Lady Elliot Island

Lady Elliot Island

An image of the island and nearby coral reefs taken with the Seaview SVII camera
Geography
Location	Coral Sea
Archipelago	Capricorn and Bunker Group
Area	0.45 km2 (0.17 sq mi)
Administration
Australia
Region	Central Queensland
Local Government Area	Bundaberg Region

Lady Elliot Island is the southernmost coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The island lies 46 nautical miles (85 km; 53 mi) north-east of Bundaberg and covers an area of approximately 45 hectares (110 acres). It is part of the Capricorn and Bunker Group of islands and is owned by the Commonwealth of Australia. The island is home to a small eco resort and an airstrip, which is serviced daily by flights from Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Lady Elliot Island is located within the 'Green Zone' of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which is the highest possible classification designated by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Marine National Park Green Zones protect the biodiversity within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park by protecting important breeding and nursery areas such as seagrass beds, mangrove communities, deepwater shoals and reefs.

The island is particularly renowned for its scuba diving and snorkelling, as its location far offshore at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef results in excellent water clarity.

The island is a vegetated shingle cay, which is uncommon. Typically these type of cays are too narrow to retain freshwater or too mobile for vegetation to take hold. Pisonia grandis grew naturally on the island. Guano mining almost completely destroyed the tree population, with only eight of the original trees surviving.

The waters surrounding the island are particularly rich in sealife because of a total ban on fishing or taking anything from the surrounding waters. Manta rays are abundant, attracted to the plankton around the island. The speckled carpetshark is often observed in the waters around the island.