Heron Island is a coral cay located near the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern Great Barrier Reef. It is 87 kilometres (54 miles) north-east of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, and 460 km (290 mi) north-north-west of the state capital Brisbane. The island is situated on the leeward (western) side of Heron Reef, a fringing platform reef of significant biodiversity, supporting around 900 of the 1,500 fish species and 72% of the coral species found on the Great Barrier Reef. During the summer months Heron Island is also home to over 200,000 birds including Noddy Terns and Mutton Birds. The island is about 800 metres (2,600 feet) long and 300 metres (980 ft) at its widest, giving an area of approximately 16 hectares (40 acres). The highest point, near the western tip, is 3.6 metres (12 ft) above sea level. A dune ridge along the southern shore rises some 3 metres (9 ft 10 in) above sea level, lower dunes on the north-eastern side are only about one metre (3 ft 3 in) above the sea. Heron Island and an extrapolated version of the research station are the scene of much of the first part of Arthur C. Clarke's The Deep Range.
History
There is no evidence of Indigenous presence or activity on Heron Island; it is over 65 km (35 nmi) from the Australian mainland. The island was discovered on 12 January 1843 by a Royal Navy expedition comprising the corvette HMS Fly and the cutter Bramble. The expedition, commanded by Captain Francis Blackwood, was engaged in surveying the eastern edge of the Great Barrier Reef to map out detailed plans for safe passages within the reef. The island was named by Lieutenant Charles Bampfield Yule, the commander of Bramble. The island did not become inhabited until the early 20th century when a turtle cannery was established. The aim was to profit from the seasonal influx of green turtles, but the venture soon found it difficult to keep the business afloat. Other attempts at establishing fisheries were abandoned. In 1932 Captain Christian Poulsen, engaged in bringing fishing parties to the reef, realised the potential of the island as a tourist attraction. In 1936 he bought the lease of the island for £290. On 11 September 1943, the entire island was declared a National Park.
Land use
Heron Island Resort Heron Island Resort, operated by the Aldesta Group, is located in the north-west corner of the island. The resort is a popular getaway for scuba diving and snorkelling and accommodates up to 300 guests and 100 staff members. It was owned by P&O before being sold to Voyages Hotels & Resorts in 2004. In March 2012 Heron Island Resort was featured in the BBC's nature TV series Great Barrier Reef.
Heron Island Research Station The University of Queensland Heron Island Research Station is situated in the island's south-west quarter. Established in the 1950s by the Great Barrier Reef Committee with the University of Queensland becoming a partner in its operations in 1970, the facility is one of the world's principal coral reef research stations, with a wide variety of research undertaken on coral reef ecology. Heron Island Research Station suffered a large fire on Friday, 30 March 2007. No one was injured. In June 2008 the new student accommodation, comprising 80 beds, was officially opened and used for the first time by Tropical Marine Network students. The teaching laboratories and new research building with 9 research labs, library, darkroom, computer room and aquaria deck were officially reopened in February 2009. In 2010, a state of the art climate change experimental facility was opened at the Research Station. Sir David Attenborough and Atlantic Productions filmed segments for the documentary David Attenborough's Great Barrier Reef, at Heron Island Research Station in late 2014.
National Park The eastern half of the island is protected and forms part of the Capricornia Cays National Park, with a permanent ranger's station onsite.
Harbour There is a small artificial channel and wooden jetty on the western shore of the island, where the daily catamaran launch from Gladstone docks and supplies to the island are delivered. The rusted wreck of HMCS Protector lies at the entrance to the channel, and was towed to there in 1945 to form a breakwater for visiting vessels.
Utilities The island has no fresh water supply. A small desalination plant on the island uses reverse osmosis technology to supply water for human consumption. Similarly, three diesel generators (and some solar panels) supply electricity to the island.
Ecology Heron Island has notably rich soil for a tropical coral cay, particularly in the dense southern forest. This is due to the presence of tens of thousands of wedge-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) during breeding season. These birds disturb the humus as they dig their nesting burrows, and thus prevent the formation of Jemo soil, a phosphatic hardpan topped off by raw humus. The hardpan is formed by leaching of surface- or tree-nesting seabirds' guano in the absence of burrowing animals.
Flora
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