Lizard Island

Lizard Island, also known as Jiigurru or Dyiigurra, is an island on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia, northwest of Brisbane. It is part of the Lizard Island Group that also includes Palfrey Island, and also part of the Lizard Island National Park. Lizard Island is within the locality of Lizard in the Cook Shire. The traditional owners of the Lizard Island group are the Aboriginal Australian clan known as the Dingaal (or Dingiil) people. David Horton's 1996 representation of Norman Tindale's map shows the lands of the Guugu Yimithirr people extending from south of Hope Vale to an area which covers Lizard Island. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority states on their website that the traditional lands of the "Guugu Yimidhirr Warra Nation" extend from Lizard Island to the Hope Vale region. The website "Dingaals Lizard Island" states that the island has been in the custodianship of the Dingaal people for thousands of years. According to the Cairns Institute and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Dingaal people are the traditional owners of the Lizard Island group. the senior elder of the Dingaals is Gordon Charlie. The island has along been regarded as a sacred place, used for ceremonies and trading. The 2024 study showed that the people who lived there were involved in the ancient maritime networks in the vicinity, including the possession of sophisticated skills in building ocean-going vessels as well as navigation. Cook climbed the peak on Lizard Island to chart a course out to sea through the maze of reefs which confronted him and the island's summit has since been called 'Cook's Look'.

By the 1840s, Scottish naturalist John McGillivray visited the island in the Julia Percy in 1861, and wrote that there had been bêche-de-mer vessels operating there from Sydney, Singapore, and Hong Kong for 15 years prior. and the State Library of Queensland holds two diaries by Mrs Watson. One is about her last nine months on Lizard Island, and the other comprises notes documenting her last days.

In retaliation for the attack, a punitive expedition was mounted against Aboriginal peoples, and many innocent Aboriginal people were massacred in retribution,

Geology and geography

thumb|Lizard Island beach

Lizard Island is located in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef, directly off the mainland, north of Cooktown and Cape Flattery. The highest point is Cook's Look, above sea level. of Lizard Island, which was found to contain granite-derived, quartz sand temper. The midden is quite large, covering a total area of . Site 17 was first observed by Jim Specht in 1978–9, then excavated by Robynne Mills in 1992. The site was further excavated by a team including Specht in 2009, who created a X x trench, and identified six stratigraphic layers. It was observed through radiocarbon dating that the basal layer (6) produced a range of 3358–2929 cal BP on charcoal found at the depth. In October 2009 Lentfer, Specht, and a representative of the Dingaal people, Johnathan Charlie, began excavating a new trench east of Mills trench. This new trench was x x , and showed six layers of stratigraphy similar to Mills trench. There were recovered pieces of quartz, granite, and pumice discovered from the basal levels of layer number 6, which using radiocarbon dating were dated to be from 3815 to 3571 cal BP to 3206–2959 cal BP.

Mangrove Beach

In 2006, New Zealand archaeologist Matthew Felgate found pottery in an intertidal zone by chance when he was on holiday on the island, on Mangrove Beach. This was the first pottery found, and was reported in a 2010 study by Felgate; however, it could not be reliably dated at that time. including Kenneth McLean, chair of Walmbaar Aboriginal Corporation, and other members of the Dingaal and Ngurrumungu communities, Co-author Quan Hua of ANSTO is an expert in radiocarbon dating. There is conclusive evidence that the pottery is not of Lapita origin, and it is also proof of continuous seasonal occupation of the island by Aboriginal people. It is not known by newer sherds were not found on that site, and further research is necessary.

Lizard Island National Park is administered by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (Parks and Forests).

Flora and fauna

Plant species

As the sea level rose in the early Holocene, resulting in the isolation of Lizard Island, mangrove forest gradually became established in place of the near-coastal palms and grasses. There are a number of distinct plant communities, mainly Themeda australis and Arundinella nepalensis (a low grass), and some small patches of rainforest and semi-deciduous notophyll (dry rainforest). There is a some woodland consisting of mainly Acacia crassicarpa and some Eucalyptus tessellaris, along with shrubs such as Thryptomene oligandra and swamplands of pandanus. Along the coastal dune there is strand vegetation.

Reptiles

there were 11 species of lizards on the island. The most commonly found lizard is the yellow-spotted monitor (Varanus panoptes). Skinks and geckos are among some of the other reptiles roaming Lizard Island. The lowlands bar-lipped skink (Eremiascincus pardalis) and the sandy rainbow-skink (Carlia dogare) are endemic species of Queensland found on this island. The Chevert gecko (Nactus cheverti) is the only gecko on the island that's only endemic to Queensland. Pythons and tree snakes are common while the most dangerous snake on the island, the brown-headed snake (Furina tristis), is rarely seen.

Until 2009, Lizard Island had no native rodents recorded. In October 2009, water rats (Hydromys chrysogaster) were spotted on the island and steadily increased in population until 2012. In 2010, Cape York mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys capensis) were spotted in South Island, marked as the first native rodent to the island chain.

Crustaceans

Species of stomatopod crustaceans are found here, with much biomechanical research being conducted on them. A notable species found near Lizard Island is Alachosquilla vicina.

Current settlement and use

Aside from the national park, Lizard Island also contains a number of other facilities:

Lizard Island Research Station

thumb|Research performed at Lizard Island Research Station includes investigations into the reproduction of the cauliflower coral, [[Pocillopora meandrina.]]

Situated on Lizard Island's most westerly point,

, Anne Hoggett and Lyle Vail were co-directors of LIRS.

Lizard Island Resort

On the island's north western side is an ultra luxury resort owned by Hong Kong listed property company Sea Holdings. In December 1997, the island was purchased by P&O, before being sold to Voyages Hotels & Resorts in July 2004. It was later operated by Delaware North.

References

External links

, Australian Museum, 2 June 2023.