Great Keppel Island
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Great Keppel Island Queensland |
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Shelving Beach on Great Keppel Island
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 Great Keppel Island
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| Coordinates | 23°10′30″S 150°57′40″E / 23.17500°S 150.96111°ECoordinates: 23°10′30″S 150°57′40″E / 23.17500°S 150.96111°E |
| Postcode(s) | 4700 |
| Time zone | UTC+10 (UTC) |
| Location | 15 km (9 mi) from Yeppoon (W) |
| LGA(s) | Shire of Livingstone |
| State electorate(s) | Keppel |
| Federal Division(s) | Capricornia |
Great Keppel Island (also known as Ganumi Bara) lies 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the coast off Yeppoon along the Capricorn Coast of Central Queensland, Australia. The island is the largest of the eighteen islands in the Keppel Group, and covers an area of more than 14.5 km². It is within the local government area of Shire of Livingstone (between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Rockhampton Region).
The tropical climate and numerous beaches attract tourists from all points, and a number of accommodation houses cater for them including Keppel Lodge and various houses. There are 17 white sandy beaches with some of the highest cover of hard coral reefs on the Great Barrier Reef. The coral diversity of these reefs matches that of the Whitsundays with clear waters most of the year around. The island is served by ferries and aircraft.
The islands were named by Captain James Cook in April 1770 after the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Admiral Augustus Keppel.
Prior to European settlement, the island was home to the Woppaburra and Ganumi people of the Darumbal nation, with centuries old middens testifying to the quantity of seafood found in the surrounding waters. European settlers killed or removed most of the indigenous population by the end of the 19th century.The first recorded visit to the island was conducted by R. Ross, R. Spence, Dr. Callaghan, together with a lieutenant Compigne directing a contingent of the Native Police.Despite the standard policy of shooting 'wild blacks' on sights, they did come across one group, and save a woman who injured herself while fleeing. It emerged later at some point, either at this time or earlier, the natives had fled white violence: Woppaburra people later pointed out hundred yard line of bones, the skeletal remnants of massacre of their people executed by a boarding party that mowed them down, including an elderly aboriginal carrying his crippled child on their back. During its early European history, the island was used to raise sheep, however it is now a tourist destination. In August 1866, the first pastoral lease on the South Keppel island was granted to Robert Ross obtained a lease over South Keppel Island, with J. H. Young taking up a lease on North Keppel Island. Ross was partnered in his endeavor by C E Beddome and Sir Arthur Palmer
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Wikipedia