View source for Palm Island, Queensland

{{Short description|Locality consisting of a group of islands in Queensland, Australia}}
{{about|the locality|the largest island of the locality with the Aboriginal community|Great Palm Island}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type                = suburb
| name                = Palm Island
| state               = qld
| image               = Palm Islands context map en.png
| caption             = Palm Islands group, showing [[Townsville]] to the south
| coordinates         = {{coord|-18.7063|146.5483|type:city_region:AU-QLD|display=inline,title|name=Palm Island (centre of locality)}}
| pop                 = 2138
| pop_year            = {{CensusAU|2021}}
| pop_footnotes       = <ref name=Census2021/>
| established         = 
| postcode            = 4816
| area                = 642.1
| timezone            = [[AEST]]
| utc                 = +10:00
| dist1               = <!-- road distances as per template instructions -->
| dir1                = <!-- no road access to the island group -->
| location1           = 
| dist2               = 
| dir2                = 
| location2           = 
| dist3               = 
| dir3                = 
| location3           = 
| dist4               = 
| dir4                = 
| location4           =
| elevation           =
| maxtemp             =
| mintemp             =
| rainfall            =
| lga                 = [[Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island]]
| lga2                = [[Shire of Hinchinbrook]]
| stategov            = [[Electoral district of Townsville|Townsville]]
| fedgov              = [[Division of Herbert|Herbert]]
}}
'''Palm Island''' is a [[Suburbs and localities (Australia)|locality]] consisting of an [[island group]] of 16 islands, split between the [[Shire of Hinchinbrook]] and the [[Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island]], in [[Queensland]], Australia.<ref name=qpnl>{{cite QPN|45505|Palm Island|locality in Shire of Hinchinbrook|access-date=4 February 2022}}</ref> The locality coincides with the geographical entity known as the '''Palm Island group''', also known as the '''Greater Palm group''', originally named the '''Palm Isles'''.

However, the term "Palm Island" is most often used to refer to the main island, [[Great Palm Island]], the largest island in the group and the only one with a significant population of permanent residents, most of whom are [[Aboriginal Australian|Aboriginal]]. The island is also known by the name "[[Bwgcolman]]", meaning "one people from many groups", derived from an [[Aboriginal Australian languages|Aboriginal language]] of one of the earliest groups of Aboriginal people removed from the mainland and settled there from 1918 onwards, during its use as an [[Aboriginal reserve]].

The term "Palm Island" is sometimes used to refer to the island group, sometimes the Aboriginal Shire, and sometimes Great Palm Island, but as most of the other islands are uninhabited, the majority of sources are actually referring to Great Palm only, or to the Aboriginal Shire Council.

[[Orpheus Island]] has a tourist resort and research facility, and is the only one with a well-developed tourist industry.

In the {{CensusAU|2021}}, the locality of Palm Island (incorporating all the island in the group) had a population of 2,138 people, of whom 1,918 (89.7%) identify as [[Indigenous Australians]].<ref name="Census2021">{{Census 2021 AUS|id=SAL32260|name=Palm Island (SAL)|access-date=18 June 2024|quick=on}}</ref>

== Geography==

[[File:Veiw of nearby islands from mount bently, Palm Island.jpg|thumb|right|View of nearby islands from Mount Bently, Palm Island]]
[[File:Palm Island Swimming hole - 'Palm Valley'.jpg|thumb|right|Palm Island Swimming hole – 'Palm Valley']]
[[File:Palm Island, North-east bay.jpg|thumb|right|Palm Island, North-east bay]]
[[File:Fantome and Orpheus Islands taken from Palm Island.jpg|thumb|right|[[Fantome Island]] and [[Orpheus Island]]s seen from Palm Island]]
There are 16 islands that make up the Greater Palm group,<ref name=qldgovpalm>{{cite web | title=Palm Island | website=Queensland Government | date=21 March 2018 | url=https://www.qld.gov.au/atsi/cultural-awareness-heritage-arts/community-histories/community-histories-n-p/community-histories-palm-island | access-date=24 February 2020 | archive-date=23 February 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223100824/https://www.qld.gov.au/atsi/cultural-awareness-heritage-arts/community-histories/community-histories-n-p/community-histories-palm-island | url-status=live}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Attribution 4.0 International  (CC BY 4.0)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016190421/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |date=16 October 2020}} licence.</ref><ref name="Palm Island Communities">{{cite web| url = http://www.atsip.qld.gov.au/communities/palm-island| title = QLD, Gov Palm Island Communities| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081214130936/http://www.atsip.qld.gov.au/communities/palm-island/| archive-date = 2008-12-14}}</ref> 12 of them named.<ref name=datsip/> The islands listed from north to south, are:<ref>{{Cite QPN|25880|Palm Islands|island group in Hinchbrook Shire|access-date=6 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="globe">{{Queensland Globe|access-date=12 February 2022}}</ref><ref name=datsip/>
* [[Pelorus Island]] (North Palm Island, Yanooa, Guyroogarrie) – uninhabited and privately owned
* [[Orpheus Island]] (Goolboddi – contains national park, research facility and tourist resort, privately owned)
**[[Albino Rock]] is part of [[Orpheus Island National Park]].
* [[Curacoa Island]] (Noogoo or Inoogoo) 
* [[Fantome Island]] (Eumilli)
* [[Great Palm Island]] (Bwgcolman)
* [[Esk Island]] (Soopun)
* [[Falcon Island]] (Carbooroo)
* [[Eclipse Island (Queensland)|Eclipse Island]] (Garoogubbee)
* [[Brisk Island]] (Culgarul)
* [[Barber Island]] (Boodthean)
* [[Fly Island]] 
* [[Havannah Island]]

The group was originally named the "Palm Isles" (see History, below), while other current names for the island group are the Palm Island group<ref>{{cite web | title=About Palm Island | website=SeaLink Queensland | date=3 March 2020 | url=https://www.sealinkqld.com.au/palm-island/about-palm-island | access-date=3 March 2020 | archive-date=19 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419024433/https://www.sealinkqld.com.au/palm-island/about-palm-island | url-status=live}}</ref> and the Greater Palm group.<ref>{{cite web | title=About Palm Island | website=Palm Island Community Company | url=https://www.picc.com.au/about/about-palm-island/ | access-date=3 March 2020 | archive-date=1 March 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301095659/https://www.picc.com.au/about/about-palm-island/ | url-status=live}}</ref> The majority of the islands are micro-islands; the most notable are Great Palm Island (the largest and only one with a permanent population), Fantome Island, and Orpheus Island.

The ocean surrounding the islands is part of the [[Great Barrier Reef Marine Park]], where extraction and fishing are regulated.<ref name="The Place">{{cite web |author=Johnson B M |title=Palm Island – The Place |work=Reconciliation and Social Justice Library |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/rciadic/individual/brm_bmj/4.html |access-date=18 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406171855/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/rciadic/individual/brm_bmj/4.html |archive-date=6 April 2005 |url-status=live}}</ref> Neighbouring islands outside the Palm group include [[Rattlesnake Island, Queensland|Rattlesnake Island]], which is used for [[Royal Australian Air Force|Air Force]] bombing practice, and [[Magnetic Island]], an island suburb of [[Townsville]].{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} The nearest island to the group is [[Pandora Reef]].<ref name = "MPZ8">{{cite web| url = http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/management/zoning/zoning_maps.html| title = Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Detailed maps, MPZ8 – Townsville (3.2 Mb)| access-date = 2011-01-04| date = 24 April 2006| publisher = Australian Government, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority| archive-date = 16 February 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110216160715/http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/management/zoning/zoning_maps.html| url-status = live}}</ref>

Table 1 shows the micro-islands, known as rocks, and their [[Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority]] (GBRMPA) designations.
{| border="1"
|+ Table 1.  Micro-islands known as Rocks in the group<ref name = "MPZ8"/>
! scope="col" | Island name
! scope="col" | &nbsp; GBRMPA reef designation &nbsp;
|-
| &nbsp; Paluma Rock || &nbsp; 18-056
|-
| &nbsp; Albino Rock (AKA White Rock) &nbsp; || &nbsp; 18-057
|-
| &nbsp; Dido Rock || &nbsp; 18-060
|-
| &nbsp; Chilcott Rocks || &nbsp; 18-063
|-
| &nbsp; Hayman Rock.<ref name = "DiscoveryOfHaywardRock">{{cite news | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41032393 | title = Shipping Intelligence, Notice to Mariners | newspaper = [[South Australian Register]] | location = Adelaide, SA | date = 25 May 1866 | access-date = 7 January 2011 | page = 2 | publisher = National Library of Australia | archive-date = 8 July 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210708225558/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/41032393 | url-status = live}}</ref> || &nbsp; <none>
|}

==Origins==
{{further|Bwgcolman}}
Today's population are descendants of people taken to the [[Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement]] from 1914 up to 1971. Estimates vary, but the number of tribal groups represented by the descendants (known as the [[Bwgcolman]] people) is at least 43<ref name=aata2004>{{cite AustLII| litigants = The Manbarra People and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority | source = AATA | num = 268 | year = 2004 | courtname = [[Administrative Appeals Tribunal]] | date = 15 March 2004||access-date=1 May 2021}}</ref> and has been said to represent 57 different [[Aboriginal Australian languages|language groups]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.old.antarqld.org.au/pdf/palmislandfuturedirections.pdf|page=27|title=Palm Island: Future Directions: Resource Officer Report|date=January 2006|first=Scott|last=McDougall|publisher=Queensland Government|access-date=1 May 2021|archive-date=28 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228045941/http://old.antarqld.org.au/pdf/palmislandfuturedirections.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> At least 5000 people were forcibly removed to the reserve from all over Queensland, the [[Torres Strait Islands|Torres Strait]] and [[Melanesia|Melanesian islands]].  The majority of the current population descend from peoples occupying the region between [[Bowen, Queensland|Bowen]] and [[Tully, Queensland|Tully]], from north-western Queensland, and from the [[Cape York Peninsula]].<ref name=aata2004/>

==Governance and settlements==
The locality of Palm Island falls in the federal [[Division of Herbert]] and the [[Electoral district of Townsville]].

[[Local government]] of the islands is split: the two most northerly islands, Pelorus and Orpheus, are in the [[Shire of Hinchinbrook]], while the other ten are in the [[Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island]].<ref name=datsip>{{cite web |title=Palm Island |website=Queensland Government). Dept of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships |date=6 July 2017 |url=https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/programs-initiatives/community-alcohol-limits/palm-island |access-date=1 March 2020 |archive-date=1 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301095638/https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/programs-initiatives/community-alcohol-limits/palm-island |url-status=live}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Attribution 4.0 International  (CC BY 4.0)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016190421/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |date=16 October 2020}} licence.</ref><ref name="qpnl" /><ref name="qpnl2">{{cite QPN|45506|Palm Island|locality in Palm Island Aboriginal Shire|access-date=5 November 2019}}</ref><ref name=hinch>{{cite web | title=About the profile areas – Hinchinbrook (S) | website=.idcommunity (Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils) | date=11 April 2017 | url=https://profile.id.com.au/fnqroc/about?WebID=170 | access-date=4 March 2020 | archive-date=4 March 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304011236/https://profile.id.com.au/fnqroc/about?WebID=170 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=shiremap>{{cite web|url=https://www.ecq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/3807/PALM-ISLAND-ABORIGINAL.pdf|title=2015 Local Government Boundaries: Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council|format=map|publisher=Electoral Commission of Queensland|access-date=4 March 2020|archive-date=4 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304011334/https://www.ecq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/3807/PALM-ISLAND-ABORIGINAL.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Table 2 (below) shows the ten islands of the group in the jurisdiction of the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council.{{r|MPZ8}}<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/property/placenames/palm-island.html | title = Proposal to alter the boundary of Palm Island, creating new localities of Orpheus Island and Pelorus Island, map QPN1144 | access-date = 15 January 2011 | publisher = Queensland Government, Department of Environment and Resource Management; not found November 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410073611/http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/property/placenames/palm-island.html | archive-date=10 April 2011 | url-status=dead}}</ref> The remaining rocks, listed above, are owned by the [[Australian Government|Commonwealth]] and are in the jurisdiction of the [[Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority]] (GBRMPA).{{r|MPZ8}}

[[Australia Post]] lists only one postcode for "Palm Island, QLD" (4816), which refers to the island group;<ref>{{cite web|website=Australia Post|url=https://auspost.com.au/postcode/palm-island|title=Postcode search – Palm Island|access-date=23 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223050015/https://auspost.com.au/postcode/palm-island|archive-date=23 February 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> there is no formal name for the settled areas of Great Palm Island. The main town has on Great Palm has schools, shops, a football club, hospital and churches.<ref name=quplasc>{{cite web | title=Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council | website=Queensland Places | url=https://queenslandplaces.com.au/palm-island-aboriginal-shire-council | access-date=27 April 2021 | archive-date=27 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427062742/https://queenslandplaces.com.au/palm-island-aboriginal-shire-council | url-status=live}}</ref> The town area, next to the jetty where the ferries dock, has no formal name, and is still called "the Mission" by some of the locals.<ref name="Background briefing Part 1">{{cite news| first = Ian| last = Townsend| url = http://www.abc.net.au/speakingout/stories/s1908860.htm| title = Privatising Palm Island (Part One)| work = Background Briefing| publisher = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]| date = 29 April 2007| access-date = 2011-01-05| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121112054159/http://www.abc.net.au/speakingout/stories/s1908860.htm| archive-date = 12 November 2012| quote=Ian Townsend:... In fact the main town on Palm Island doesn't actually have a name. Some locals still refer to it as the Mission.}}</ref> It is referred to as "Palm Islands" on the [[Queensland place naming|Queensland Government place names]] database.<ref name=townsearch>{{cite web | title=Queensland place names search | website=Queensland Government | url=https://www.resources.qld.gov.au/qld/environment/land/place-names/search#/search=palm%20island&types=0&place=Palm_Islands25881 | access-date=27 April 2021 | archive-date=27 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427062731/https://www.resources.qld.gov.au/qld/environment/land/place-names/search#/search=palm%20island&types=0&place=Palm_Islands25881 | url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to the town, there are several small settlement areas to the north and south, but the roads are limited to the western side of the island.<ref>{{cite web | title=Park Rd, Palm Island | website=Google Maps | url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Park+Rd,+Palm+Island+QLD+4816/@-18.7387898,146.5797099,14.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x697e69c170a28a97:0xd7a26fa2c8b88387!8m2!3d-18.736117!4d146.578894 | access-date=27 April 2021 | archive-date=18 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618054058/https://www.google.com/maps/place/Park+Rd,+Palm+Island+QLD+4816/@-18.7387898,146.5797099,14.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x697e69c170a28a97:0xd7a26fa2c8b88387!8m2!3d-18.736117!4d146.578894?shorturl=1 | url-status=live }}</ref>

The islands within Palm Island Aboriginal Shire have alcohol restrictions: the maximum amount of alcohol a person can carry in the restricted area is {{convert|11.25|litre}} of any [[liquor]] with a concentration of less than 4 per cent. While it is not a completely [[Alcohol-free zone|dry zone]], "[[sly grog]]" sales are not permitted and penalties apply for breaches of the law. There is one [[licensed premises]] in the restricted area, the Coolgaree Bay Sports Bar and Bistro, where alcohol can only be sold for on-premises or off-premises consumption to a patron with a valid membership card.<ref name=datsip/>
<br>

{| border="1"
|+ '''Table 2.'''  '''Islands in Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council jurisdiction'''<ref name="Lonely Planet">Bindloss, Joseph (2002) page 330</ref><ref name="map2">[[#map_two|NNTT map QI2005_005.jpg]]</ref><ref name = "map one">{{cite web| url = http://www.atns.net.au/objects/QI2003_052.jpg| title = Indigenous Land Use Agreement: QI2003/052 Coolagree Sponge Farm ILUA| access-date = 2011-01-03| archive-date = 7 September 2006| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060907141533/http://atns.net.au/objects/QI2003_052.jpg| url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.ruralfire.qld.gov.au/Bushfire%20Planning/Building%20in%20Bushfire%20Prone%20Areas/Risk_Palm_Island.pdf
 |title       = Bushfire Risk Analysis for Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council
 |access-date  = 2011-01-04
 |publisher   = Queensland Government, Department of Community Safety
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110206030713/http://www.ruralfire.qld.gov.au/Bushfire%20Planning/Building%20in%20Bushfire%20Prone%20Areas/Risk_Palm_Island.pdf
 |archive-date = 2011-02-06
}}</ref>
! scope="col" | Island name
! scope="col" | Aboriginal name
! scope="col" | Group size
! scope="col" | [[Bushfires in Australia|Bushfire]] risk
! scope="col" | GBRMPA reef designation
|-
| [[Curacoa Island|Curra-cao or Curacoa Island]] || &nbsp;Noogoo or Inoogoo  || major || medium || 18-052
|-
| [[Fantome Island]] || &nbsp;Eumilli || major || medium || 18-053
|-
| [[Great Palm Island]] or Palm Island || &nbsp;Bwgcolman  || major || high || 18-054 
|-
| [[Havannah Island]] ||  || major || medium || 18-065
|-
| [[Brisk Island]] || &nbsp;Culgarool || micro-island || medium || shared with Falcon Island
|-
| [[Eclipse Island (Queensland)|Eclipse Island]] || &nbsp;Garoogubbee || micro-island || not rated || 18-058
|-
| [[Esk Island]] || &nbsp;Soopun || micro-island || not rated || 18-059
|-
| [[Barber Island]] || &nbsp;Boodthean || micro-island || not rated || 18-061
|-
| [[Falcon Island]] || &nbsp;Carbooroo || micro-island || not rated || 18-062
|-
| [[Fly Island]] ||  || micro-island || not rated || 18-064
|}

==Climate==

Lying in the [[tropical zone]], the islands' climate is [[tropical climate|tropical]] and the area is vulnerable to [[cyclones]].

==History==
[[File:View of Palm Island from wallaby point.JPG|thumb|right|View of Palm Island from Wallaby Point]]

===Pre-contact ===
The [[Manbarra]] people are the [[traditional owners]] of Great Palm and nearby islands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indigenous.gov.au/community/palm-island|title=Palm Island (Bwgcolman)|website=indigenous.gov.au|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=18 April 2021|archive-date=27 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227064632/https://www.indigenous.gov.au/community/palm-island|url-status=live}}</ref> In Manbarra beliefs the Palm Island group were formed in the [[Dreamtime]] from the broken up fragments of an ancestral spirit, [[Rainbow Serpent]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/19984/Suwon-craft-fair.pdf| title=Gail Mabo: Artist, Performer, Choreographer, Cultural Consultant & Speaker| publisher=[[Townsville City Council]]| access-date=18 April 2021| archive-date=23 April 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423014748/https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/19984/Suwon-craft-fair.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Curiosity: knowledge through the landscape | website=Queensland Historical Atlas | first=Trish | last=Barnard | date=14 October 2010 | url=https://www.qhatlas.com.au/essay/curiosity-knowledge-through-landscape | access-date=18 April 2021 | archive-date=18 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418091936/https://www.qhatlas.com.au/essay/curiosity-knowledge-through-landscape | url-status=live}}</ref><ref name = "Hooper 10">{{cite book |last= Hooper |first= Chloe |author-link= Chloe Hooper|title= The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island |year= 2008|publisher= Penguin Group |location= Camberwell, Australia|isbn= 978-0-241-01537-7|page=10}}</ref> [[Manbarra language|Manbarra]] (also known as Wulgurukaba) is a language of the Palm Island region, which lies within the local government boundaries of the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council.<ref>{{Cite SLQ-CC-BY|url=https://maps.slq.qld.gov.au/iyil/view/100|title=Manbarra|website=Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map|access-date=30 January 2020}}</ref>

In the Hinchinbrook shire, the traditional owners of Orpheus Island were the [[Nywaigi]],<ref>{{cite web | title=Orpheus Island, QLD | website=Aussie Towns | url=http://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/orpheus-island-qld | access-date=18 April 2021 | archive-date=20 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420211614/https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/orpheus-island-qld | url-status=live}}</ref> while the [[Warakamai]] inhabited Hinchinbrook Island.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Mbabaram: a dying Australian language | last = Dixon | first = Robert M. W. | author-link = Robert M. W. Dixon | journal = [[Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies]] | year = 1966 | volume = 29 | pages = 97–121 | doi = 10.1017/S0041977X00060833| s2cid = 162853579 }}</ref><ref name=hinch/>

The islands in the area were named the "Palm Isles" by explorer [[James Cook]] in 1770 as he sailed up the eastern coast of Australia on his [[First voyage of James Cook|first voyage]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://pages.quicksilver.net.nz/jcr/~cookbio2.html |title= Captain James Cook Biography |access-date= 2011-01-04 |publisher= self-published extract by the author of Robson, J., Captain Cook's World, Random House, New Zealand, 2000. |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081015064544/http://pages.quicksilver.net.nz/jcr/~cookbio2.html |archive-date = 2008-10-15}}</ref> It is estimated that the population of the island at the time of Cook's visit was about 200&nbsp;Manbarra people.<ref name = "AATA268">{{cite AustLII|AATA|268|2004|litigants=The Manbarra People and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority |date=15 March 2004 |court name=[[Administrative Appeals Tribunal]]}}</ref><ref name="Wilson Case study">{{cite journal |last = Wilson |first= Paul |title = Black Death White Hands Revisited: The Case of Palm Island |journal = Aust. & NZ Journal of Criminology |date = March 1985 |volume= 18 |doi = 10.1177/000486588501800106|pages=49–50|s2cid= 145409894}}</ref> Cook sent some of his men to Palm Island and "they returned on board having met with nothing worth observing".<ref name = "Hooper 10"/>

In 1819, Captain [[Phillip Parker King]] landed on one of the islands and recorded seeing recently occupied circular huts, and canoes nearby their landing place.<ref name=qldgovpalm/>

===(Great) Palm Island history===
{{further|Great Palm Island#History|Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement}}
Great Palm Island has always been the most populated island. It is estimated that the population of the island at the time of Cook's 1770 visit was about 200 people. From the 1850s, locals were enticed away to join [[Holothuroidea|bêche-de-mer]] and [[Pearl hunting|pearling]] enterprises with Europeans and Japanese, and by the end of the 19th century the population had been reduced to about 50.<ref name = "AATA268"/><ref name = "Wilson Case study"/>

In 1914, the Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement was created by the [[Queensland Government]], and relocated people from 1918 all over Queensland, starting with [[Hull River Aboriginal Settlement|Hull River Mission]] residents after the mission was destroyed by a cyclone.<ref name=qldgovpalm/> People from up to 57 [[Australian Aboriginal languages|language groups]] were moved there. In the first two decades of its existence, the number of residents rose from 200 to 1,630.<ref>{{cite news|title=Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement|publisher=The Queenslander|date=12 April 1919|page=13|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22371485|access-date=29 December 2010|archive-date=8 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708225559/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/22371485|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://publib.slq.qld.gov.au/footprints/communities/mainlandmap.htm#palm |title=State Library of Queensland – Mainland Missions and Communities |access-date=1 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823152055/http://publib.slq.qld.gov.au/footprints/communities/mainlandmap.htm#palm |archive-date=23 August 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="future directions history">{{cite book|last=McDougall |first=Scott |date=January 2006 |title=Palm Island: Future Directions – Resource Officer Report |location=[[Brisbane]], Queensland |publisher=(the former) Queensland Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy |url=http://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/resources/publications/documents/future-directions-palm-island-resource-officer-report.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707062313/http://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/resources/publications/documents/future-directions-palm-island-resource-officer-report.pdf |archive-date=7 July 2007 |page= 27}}</ref> It was regarded as a [[penal colony|penal settlement]], with people being sent there for perceived wrongdoing, and soon it became the largest government [[Aboriginal reserve]] in Queensland.<ref name="The Place"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Joanne|first=Watson|date=1994-01-01|title=Becoming Bwgcolman : exile and survival on Palm Island Reserve, 1918 to the present|url=http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:189965|language=en|access-date=30 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160608073714/http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:189965|archive-date=8 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:St George's Anglican Church, Palm Island, circa 1932.jpg|thumb|First St George's Anglican Church, circa 1932]]
St George's Anglican Church was built in 1931 from palm leaves and grass (approx {{coord|-18.735774|146.577|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=St George's Anglican Church}}).<ref name="QRPD-5163">{{cite web |last=Blake |first=Thom |title=St George's Anglican Church |url=https://www.thomblake.com.au/qc_new/view_p_n.php?id=5163 |access-date=22 September 2022 |website=Queensland religious places database |archive-date=7 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107161211/https://www.thomblake.com.au/qc_new/view_p_n.php?id=5163 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=6 July 1931 |title=Anglican Synod |volume=LIII |page=4 |newspaper=[[Townsville Daily Bulletin]] |issue=160 |location=Queensland, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61133806 |accessdate=7 February 2023 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=18 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618054155/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/61133806 |url-status=live }}</ref> On Wednesday 4 July 1935, a new timber St George's Anglican Church was opened and dedicated by [[Anglican Bishop of North Queensland|Bishop]] [[John Feetham (bishop)|John Feetham]].<ref>{{cite news |date=4 July 1935 |title=ST. GEORGE'S. |volume=LVII |page=11 |newspaper=[[Townsville Daily Bulletin]] |issue=158 |location=Queensland, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62414432 |accessdate=7 February 2023 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=18 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618054156/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/62414432 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Dedication of St George's Anglican Church, Palm Island, 1935 02.jpg|thumb|Dedication of St George's Anglican Church, 1935]]
During [[World War II]], the [[Naval Air Station Palm Island]] (aka Palm Island Airfield) was built at Wallaby Point in 1943 by the US Navy’s 55 Construction Battalion (Seabees). It was a seaplane maintenance facility with a concrete slipway which was predominantly used to serve [[Consolidated PBY Catalina|PBY Catalina flying boats]].<ref name="auto4">{{Cite web |title=Building the Navy's Bases, vol. 2 (part III, chapter 26) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/building-the-navys-bases/buidling-navys-bases-vol-2-chapter-26.html |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=NHHC |language=en-US |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920163136/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/building-the-navys-bases/buidling-navys-bases-vol-2-chapter-26.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-06-30 |title=Palm Island Airfield |url=https://www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/place?id=1076 |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=Queensland WWII Historic Places |publisher=Queensland Government |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207070831/https://www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/place?id=1076 |url-status=live }}</ref>

St Anthony's Catholic Church in the Parish of St Anne was blessed and opened on Sunday 6 August 1961 by [[Roman Catholic Bishop of Townsville|Bishop]] [[Hugh Edward Ryan|H. E. Ryan]]. It was designed and built from stone by [[Townsville]] consulting engineers, Ariotti and Norman.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diocesan Timeline 1960 to 1969.pdf |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m8nZjlLUg57Uz3pQHpaV0fD8fD9bMOag/view?usp=sharing |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Townsville]] |page=19 |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207070312/https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m8nZjlLUg57Uz3pQHpaV0fD8fD9bMOag/view?usp=sharing |url-status=live }}</ref> It is at 26 Banfield Drive (within the grounds of the Catholic school, {{coord|-18.73899
|146.57774|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=St Anthony's Catholic Church}}).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blake |first=Thom |title=St Anne's Catholic Church |url=https://www.thomblake.com.au/qc_new/view_p_n.php?id=457 |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=Queensland religious places database |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207054548/https://www.thomblake.com.au/qc_new/view_p_n.php?id=457 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=St Anne's Parish - Palm Island |url=https://www.tsv.catholic.org.au/st-anne-s-parish-palm-island/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Townsville |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207070315/https://www.tsv.catholic.org.au/st-anne-s-parish-palm-island/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The women's dormitory closed in 1967 and was demolished in 1969. The children's dormitories were officially closed on 5 December 1975.<ref name=qldgovpalm/>

====1978: Sacking of the Aboriginal Council====
The Aboriginal Council of Palm Island was sacked by [[Joh Bjelke-Petersen]]'s government in July 1978. This followed moves by the Queensland Government to hand over control of Palm Island to Townsville Council, which was opposed by islanders in a petition instigated by [[Labor Party of Australia|Labor]] senator [[Jim Keeffe]]. Denis Freney, writing in ''[[Tribune (Australian newspaper)|Tribune]]'', reported that the decision was made based on a counter-petition run by the government which contained many signatures of Aboriginal people which had been forged or obtained by duplicity, and was "part of a plan by the Bjelke-Petersen government to ride roughshod over the wishes of the 1305 residents of the island and open it up to property speculators and tourist development". He wrote that both petitions contained many of the same people's signatures.<ref name=sacking>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article236853602 |title=Petition forgeries |newspaper=[[Tribune (Australian newspaper)|Tribune]] |first=Denis |last=Freney |issue=1870 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=10 September 1974 |access-date=1 May 2021 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=18 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618054036/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/236853602 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====1999: Compensation by Queensland Government for underpaid wages====

In 1999 the Queensland Government apologised and gave {{AUD|7,000}} compensation each to former Palm Islander employees in recompense for underpaid wages between 1975 and 1986.<ref>{{cite news|last=Robbins|first=Matt|title=No pay for sly groggers|work=The Australian|date=17 December 1999|page=7}}</ref> The payment was ordered by the [[Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission]] in a case first brought to the commission by seven Palm Islanders in 1986.<ref>{{cite news|last=Robbins|first=Matt|title=Island's new rich spend up – Sofas, video recorders, stereos, toys and alcohol|work=The Australian|date=24 December 1999|page=8}}</ref>

====2004: Death in custody and consequences====
{{Main|2004 Palm Island death in custody}}
{{See also|Trial of Lex Wotton}}
On 19 November 2004, Palm Island resident [[Mulrunji]] (known as Cameron Doomadgee while alive), aged 36 or 37,<ref name=qldgovpalm/> died in a police cell on Palm Island, one hour after being picked up for allegedly causing a public nuisance.<ref name="weekend-04">{{cite news|last=Koch|first=Tony|author2=Fraser, Andrew|title=Police run for their lives as rioters torch buildings in a tropical island rampage|work=[[The Weekend Australian]]|date=27 November 2004|page=1}}</ref> After the [[post-mortem]] report said that the cause of death was severe internal injuries, [[riot]]s occurred, and as a result, a number of people were charged with offences.<ref name=qldgovpalm/>

Two [[coronial inquest]]s were held, a police officer was tried for [[manslaughter]], but acquitted on 20 June 2007. The [[Crime and Misconduct Commission]] examined police relations in Queensland and as part of this, conducted an inquiry into police handling of the Mulrunji investigation. In 2010 it reported that more work was needed on police relations, while noting that some improvement had occurred, recommending 51 specific actions.<ref name=qldgovpalm/>

The police raids and behaviour following the riot were found in December 2016 to have breached the ''[[Racial Discrimination Act 1975]]'',<ref name="BT 5 Dec 16">{{cite news|title=Queensland police breached discrimination act on Palm Island, court finds|url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-police-breached-discrimination-act-on-palm-island-court-finds-20161205-gt487s.html|newspaper=Brisbane Times|date=5 December 2016|access-date=12 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512113100/https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-police-breached-discrimination-act-on-palm-island-court-finds-20161205-gt487s.html|archive-date=12 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> with a record class action settlement of {{AUD|30 million}} awarded to victims in May 2018.<ref name="Nothling 2018">{{cite news|first=Nothling|last=Lily|title=Palm Island riots class action payout 'slap in face' to police, union says|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-02/riot-class-action-payout-prompts-police-union-anger/9717084|newspaper=The Courier Mail|date=2 May 2018|access-date=12 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510202734/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-02/riot-class-action-payout-prompts-police-union-anger/9717084|archive-date=10 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The raids were found by the court to be "racist" and "unnecessary, disproportionate" with police having "acted in these ways because they were dealing with an Aboriginal community".<ref name="BT 5 Dec 16"/>

===Fantome Island medical facilities (1926–1973)===
{{main|Fantome Island Lock Hospital and Lazaret Sites}}
In 1926 a [[lock hospital]] was built on [[Fantome Island]]; Aboriginal people were sent there mainly for treatment of [[sexually transmitted diseases]]. In 1937 Fantome Island became a medical clearing station, where Aboriginal people sent to Palm Island were examined and treated if necessary.<ref name=qldgovpalm/> A [[leprosarium]] was established on Fantome in 1939.

The hospital was closed in 1945, and the leprosarium in 1973, when the inhabitants were moved to (Great) Palm Island.<ref name="Wilson Case study"/>

===2004: Legal action relating to pearl farming===

Zen Pearls Pty Ltd and Indian Pacific Pearls Pty Ltd (both controlled by Michael Crimp) established [[cultured pearl|pearl farms]] in 1998 with the permission of the [[Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority]]<ref>{{cite web
| title =Zen Pearls Pty Ltd v Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
| publisher =Australian Indigenous Law Reporter
| date =15 March 2004
| url =http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AILR/2004/8.html
| access-date =3 March 2007
| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080602152510/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AILR/2004/8.html
| archive-date =2 June 2008
| url-status =live
}} Para 24.</ref> (which controls the sea waters around the islands), despite the opposition of, at least some, of the people of Palm Island.<ref>{{cite web
| title =Zen Pearls Pty Ltd v Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
| publisher =Australian Indigenous Law Reporter
| date =15 March 2004
| url =http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AILR/2004/8.html
| access-date =3 March 2007
| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080602152510/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AILR/2004/8.html
| archive-date =2 June 2008
| url-status =live
}} Para 117 and following.</ref> On 24 September 1998 the Manbarra elders passed a resolution opposing the farms on the basis of;
<blockquote>
"the historical and cultural significance of the Juno Bay site for both the [[Manbarra]] and [[Bwgcolman]] Peoples, the sense of trespass on [[traditional owners]]hip rights, concerns that the cultural connection to the area would slip away and a strong feeling that the provision of a small number of employment opportunities offered by the pearling operations would not adequately compensate the damage to cultural values."<ref>{{cite web
| title =Zen Pearls Pty Ltd v Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
| publisher =Australian Indigenous Law Reporter
| date =15 March 2004
| url =http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AILR/2004/8.html
| access-date =3 March 2007
| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080602152510/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AILR/2004/8.html
| archive-date =2 June 2008
| url-status =live
}} Para 146.</ref>
</blockquote>

Subsequently, the Park Authority refused to extend the pearl farming permits and Crimp took action before the [[Administrative Appeals Tribunal]] to have this decision reversed.  On 15 March 2004 the Tribunal agreed that the permits should be terminated but allowed the existing pearling operations to continue to 1 December 2005.<ref>{{cite web
| title =Zen Pearls Pty Ltd V Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
| publisher =Australian Indigenous Law Reporter
| date =15 March 2004
| url =http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AILR/2004/8.html
| access-date =3 March 2007
| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080602152510/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AILR/2004/8.html
| archive-date =2 June 2008
| url-status =live
}}

Para 2.</ref> This decision was substantially upheld by the [[Federal Court of Australia|Federal Court]] on 21 October 2004.<ref>{{cite AustLII|FCAFC|277|2004|litigants=Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority v Indian Pacific Pearls Pty Ltd |date=21 October 2004|courtname=auto}}.</ref>

== Demographics ==
The Indigenous population generally identify with either the [[Bwgcolman]] (descendants of [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] and [[Torres Strait Islander people]] removed to Palm Island from throughout Queensland by the authorities, or [[Manbarra]] (original inhabitants) people.<ref name="The Place" /><ref name="qldgovpalm" /><ref name="aata2004" /> {{as of|2007}}, the community consisted of approximately 42 [[Aboriginal Australian]] and [[Torres Strait Islander]] clan or family groups.<ref name="statelineSep06">{{cite interview |last=Beattie |first=Peter |subject-link=Peter Beattie |interviewer=Chris O'Brien |title=Transcript: Peter Beattie, Date: 28/09/2006 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/qld/content/2006/s1752412.htm |access-date=13 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225652/http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/qld/content/2006/s1752412.htm |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=live |work=[[Stateline (TV program)|Stateline (Queensland edition)]] |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] |location=Brisbane |date=29 September 2006}}</ref><ref name="hughes07">{{cite web |last=Hughes |first=Helen |author-link=Helen Hughes (economist) |date=8 January 2007 |title=Palmed off and abused |url=https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/palmed-off-and-abused/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225015241/https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/palmed-off-and-abused/ |archive-date=25 February 2020 |access-date=25 February 2020 |work=CIS Media Releases |publisher=The Centre for Independent Studies}}</ref>

In the {{CensusAU|2016}}, the locality of Palm Island had a population of 2,455 people, of whom 74.5% identify as Australian Aboriginal and 12.8% identify as Torres Strait Islander.<ref name="Census2016">{{Census 2016 AUS|id=SSC32279|name=Palm Island (SSC)|access-date=20 October 2018|quick=on}} [[File:CC-BY_icon.svg|50x50px]] Material was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]] {{Cite web |title=Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 |url=https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016050101/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |archive-date=16 October 2017 |access-date=9 February 2019}}</ref> The Palm Island community was younger than Australians as a whole, with 32.0% under 15 and only 3.3% over 64, and they were more religious. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 50.4%, Anglican 19.4%, Other Protestant 8.5%, Baptist 5.0% (total 91.2% Christian) and No Religion 8.1% (compared with 29.2% for Queensland).<ref name="Census2016" /> 92.2% of respondents reported speaking only English at home (compared with 81.2% for Queensland), the next most common being Yumplatok ([[Torres Strait Creole]]) at 0.2%.<ref name="Census2016" /> 702 people were in the available [[workforce]]: of these, 38.6% were employed full-time, 28.3% were employed part-time and 29.1% were unemployed. The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over was {{AUD|306}} (compared with {{AUD|660}} in Queensland). 93.8% of occupied private dwellings were rented. Level of education achieved was much lower than Queensland as a whole, with only a tiny number having any [[higher education|higher]] or [[further education]].<ref name="Census2016" />

In the {{CensusAU|2021}}, the locality of Palm Island had a population of 2,138 people, of whom 1,918 (89.7%) identify as [[Indigenous Australians]].<ref name="Census2021"/>

==Education==
Palm Island Settlement State School opened in 1926, but closed in 1927. A mission school operated on the island in 1930s. In 1962, Palm Island Settlement School opened, being renamed Palm Island State School, and in 1994 was renamed Bwgcolman Community School.<ref name=qfhs>{{Citation | author1=Queensland Family History Society | title=Queensland schools past and present | publication-date=2010 | publisher=[[Queensland Family History Society]] | edition=Version 1.01 | isbn=978-1-921171-26-0 }}</ref>

The [[Sisters of Our Lady Help of Christians]] established St Michael's Catholic Convent in 1934.<ref>{{cite news|date=11 October 1934|title=PALM ISLAND ABORIGINAL MISSION|volume=LXXXIII|page=27|newspaper=[[Catholic Freeman's Journal]]|location=New South Wales, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146410351|via=National Library of Australia|access-date=12 February 2022|archive-date=18 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618054028/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146410351|url-status=live}}</ref> They established a temporary Catholic school in October 1934 with 97 students, but a lack of funds prevented the establishment of a permanent Catholic school until 1938.<ref>{{cite news|date=4 November 1937|title=HOLY NAME AT PALM ISLAND.|volume=LXXXVI|page=3|newspaper=[[Catholic Freeman's Journal]]|location=New South Wales, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146418010|via=National Library of Australia|access-date=12 February 2022|archive-date=18 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618054102/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146418010|url-status=live}}</ref> St Michael's Catholic School was blessed on Sunday 24 July 1938 by the [[Apostolic delegate|Apostolic Delegate]] [[Giovanni Panico|Giovanni (John) Panico]].<ref>{{cite news|date=4 August 1938|title=Native Welcome to the Apostolic Delegate|volume=LXXI|page=9|newspaper=[[The Advocate (Melbourne)|Advocate]]|issue=4433|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article172024673|via=National Library of Australia|access-date=12 February 2022|archive-date=18 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618054200/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/172024673|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1945, the Sisters of Our Lady Help of Christians were replaced by the [[Franciscan Missionaries of Mary]]. In 1969, the school was relocated as it was in the way of the development of the airport. From 1979 to 1991, the school was under [[Catholic laity|lay]] leadership, before the [[Sisters of the Good Samaritan]] took over in 1992.<ref>{{cite web|title=School History|url=http://www.smptsv.catholic.edu.au/about/school-history/|access-date=2022-02-12|website=St Michael's School, Palm Island|language=en|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411050442/https://www.smptsv.catholic.edu.au/about/school-history/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Palm Island Provisional School opened in 1938 for the children of the white officials on the island. It closed in 1970.<ref name="qfhs"/>

As at 2022, there are two schools on Palm Island, both on Great Palm Island.<ref name="globe" />

Bwgcolman Community School is an Indigenous community primary and secondary (Early Childhood-12) school for boys and girls on Creek Road ({{coord|-18.7362|146.5781|type:edu_region:AU-QLD|name=Bwgcolman Community School}}).<ref name="SchoolList2018">{{cite web|date=9 July 2018|title=State and non-state school details|url=https://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/state-and-non-state-school-details/resource/5b39065c-df32-415c-994c-5ff12f8de997|url-status=live|publisher=[[Queensland Government]]|access-date=21 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121065959/https://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/state-and-non-state-school-details/resource/5b39065c-df32-415c-994c-5ff12f8de997|archive-date=21 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2020-04-08|title=Bwgcolman Community School|url=https://bwgcolmancs.eq.edu.au/|access-date=2022-02-12|website=Bwgcolman Community School|language=en|archive-date=9 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509203333/https://bwgcolmancs.eq.edu.au/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 249 students with 30 teachers and 28 non-teaching staff (23 full-time equivalent).<ref name="ACARA2018">{{cite web|title=ACARA School Profile 2018|url=https://www.acara.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/school-profile-2018.xlsx|publisher=[[Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority]]|access-date=28 January 2020|archive-date=27 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200827085246/https://www.acara.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/school-profile-2018.xlsx|url-status=live}}</ref> It includes a [[special education]] program.<ref name="SchoolList2018" />

St Michael's Catholic School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls on Banfield Highway ({{coord|-18.7366|146.5769|type:edu_region:AU-QLD|name=St Michael's Catholic School}}).<ref name="SchoolList2018" /><ref>{{cite web|title=St Michael's Catholic School|url=https://www.smptsv.catholic.edu.au|access-date=21 November 2018|archive-date=28 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228071428/https://www.smptsv.catholic.edu.au/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 101 students with 8 teachers and 13 non-teaching staff (12 full-time equivalent).<ref name="ACARA2018" />

Bwgcolman [[Indigenous Knowledge Centre]] (IKC) is owned and operated by the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council (PIASC), providing a community space that builds community capacity through combining library services with a range of training, learning and information activities. These activities enable access to information knowledge and culture, developing the capacity of community members to participate in social and economic opportunities. The IKC has played a vital role as a historical information centre, connecting local community, and visitors with historical connections, with family history records.<ref>{{SLQ-CC-BY|url=https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/bwgcolman-indigenous-knowledge-centre|title=Bwgcolman Indigenous Knowledge Centre|date=9 July 2022|authors=Indigenous services|access-date=18 January 2023}}</ref>

==Transport==
Sealink Queensland runs a [[ferry]] every day from Townsville to Great Palm Island each day of the week except Tuesday, with the journey taking around an hour and 15 minutes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Palm Island Ferry Timetable |website=SeaLink Queensland |date=18 April 2021 |url=https://www.sealinkqld.com.au/ferry/timetables/palm-island |access-date=18 April 2021 |archive-date=21 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421183903/https://www.sealinkqld.com.au/ferry/timetables/palm-island |url-status=live}}</ref> There is also a daily ferry and barge from [[Lucinda, Queensland|Lucinda]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.palmbarge.com.au/services/vehicle-ferry |title=Palm Island Vehicle Ferry Service| website=Palm Island Barge Co. |access-date=19 April 2021 |archive-date=19 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419024434/https://www.palmbarge.com.au/services/vehicle-ferry| url-status=live}}</ref> [[Palm Island Airport]] is on Great Palm Island and is operated by the shire council.<ref>{{cite web | title=Airport | website=Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council | url=http://www.palmcouncil.qld.gov.au/airport | access-date=18 April 2021 | archive-date=11 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511194821/http://www.palmcouncil.qld.gov.au/airport | url-status=live}}</ref> [[Hinterland Aviation]] operates several flights on each weekday between 7am and 4:30pm,<ref>{{cite web | title=Home [including flight search] | website=Hinterland Aviation | url=https://www.hinterlandaviation.com.au/ | access-date=18 April 2021 | archive-date=21 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421135549/https://www.hinterlandaviation.com.au/ | url-status=live}}</ref> and Townsville Helicopters operates on-demand [[helicopter]] flights to and from Palm Island, also from [[Townsville Airport]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Palm Island Transfers | website=Townsville Helicopters | url=https://www.townsvillehelicopters.com.au/travel/palm-island-transfers/ | access-date=18 April 2021 | archive-date=18 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418110514/https://www.townsvillehelicopters.com.au/travel/palm-island-transfers/ | url-status=live}}</ref>

There is a daily scheduled helicopter flight from Townsville to the luxury resort on Orpheus Island and back, and private helicopter charter flights are available from Townsville, [[Cairns]] or other nearby facilities.<ref>{{cite web | title=How to get to Orpheus Island Resort on the Great Barrier Reef | website=Orpheus Island Great Barrier Reef Luxury Resort | url=https://www.orpheus.com.au/getting-there/ | access-date=18 April 2021 | archive-date=18 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418111400/https://www.orpheus.com.au/getting-there/ | url-status=live}}</ref>

==Tourism==
In the locality of Palm Island, only Orpheus Island has a well-developed tourist industry, based around a private luxury resort, the Orpheus Island Lodge.<ref>{{cite web | title=Great Barrier Reef Accommodation | website=Orpheus Island Great Barrier Reef Luxury Resort | date=31 March 2021 | url=https://www.orpheus.com.au/ | access-date=19 April 2021 | archive-date=19 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419181900/https://www.orpheus.com.au/ | url-status=live}}</ref>

Some attempts have been made to develop a tourist industry on Great Palm Island, but these have met with limited success.<ref>{{cite web | title=Palm Island, Australia: Reinventing Itself towards EcoTourism & Sustainability | website=Gaia Discovery | date=21 August 2009 | first=Ian | last=Crawshaw | url=https://www.gaiadiscovery.com/latest-places/palm-island-australia-reinventing-itself-towards-ecotourism.html | access-date=19 April 2021 | archive-date=19 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419022555/https://www.gaiadiscovery.com/latest-places/palm-island-australia-reinventing-itself-towards-ecotourism.html | url-status=live}}</ref> Although the island has [[tropical rainforest]] and is rich in diverse [[flora and fauna]],<ref>{{cite web | title=About Palm Island | website=SeaLink Queensland | date=19 April 2021 | url=https://www.sealinkqld.com.au/palm-island/about-palm-island | access-date=19 April 2021 | archive-date=19 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419024433/https://www.sealinkqld.com.au/palm-island/about-palm-island | url-status=live}}</ref> is close to the Great Barrier Reef and its waters abound with [[tropical fish]], making it an ideal spot for [[eco-tourism]], there have been concerns owing to its troubled history and social problems, and its residents need to be ready to embrace the idea of a possible flood of visitors.<ref>{{cite web| title=Palm Island: Mixed response to plan to lure tourists| website=ABC News| publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation| date=11 July 2013| first1=Heather| last1=Stewart| first2=Nathalie| last2=Fernbach| url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-11/palm-island-tourism-reaction/4814878| access-date=19 April 2021| archive-date=1 June 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601123843/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-11/palm-island-tourism-reaction/4814878| url-status=live}}</ref> There are, however some facilities and accommodation on the large island for tourists, such as Klub Kuda.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.palmbarge.com.au/tourist-attractions |title=Reel Women Jetty, gateway to one of the most beautiful spots in North Queensland |website=Palm Island Barge Co. |access-date=19 April 2021 |archive-date=19 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419024432/https://www.palmbarge.com.au/tourist-attractions |url-status=live}}</ref> The Palm Island Motel is operated by the council.<ref>{{cite web | title=Accommodation | website=Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council | url=http://www.palmcouncil.qld.gov.au/accommodation | access-date=19 April 2021 | archive-date=14 March 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314163126/http://www.palmcouncil.qld.gov.au/accommodation | url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notable people==
===The Clays===
[[File:Boxer Freddie Clay , Brisbane 1950.jpg|thumb|Freddie Clay in 1950]]
[[Iris Clay]] (1936–1979) and her husband [[Freddie Clay|Frederick William (Fred, or Freddie) Clay]] (1927–1983) were Indigenous leaders and activists who fought for equality for the people of Palm Island. Iris worked for the Aboriginal Legal Service on Palm Island, and was a founding member as well as director of [[Aboriginal Hostels Limited]].<ref name=actclay>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.act.gov.au/di/2009-6/|title=Public Place Names (Bonner) Determination 2009 (No 1)|website=ACT Legislation|publisher=[[ACT Government]]|date=3 February 2009|access-date=1 May 2021|archive-date=1 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501043330/https://www.legislation.act.gov.au/di/2009-6/|url-status=live}} [https://www.legislation.act.gov.au/View/di/2009-6/current/PDF/2009-6.PDF PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501035154/https://www.legislation.act.gov.au/View/di/2009-6/current/PDF/2009-6.PDF |date=1 May 2021}}</ref>

"Freddie and Ivy (sic) Clay" were recorded as having been moved to Palm Island in 1935 from [[Cloncurry]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Mackett | first=Paul | title=Queensland Removals 1912 – 1939 | website=Centre for Indigenous Family History Studies | url=http://www.cifhs.com/qldrecords/qldremovalsmod.html | access-date=1 May 2021 | archive-date=1 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501043322/http://www.cifhs.com/qldrecords/qldremovalsmod.html | url-status=live}}</ref> Ivy arrived with her parents and some, but not all, of her siblings in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Hermann | first1=E. | last2=Kempf | first2=W. | last3=van Meijl | first3=T. | title=Belonging in Oceania: Movement, Place-Making and Multiple Identifications | publisher=Berghahn Books | series=Pacific Perspectives: Studies of the European Society for Oceanists | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-78238-416-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fCEfAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 | access-date=1 May 2021 | pages=53–54 | archive-date=15 February 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215201222/https://books.google.com/books?id=fCEfAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 | url-status=live}}</ref> At the age of 15, Fred escaped to the mainland, and got as far as [[Ingham, Queensland|Ingham]] before he was captured at gunpoint and returned to the reserve.<ref>{{cite book | last=Watson | first=Joanne | title=Palm Island: Through a Long Lens | publisher=Aboriginal Studies Press | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-85575-703-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7TXPpmQVlj4C&pg=PA24 | access-date=1 May 2021 | page=24 | archive-date=18 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618054542/https://books.google.com/books?id=7TXPpmQVlj4C&pg=PA24#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status=live }}</ref> Fred became a [[Boxer (boxing)|boxer]] around 1950,<ref>{{cite journal| title=Professional Aboriginal boxers in eastern Australia 1930-1979| first=Richard| last=Broome| journal=[[Aboriginal History]]| volume=4| issn=1837-9389| doi=10.22459/AH.04.2011| url=https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/journals/aboriginal-history-journal/aboriginal-history-journal-volume-4| access-date=1 May 2021| pages=48–71| others=Includes photo of Clay, c.1950| year=2011| archive-date=1 May 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501043331/https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/journals/aboriginal-history-journal/aboriginal-history-journal-volume-4| url-status=live| doi-access=free}} [http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p71161/pdf/article043.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103012809/http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p71161/pdf/article043.pdf |date=3 January 2022}}</ref> participating in a match at the [[Brisbane Stadium]] in May 1950 (recorded as aged 19?).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49723469 |title=Fred Clay's big chance at title |newspaper=[[The Courier-Mail]] |issue=4193 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=5 May 1950 |access-date=27 April 2021 |page=11 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=18 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618054540/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/49723469 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was an activist by 1969, when Aboriginal people were not allowed on the main street.<ref name=Barry>{{cite web |title=Long overdue compensation for Palm Islanders in Mulrunji case |website=Woolly Days |date=7 May 2018 |first=Derek |last=Barry |url=https://woollydays.wordpress.com/2018/05/07/long-overdue-compensation-for-palm-islanders-in-mulrunji-case/ |access-date=1 May 2021 |archive-date=1 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501043319/https://woollydays.wordpress.com/2018/05/07/long-overdue-compensation-for-palm-islanders-in-mulrunji-case/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Fred became a councillor on Palm Island Council, including a stint as chairman from 1973 to 1974.<ref name=piv/> During this time, the council sought to obtain federal government funding so that Palm Islanders could run their own affairs, and develop the island's economy themselves, instead of decisions about the people coming under Queensland's oppressive [[Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897#Amendments and repeal|''Aborigines Act 1971'' and the ''Torres Strait Islanders Act 1971'']].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/news/1970s/1975_1979/1975/hs17mar1975.pdf |work=Kooriweb |title=A black history |first=Denis |last=Walker |date=6 February 1975 |access-date=1 May 2021 |archive-date=1 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501054244/http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/news/1970s/1975_1979/1975/hs17mar1975.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> He was president of the council at the time of [[#1978: Sacking of the Aboriginal Council|its sacking by the Bjelke-Petersen government]] in July 1978,<ref name=sacking/> and later  deported from the island, along with Bill Rosser (see below).<ref name=Barry/>

Clay Street in the suburb of [[Bonner, Australian Capital Territory]], was named in honour of Iris and Fred Clay in 2009.<ref name=actclay/> In 2014, the Frederick William Clay Park was opened on the foreshore of the town on Palm Island.<ref name=piv>{{cite journal|journal= Palm Island Voice|issue= 159|date= 31 July 2014|url= http://chowes.com.au/PI%20Voice%20159.pdf|title= It was Palm Island's Day!|access-date= 1 May 2021|archive-date= 28 March 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210328140229/http://chowes.com.au/PI%20Voice%20159.pdf|url-status= live}}</ref>

===Bill Rosser===
<!---Smoke Signal (newsletter) redirect targets this section for now--->
[[File:Bill Rosser at John Oxley Library.jpg|thumb|Bill Rosser speaking at John Oxley Library, 1991]]
[[Bill Rosser]], aka B. R. Rosser (13 May 1927 – May 2002), author of ''This is Palm Island'' (1978), ''Return to Palm Island'' (1994) and many other books,<ref name=austlitrosser>{{cite web | title=Bill Rosser | website=[[AustLit]] | url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A48646 | access-date=2 October 2022 | archive-date=2 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002101520/https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A48646 | url-status=live }}</ref> was also a [[trade union|union organiser]]. He visited Palm Island at the invitation of Iris Clay (whom he had met at the [[Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders]] in Townsville) in 1974, and was shocked at the extent to which the life of Aboriginal people was prescribed by the Queensland laws.<ref>{{cite book |last=Donovan |first=Val |title=The Reality of a Dark History: From contact and conflict to cultural recognition of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders |publisher=Australian eBook Publisher |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-925177-26-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QGZxBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT271 |access-date=1 May 2021 |page=271 |archive-date=18 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618054543/https://books.google.com/books?id=QGZxBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT271 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Rosser, Fred Clay<ref name=Barry/> and others tried started a newsletter called ''[[Smoke Signal (newsletter)|Smoke Signal]]'' (aka ''Palm Island Smoke Signal'') in 1974,<ref name=burrows2010/> describing the life of Aboriginal people under the current legislation. The newsletter ran for at least 12 issues.<ref name=burrows2010>{{cite thesis | type=PhD | last=Burrows | first=Elizabeth Anne | title=Writing to be heard: the Indigenous print media's role in establishing and developing an Indigenous public sphere | year=2010 | publisher=[[Griffith University]] | doi=10.25904/1912/3292 | url=https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/365622 | access-date=1 October 2022 | page=331 | archive-date=29 September 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929092817/https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/365622 | url-status=live }} [https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/365622/Burrows_2010_02Thesis.pdf?sequence=1 PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928002232/https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/365622/Burrows_2010_02Thesis.pdf?sequence=1 |date=28 September 2022 }}</ref> Clay and Rosser were subsequently deported from the island.<ref name=Barry/>

Rosser later produced another publication for Aboriginal people, called ''Black Knight'', in [[Brisbane]] (1975).<ref name=burrows2010/>

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{cite book |last= Bindloss|first= Joseph |title= Queensland|year= 2002|publisher= [[Lonely Planet]] |isbn = 0-86442-712-3}}''
*{{cite book |last= Dillon|first= Colin|title= Final report – review of the indigenous communities of doomadgee and palm island|date=April 2000|publisher= Phillip, A.C.T. : ATSIC. Review commissioned by the then Australian Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Senator [[John Herron (Australian politician)|John Herron]] March 1998}}
* {{cite web | title=The tall man | website=The Monthly | date=8 March 2006 | url=https://www.themonthly.com.au/monthly-essays-chloe-hooper-tall-man-inside-palm-island039s-heart-darkness-185 |first=Chloe|last=Hooper}}

== External links ==

* [https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/tqqf2h/alma99232243402061 Palm Island, the island of sunshine ca. 1952], silent 16mm film footage of the environment and life on Palm Island in 1952. Held in [[State Library of Queensland]]
* [https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/dls06p/alma99183606317802061 Palm Island & our people: digital story], State Library of Queensland
* [https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/dls06p/alma99183606317702061 Palm Island & Our People oral histories], State Library of Queensland
* [https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/tqqf2h/alma99183550117602061 Alf Wilson photographs of Palm Island and area events], State Library of Queensland
* [https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/tqqf2h/alma99280893402061 Hamish Cairns Palm Island photographs 2008-2013], State Library of Queensland
{{Great Palm Island group}}
{{Suburbs of Townsville}}
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[[Category:Palm Island, Queensland| ]]
[[Category:Aboriginal communities in Queensland]]
[[Category:Queensland in World War II]]
[[Category:Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island]]
[[Category:Shire of Hinchinbrook]]
[[Category:Localities in Queensland]]
[[Category:Far North Queensland]]