In 1864, the British and Queensland governments established the settlement of Somerset on the Cape York Peninsula. Named for Lord Somerset, first Lord of the Admiralty, Somerset was intended as a refuge and supply depot for passing ships, a base to establish a...

On the morning of the 30th December 1950, a CAC Wirraway (a small Australian-made military aircraft) was conducting a shark patrol at Maroochydore. While this activity was routine, it was 27-year-old pilot Flight Lieutenant Hebert Thwaite’s first patrol. At 11:10...

Bananas are Australia’s largest horticultural industry and its bestselling supermarket item. Over ninety percent of Australia’s banana crop is produced in North Queensland. Banana plants were introduced to Australia in the early to mid-nineteenth century, with the...

The town of Boulia was founded in 1879 near a waterhole on the Burke River. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, Boulia gradually acquired stores, hotels, blacksmiths, a sawmill, a cordial factory, a post office, and a telegraph link to Cloncurry. In 1887,...

Traditional Torres Strait Islander art and craftsmanship have been passed down from generation to generation, and remain a key part of today’s cultural practices. These skills continue to be taught, and processes and tools are adapting to suit the changing social ...

(Featured Image: Tangalooma Whaling Station, Moreton Island, c. 1952 – 1961) Whales were first hunted in Australian waters in the late-eighteenth century. By the end of the nineteenth, intensive commercial whaling had caused whale numbers to fall precipitously. From...

Today, the tiny town of Laura, located in Cook Shire on Cape York, 310 km north-west of Cairns, is primarily known for the ancient and impressive Aboriginal rock art connected with the Quinkan and Regional Cultural Centre. The town itself (home to 80 people and...