Lizard Island
Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Australian place Lizard Island, also known as Jiigurru or Dyiigurra, is an island on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia, Template:Convert northwest of Brisbane.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref> It is part of the Lizard Island Group that also includes Palfrey Island, and also part of the Lizard Island National Park.<ref>Template:Cite QPN</ref> Lizard Island is within the locality of Lizard in the Cook Shire.<ref>Template:Cite QPN</ref> The traditional owners of the Lizard Island group are the Aboriginal Australian clan known as the Dingaal (or Dingiil) people.<ref name=":2" />
HistoryEdit
Archaeological excavations and studies have shown that human occupation of the island dates to 6510–5790 cal BP, which shows that Jiigurru was the earliest offshore island occupied on the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef.<ref name=ulm2024/>
Lizard Island was known as Dyiigurra to the Dingaal people, an Aboriginal clan who have occupied the island for thousands of years. Today this is usually rendered Jiigurru, and the local people are sometimes referred to as Dingiil.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> David Horton's 1996 representation of Norman Tindale's map shows the lands of the Guugu Yimithirr people extending from south of Hope Vale to an area which covers Lizard Island.<ref name=aiatsismap>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority states on their website that the traditional lands of the "Guugu Yimidhirr Warra Nation" extend from Lizard Island to the Hope Vale region.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The website "Dingaals Lizard Island" states that the island has been in the custodianship of the Dingaal people for thousands of years.<ref name=dingaalshome>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to the Cairns Institute<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Dingaal people are the traditional owners of the Lizard Island group.<ref name=parksculture>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:As of the senior elder of the Dingaals is Gordon Charlie.<ref name=dingaalshome/> The Dingaal believed that the Lizard group of islands had been created in the Dreamtime. They saw it as a stingray, with Lizard Island being the body and the other islands in the group forming the tail.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The island has along been regarded as a sacred place, used for ceremonies and trading.<ref name=hinchcliffe2024/>
Pottery found on the island has been dated at more than 1,800 years old,<ref name=ulmconv/> showing that pots were most likely made by Aboriginal people using locally-sourced materials.<ref name=hinchcliffe2024>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The 2024 study showed that the people who lived there were involved in the ancient maritime networks in the vicinity, including the possession of sophisticated skills in building ocean-going vessels as well as navigation.<ref name=ulm2024/> (See below).
The name Lizard Island was given to it by Captain Cook when he passed it on 12 August 1770. He commented, "The only land animals we saw here were lizards, and these seem'd to be pretty plenty, which occasioned my naming the Island Lizard Island."<ref>Template:Gutenberg</ref> Cook climbed the peak on Lizard Island to chart a course out to sea through the maze of reefs which confronted him and the island's summit has since been called 'Cook's Look'.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
By the 1840s,<ref name=":1"/> the island was being used by sea cucumber (trepang, or bêche-de-mer) fishermen who found that the waters contained substantial quantities of the creature which was a popular delicacy in Asia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Scottish naturalist John McGillivray visited the island in the Julia Percy in 1861, and wrote that there had been bêche-de-mer vessels operating there from Sydney, Singapore, and Hong Kong for 15 years prior.<ref name=":1"/>
In 1879, Captain Robert Watson with his wife Mary Watson, two servants and baby son, modified an abandoned cottage left on the island by the crew of the Julia Percy. The ruins are still visible. Captain Watson was a sea cucumber fisherman, and his Mary Watson was only 21 when she arrived at Lizard Island.<ref name=diaries/> During one of the captain's absences in September 1880, Mary, her son Ferrier, and two Chinese servants, Ah Sam and Ah Leung, were left on the island. A group of Guugu Yimmidir<ref name=liz/> or Dingaal<ref name=parksculture/> people travelled on a regular seasonal trip by canoe,<ref name=liz/> or went to investigate smoke at a sacred site on the island<ref name=parksculture/> The Watsons' home was close to the only source of fresh water, and Mary may have unknowingly trespassed on a ceremonial ground reserved for adult men. The visiting men attacked, killing Ah Leung and wounding Ah Sam.<ref name=liz/> After the attack, accompanied by her child and Ah Sam, Mary attempted to flee to the mainland in an iron boiling tank used for boiling sea cucumber, a large rectangular tub. The vessel floated away from the coast and all three died of thirst nine days later on the waterless No 5 Howick Island. Their bodies were found three months later along with Mary Watson's diary.Template:Citation needed The boiling tank can be seen in the Queensland Museum,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the State Library of Queensland holds two diaries by Mrs Watson.<ref name=diaries>Template:Citation</ref> One is about her last nine months on Lizard Island, and the other comprises notes documenting her last days.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In retaliation to the attack, a punitive expedition was mounted against Aboriginal peoples,<ref>Robertson, Jillian. (1981) Lizard Island: A Reconstruction of the Life of Mrs Watson. Hutchinson of Australia, Richmond, Victoria. Template:ISBN</ref> and many innocent Aboriginal people were massacred in retribution,<ref name=":1"/> a part which has often been left out of the story.<ref name=parksculture/> This devastated Aboriginal communities and their traditional economies in the region, which had already been affected by expanding agriculture and the discovery of gold, leading to the establishment of Cooktown in 1873. In 1886 the first Aboriginal mission was established at Elim Aboriginal Mission by German Lutherans. The mission, along with Cape Bedford Mission, was the foundation of the present Hope Vale settlement, where many Dingaal people continue to reside.<ref name=":1"/>
In 1939, all of the islands in the group were declared a national park.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=parks/>
The Lizard Island Research Station was established by the Australian Museum in 1973,<ref name=":1"/> the waters surrounding the island were declared a marine park in 1974,<ref name=liz/> and Lizard Island Resort opened in 1975.<ref name=":1"/>
In 2014, the resort was damaged by Cyclone Ita, and had to close for repairs.<ref name=liz/>
Geology and geographyEdit
Lizard Island is located in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef, Template:Cvt directly off the mainland, north of Cooktown and Cape Flattery.<ref name=":1" /> It is a granite island about Template:Cvt in size, with three smaller islands nearby (Palfrey, South and Bird). Together these islands form the Lizard Island Group, and their well-developed fringing reef encircles the Template:Convert deep Blue Lagoon.<ref name=liz>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=parks>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The highest point is Cook's Look, Template:Cvt above sea level.<ref name=":1" />
It is a continental island, once around Template:Cvt inland and separated after the post-Pleistocene flooding, around 7000 years ago. It was created mostly by an orogenic pluton of porphyritic biotite and muscovite, formed during the Permian age<ref name=":1" /> around 300 million years ago.<ref name=liz/>
There are many beaches on the island, including Mangrove Beach, Freshwater Beach (also known as One Tree Coconut Beach), Watson's Beach, and Casuarina Beach.<ref name=":1"/>
ArchaeologyEdit
The oldest occupation layers on the island date to 6510–5790 cal BP, which shows that Jiigurru was the earliest offshore island occupied on the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef.<ref name=ulm2024/> There are numerous shell middens, stone arrangements, and art sites on the island, showing signs of occupation of the island for thousands of years. In the 1990s, two Aboriginal rock art sites were observed in rockshelters formed by large granite boulders, in which red ochre was used.<ref name=":1"/>
Site 17Edit
Site 17 is an archaeological site located on a hill above Freshwater Beach (also known as One Tree Coconut Beach)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of Lizard Island, which was found to contain granite-derived, quartz sand temper. The midden is quite large, covering a total area of Template:Cvt. Site 17 was first observed by Jim Specht in 1978-9, then excavated by Robynne Mills in 1992. The site was further excavated by a team including Specht in 2009, who created a Template:Cvt X Template:Cvt x Template:Cvt trench, and identified six stratigraphic layers. It was observed through radiocarbon dating that the basal layer (6) produced a range of 3358-2929 cal BP on charcoal found at the Template:Cvt depth. In October 2009 Lentfer, Specht, and a representative of the Dingaal people, Johnathan Charlie, began excavating a new trench Template:Cvt east of Mills trench. This new trench was Template:Cvt x Template:Cvt x Template:Cvt, and showed six layers of stratigraphy similar to Mills trench. There were recovered pieces of quartz, granite, and pumice discovered from the basal levels of layer number 6, which using radiocarbon dating were dated to be from 3815-3571 cal BP to 3206-2959 cal BP.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal pdf}</ref>
Mangrove BeachEdit
In 2006, New Zealand archaeologist Matthew Felgate found pottery in an intertidal zone by chance when he was on holiday on the island,<ref name=bowler2024>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> on Mangrove Beach. This was the first pottery found, and was reported in a 2010 study by Felgate; however, it could not be reliably dated at that time.<ref name=":1" /> Later, Sean Ulm, distinguished professor at James Cook University, and Ian J. McNiven, professor at Monash University, both of whom were operating under the auspices of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), co-led a team<ref name=ansto2024>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> including Kenneth McLean, chair of Walmbaar Aboriginal Corporation, and other members of the Dingaal and Ngurrumungu communities,<ref name=hinchcliffe2024/> that excavated several more pieces of pottery from the site in 2009, 2010, and 2012. Initial analysis showed local materials were used in the manufacture. However, the age of the pottery could not be established.<ref name=ulmconv/>
The Ulm team revisited Jiigurru and excavated a shell midden not far from the pottery site, discovering that the site had been settled at least 4,000 years previously, but no pottery was found. The same team started working with the Indigenous owners and excavated a different midden and found a lot of pottery. Digging deeper, cultural material was found nearly Template:Cvt metres below ground level, which was radiocarbon-dated to around 6,500 years ago; the earliest evidence of use of an island on the northern Great Barrier Reef.<ref name=ulmconv/> The resulting study, published in April 2024 and involving many scientists, working with traditional owners, determined that sherds found on the island were the oldest securely dated ceramics found in Australia. The data showed that local raw materials were used and that the pottery was made on the island, which showed that the people who lived there were involved in the ancient maritime networks in the vicinity, including the possession of sophisticated canoe travel technology and skills in navigating on the ocean, which enabled them to connect with other peoples across the Coral Sea. The dating showed that it was created between 2950–2545 cal BP and 1970–1815 cal BP, which overlaps with the late Lapita and post-Lapita traditions of southern Papua New Guinea.<ref name=ulm2024>Template:Cite journal File:CC-BY icon.svg Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.</ref> Co-author Quan Hua of ANSTO is an expert in radiocarbon dating.<ref name=ansto2024/> The significance of the study lies in the fact that it is the first pottery in Australia to have been found and reliably dated, and that it shows that the people of Australia were not geographically isolated, but involved with other seafaring peoples.<ref name=ulmconv>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There is conclusive evidence that the pottery is not of Lapita origin, and it is also proof of continuous seasonal occupation of the island by Aboriginal people. It is not known by newer sherds were not found on that site, and further research is necessary.<ref name=hinchcliffe2024/> There has been a paucity of research done on the eastern side of Cape York Peninsula.<ref name=ulmconv/>
GovernanceEdit
Lizard Island is within the locality of Lizard in the Cook Shire.<ref name=qpn>Template:Cite QPN</ref>
Lizard Island National Park is administered by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (Parks and Forests).<ref name=parks/>
The island is also part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, administered jointly by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency. Permits are required for all manipulative research in the Lizard Island Group and the waters surrounding it.Template:Citation needed
Heritage listingsEdit
Lizard Island has a number of heritage-listed sites, including Mrs Watson's Cottage.<ref>Template:Cite QHR</ref>
Flora and faunaEdit
Plant speciesEdit
As the sea level rose in the early Holocene, resulting in the isolation of Lizard Island, mangrove forest gradually became established in place of the near-coastal palms and grasses. There are a number of distinct plant communities, mainly Themeda australis and Arundinella nepalensis (a low grass), and some small patches of rainforest and semi-deciduous notophyll (dry rainforest). There is some woodland consisting of mainly Acacia crassicarpa and some Eucalyptus tessellaris, along with shrubs such as Thryptomene oligandra and swamplands of pandanus. Along the coastal dune there is strand vegetation.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=liz/>
AnimalsEdit
The waters around the island contain a number of coral reefs. Climate change is causing the reefs to suffer coral bleaching, in the summer of early 2024 over 97% of some reefs around the island died.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
ReptilesEdit
Template:As of there were 11 species of lizards on the island.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The most commonly found lizard is the yellow-spotted monitor (Varanus panoptes).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Skinks and geckos are among some of the other reptiles roaming Lizard Island. The lowlands bar-lipped skink (Eremiascincus pardalis) and the sandy rainbow-skink (Carlia dogare) are endemic species of Queensland found on this island.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Chevert gecko (Nactus cheverti) is the only gecko on the island that's only endemic to Queensland. Pythons and tree snakes are common while the most dangerous snake on the island, the brown-headed snake (Furina tristis), is rarely seen.<ref name=":0" /> Green marine turtles (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead marine turtles (Caretta caretta) can be seen nesting on the island in the summer and are often spotted in the shallow water.
BirdsEdit
There are over 40 species of birds that reside on or visit Lizard Island.<ref name=":0" /> Only about 20 species nest on the island, including terns.<ref name=":0" /> The island is home to many land and sea birds including the bar-shouldered dove (Geopelia humeralis), pheasant coucal (Centropus phasianinus), yellow-bellied sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis), white-bellied sea-eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), and osprey (Pandion cristatus). Seasonal birds such as white-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) and dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) also appear on the island.Template:Citation needed
MammalsEdit
Lizard Island is home to a few bat species, but the most common is the Black flying-foxes (Pteropus alecto).<ref name=":0" /> They typically roam around the island and congregate in the mangroves. Black flying-foxes will fly to the mainland when flowering is poor. Eastern Dusky Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros ater) have also been spotted on the island.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Until 2009, Lizard Island had no native rodents recorded. In October 2009, water rats (Hydromys chrysogaster) were spotted on the island and steadily increased in population until 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2010, Cape York mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys capensis) were spotted in South Island, marked as the first native rodent to the island chain.
Current settlement and useEdit
Aside from the national park, Lizard Island also contains a number of other facilities:
Lizard Island Research StationEdit
Situated on Lizard Island's most westerly point,<ref name=about/> the Lizard Island Research Station (LIRS) was established in 1973 by ichthyologist and marine biologist Frank Talbot, then director of the Australian Museum. It continues to be operated by the museum, providing research and education facilities for those interested in studying coral reefs.<ref name=am2024/> LIRS is part of the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI), headed by Kris Helgen.<ref name=am2024>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:As of, Anne Hoggett and Lyle Vail are co-directors of LIRS.<ref name=am2024/>
As a result of research conducted at the station, about 1,000 scientific publications had been produced by Australian and international researchers Template:As of.<ref name=about>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Lizard Island ResortEdit
On the island's north western side is an ultra luxury resort owned by Hong Kong listed property company Sea Holdings. In December 1997, the island was purchased by P&O, before being sold to Voyages Hotels & Resorts in July 2004.<ref>Lizard bound for P&O treasures chest Australian Financial Review 24 February 1999</ref><ref>GPT buys P&O resorts for $225m Australian Financial Review 8 July 2004</ref> It was later operated by Delaware North.<ref>Lizard Island Resort Condé Nast Traveler</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
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External linksEdit
- Template:YouTube, Australian Museum, 2 June 2023.
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