Flying Fish Point, Queensland

Flying Fish Point is a coastal town, locality and headland in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3][4] In the 2016 census, Flying Fish Point had a population of 425 people.[1]

Flying Fish Point
Queensland
Flying Fish Point
Coordinates17.4972°S 146.0752°E / -17.4972; 146.0752
Population425 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density77.3/km2 (200.1/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4860
Area5.5 km2 (2.1 sq mi)
LGA(s)Cassowary Coast Region
State electorate(s)Hill
Federal Division(s)Kennedy
Localities around Flying Fish Point:
Wanjuru Wanjuru Coral Sea
Coconuts Flying Fish Point Coral Sea
Coconuts Coral Sea Coral Sea

Geography

Flying Fish Point is on the northern shore of the mouth of the Johnstone River as it enters the Coral Sea.[5]

History
Enjoying the beach at Flying Fish Point, 1930

The town was originally called Musgrave, but on 1 December 1961 it was officially changed to Flying Fish Point. The town's name comes from the headland, which in turn was named by explorer George Elphinstone Dalrymple on 4 October 1873, after the twelve ton cutter Flying Fish which was the principal vessel of his North East Coast Expedition.[2][4] The southern shore of the mouth of the Johnstone River, Coquette Point, was named after another cutter in the expedition.[6] C

Thomas Henry Fitzgerald had successfully established sugarcane plantations in the Mackay area and in April 1880 came to Flying Fish Point and planted sugarcane there on 15 June 1880. The focus of his sugarcane interests shifted further up the Johnstone River resulting in the establishing of Geraldton (later Innisfail) as the major sugarcane growing area. Flying Fish Point with its sandy beach instead became a popular holiday town for the area.[7]

The first Catholic mass was celebrated in Flying Fish Point on 1 January 1940 in Edwin Shaw's hut.[8]

Flying Fish Point Provisional School opened on 23 January 1899. It closed on a number of occasions due to low student numbers. It also closed for a period in 1918 after the school building was destroyed in a cyclone in March 1918.[9][10] The school also closed for a period in World War II from about February 1942 when people were evacuated from the district due to fears of a Japanese invasion but the school did not reopen until 1947.[11][12][13][14][15] It is unclear when it became Flying Fish Point State School as it is today.

Education

Flying Fish Point State School is a government co-educational primary (P-6) school on Maud Street. In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 56 students with 5 teachers (4 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent).[16]

Community groups

The Flying Fish Point branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at QCWA Hall on Alice Street.[17]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Flying Fish Point (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  2. "Flying Fish Point – town in Cassowary Coast Region (entry 45230)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  3. "Flying Fish Point – locality in Cassowary Coast Region (entry 45698)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  4. "Flying Fish Point – headland in the Cassowary Coast Region (entry 12823)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  5. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  6. "Coquette Point – headland in the Cassowary Coast Region (entry 8413)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  7. "Glimpses of Country Life". Sydney Mail. XXXVIII (972). New South Wales, Australia. 12 November 1930. p. 2. Retrieved 21 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Apostolic Blessing to Bishop". Johnstone River Advocate And Innisfail News (8). Queensland, Australia. 5 January 1940. p. 1. Retrieved 21 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "THE CYCLONE AREA. INNISFAIL LOSSES". The Brisbane Courier (18, 771). Queensland, Australia. 16 March 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 21 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  11. "Flying Fish Point Exodus". Cairns Post (12, 471). Queensland, Australia. 11 February 1942. p. 4. Retrieved 21 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "When Will Flying Fish Pt. School Open?". The Evening Advocate. Queensland, Australia. 3 September 1943. p. 4. Retrieved 21 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "School Closed At Flying Fish Point". The Evening Advocate. Queensland, Australia. 2 February 1944. p. 4. Retrieved 21 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. "FLYING FISH POINT NEWS AND SOCIAL". The Evening Advocate. Queensland, Australia. 19 October 1945. p. 3. Retrieved 21 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. "M.L.A. PLEASED AT SCHOOL RE-OPENING". The Evening Advocate. Queensland, Australia. 15 April 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 21 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. "Annual Report 2016". Flying Fish Point State School. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  17. "Branch Locations". Queensland Country Women's Association. Retrieved 26 December 2018.

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