Double Island, Queensland

Not to be confused with Double Island Point.

Double Island (originally Wangal Djungay (Djabugay))^{[citation needed]} is an island approx 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) off Ellis Beach inside the Great Barrier Reef on the coast of Queensland, Australia.^[2][1]

Double Island

Native name: Wangal Djungay
View of Double Island from shore, 2005
Geography
Location	Ellis Beach, Queensland[1]
Coordinates	16.72583°S 145.68361°E / -16.72583; 145.68361 (Double Island)
Administration
Australia

Geography

The island approximately 1.5 km, north east of Palm Cove, Queensland and about 30 km north of Cairns.^{[citation needed]}

History

The island had been known to, and used by, the local Aboriginal Australians (predecessors of the Djabugay people), for many tens of thousands of years. The Djabugay people (particularly the Yirrgay group) believe it is the resting place of Gudju Gudju, a Rainbow Serpent.^{[3][page needed]}

The discovery of gold on the mainland west of the area assured that Double Island became well known in the 1880s and 1890s and it is said that, around this time, a mining company at Irvinebank used the island as a resort for employees.^[4] It was also around this time that some local graziers started using the island to graze cattle.^{[citation needed]}

Double Island (Wangal Djungay) was the location of an exclusive resort. Hollywood stars Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves have been among the celebrities who stayed on the island.^{[when?][5][6]}

The resort has been closed to the public for years.^[when?] In 2012, Benny Wu from Hong Kong bought the island lease and planned a $10 million upgrade to the island’s resort for wealthy tourists.^[7] However, by 2023, no maintenance or upgrades had been performed. With the resort having fallen into disrepair, this prompted calls for the lease to be cancelled.^[8] In June 2024, Benny Wu's lease was revoked and the island was returned to the state of Queensland.^[9]

References

1. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
2. "Double Island – island in the Cairns Region (entry 10404)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
3. Bottoms, T. (1999) Djabugay Country: An Aboriginal History of Tropical North Queensland. Allen & Unwin. Sydney.
4. "History". Double Island. Archived from the original on 13 February 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
5. Daniel Bateman, "Resort’s tree felling scars Double Island", The Cairns Post, 5 December 2014, page 11
6. "Brangelina to spend summer in Sunshine State", The Cairns Post, 11 September 2013, page 2
7. Bateman, Daniel (24 April 2015). "Hong Kong millionaire Benny Wu cleared over tree removal on Double Island near Cairns". The Cairns Post.
8. "Government out of patience as abandoned island resort and former celebrity hideout given ultimatum to open". ABC News. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
9. "Bloody brilliant: businessman stripped of far north Queensland island". Guardian Newspaper. June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.