harsh weather conditions experienced at Raine Island.

In 1994, the Raine Island Corporation undertook a major restoration program to repair and stabilise the beacon and to safeguard it from lightning strikes. The Corporation was awarded a John Herbert Award for Excellence in Heritage Conservation Works or Action for the restoration project. The beacon is considered one of the most important historical monuments in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and is listed on the State Heritage Register and the Commonwealth Register of the National Estate.

[edit] Type

Raine Island is a vegetated coral cay dominated by low herbaceous annual vegetation (Batianoff et al. 1993). The cay is comprised of a central core of phosphate rock surrounded by sand and extensive fringing reefs.

The island holds special significance as a seabird breeding and roosting site. It is considered as the most significant tropical seabird breeding site in the Great Barrier Reef. Raine island is the largest and most important green sea turtle nesting area in the world, with up to 14,000 turtles nesting on the small coral sand cay in one night. The waters surrounding Raine Island are so active that seeing over 250 turtles during an hour in the water is common. Due to it being such an important environmental icon, the island is totally protected from access

[edit] Corporation

The Raine Island Corporation is a self-funding statutory authority established under the auspices of the Meaker Trust (Raine Island Research) Act 1981. The Corporation's goals are to promote research into, and to ensure the preservation and protection of, the natural and cultural heritage resources of Raine island, Moulter and Maclennan Cays and the surrounding seas.