Nature, culture and history | Raine Island National Park (Scientific) (2024)

Natural environment

Raine Island, Moulter and MacLennan cays are small coral cays situated on the outer reef in the remote far north of the Great Barrier Reef. Raine Island is a vegetated coral cay, approximately27ha in area. Broad sand beaches surround a low phosphate rock platform.

Raine Island is the most diverse seabird rookery in the Great Barrier Reef region, supporting significant population of a greater variety of seabirds than anywhere else in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Eighty-four bird species have been recorded here at Raine Island since the first documented visit in 1842. Raine Island is the only known nesting site in Australian waters of the endangered Herald petrel Pterodroma heraldica and it is the most significant nesting site for the vulnerable red-tailed tropicbirds Phaethon rubricauda in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Raine Island, Moulter Cay and MacLennan Cay collectively support globally significant nesting populations of the brown booby Sula leucogaster.

Sixteen different species are known to breed on Raine Island including Herald petrels Pterodroma heraldica and red-tailed tropicbirds Phaethon rubricauda; brown, red-footed and masked boobies Sula leucogaster, S. sula and S. dactylatra; nankeen night-herons Nycticorax caledonicus and lesser frigatebirds Fregata ariel. Wedged-tailed shearwaters Ardenna pacifica also use the island. Other nearby islands including Moulter Cay, a small, vegetated cay supports significant colonies of nesting boobies and terns during summer and winter, while MacLennan Cay, a small unvegetated cay, supports only very small numbers of nesting brown boobies and is used as a roosting site by other seabirds.

Raine Island, Moulter Cay and MacLennan Cay, and surrounding areas, provide refuge for vulnerable green turtles Chelonia mydas. Ninety percent of the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR) population of green turtles nest at Raine Island and Moulter Cay and are genetically distinct. This population is one of the largest remaining stocks of green turtles in the world.

Tens of thousands of adult female green turtles come ashore each year between October to March to nest on Raine Island, with the highest density nesting occurring during the mid-summer months. There is a large variation in the annual numbers of nesting turtles varying from 2,000 turtles in a low season up to 100,000 turtles in a big season. These fluctuations correlate with the atmospheric phenomenon, El Nino, a climate pattern of temperature and pressure variations of the ocean’s surface in the tropical Pacific Ocean. In addition to this, green turtles do not breed every year which contributes to the fluctuating numbers seen.

Over the nesting season one female green turtles may lay up to 10 clutches of eggs (average of 6 clutches) at fortnightly intervals with around 100 eggs per clutch. Thousands of turtles can be ashore each night at Raine Island attempting to nest, Nightly turtles numbers at Moulter Cay are around one-third to a half of the nightly turtles number seen at Raine Island, with incidental nesting at MacLennan Cay. Aggregations of sharks during turtle nesting season also highlight the area’s ecological connections with satellite tracking studies showing that tiger sharks migrate great distances to Raine Island to feed on green turtles.

Concerns have been expressed about declines in nesting and hatchling success of green turtles at Raine Island since the mid-1990s, with one of the largest nesting seasons on records in 1996 producing almost no hatchlings. Concerns were raised at the time that high tides were inundating the nesting beach, killing incubating eggs. The Raine Island Recovery Project was launched to assist in the recovery of this green turtle population by addressing these issues. Management interventions on Raine Island (such as reprofiling the nesting beach and installing cliff-top fencing) has been undertaken during the Project. Beach reprofiling works in 2014, 2017 and 2019 has moved 40,000m³ of sand around the island to raise the beach area above tidal inundation. This has doubled the viable nesting habitat for turtles on the island saving hundreds of thousands of turtle eggs from drowning each year.

To prevent nesting female turtles from becoming trapped or falling off the centre platform 1,750m of custom-made turtle proof fencing has been installed and heat exhausted turtles are rescued by QPWS&P staff, Traditional Owner rangers and researchers to help save this population.

While recent management intervention measures under the Raine Island Recovery Project have increased hatching success of eggs, the previous low hatchling numbers are expected to cause a plateau or decline in nesting adult turtles, which take at least 30 years to reach breeding age. Given that an estimated 90 per cent of the northern Great Barrier Reef nesting population nest in the National Park, there may be significant implications for the northern population. Warming temperatures are resulting in the feminisation of the green turtles originating from nesting beaches in the northern GBR, potentially leading to reduced numbers of adult males in the future.

The successful conservation of the green turtle breeding population depends not only on the management of Raine Island, but also in their feeding grounds. These turtles travel from the waters of Indonesia, New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and within Australian waters from the Gulf of Carpentaria, Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef to nest at Raine Island. Individual green turtles may make migrations of up to 2,600km between their nesting beach and their feeding ground.

As turtles and seabirds are ground-nesting and easily disturbed by people, access to Raine Island and Moulter and MacLennan cays is restricted to those involved in essential management-related and conservation research.

Culture and history

Indigenous culture

Cultural connections to the Raine Island area—including the islands, reefs and waters surrounding Raine Island, Moulter Cay and MacLennan Cay began thousands of years ago.. Wuthathi People and Meriam Nation (Ugar, Mer, Erub) People assert traditional connection to, and custodial responsibility for, Raine Island National Park (Scientific). Wuthathi connections to Raine Island go back 60,000 years when sea levels were much lower and Raine Island was only five kilometres from the ancient coastline. Meriam Nation People are connected to Raine Island through their canoe voyages and trading with Wuthathi People over several thousand years.

The Wuthathi people of eastern Cape York Peninsula identify as the Traditional Owners/Custodians and holders of native title rights and interests in the area, including holding custodial rights to speak for, govern and manage native title rights in the area. The Erubam Le, Meriam Le and Ugaram Le from the eastern island of Torres Strait, which together make up the Meriam Nation People identify as holders of Native Title rights and interests in the area.

The Wuthathi People (and their predecessors) have always maintained a robust physical, spiritual and cultural connection to their expansive yet highly interconnected sea country. The Wuthathi people originally constructed seaworthy canoes, both single and double outriggers to navigate offshore islands, reefs and along the mainland coastline. The Meriam Nation People are trading seafarers that historically sailed large dugout canoes, navigating long distances throughout the northern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef and visited the area prior to European arrival. Both groups continue to hold strong Traditional Knowledge and cultural connections to Raine Island and the surrounding area, which they have passed on through the generations since their ancestors first visited Raine Island.

The islands, reefs and waters of the outer barrier reef were extensively used for harvesting turtles, pearls, trochus, and later also beche-de-mer (sea cucumbers). Following European colonisation, Raine Island continued to be visited for cultural use and values as well as for the resources it supplied.. The names of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people carved on the historic stone beacon that stands on Raine Island today reflect how far they travelled by vessel in the 1800s. Today, it is clear that the natural landscapes and seascapes of Raine Island – the deep ocean, reefs, sand cays and supported ecosystems – have an interconnectedness with the cultural values that Wuthathi People and Meriam Nation People hold, as well as the many other intrinsic, heritage, conservation, resource values that have been placed over the island.

European culture

Raine Island is located in a remote area of the Great Barrier Reef that was the site of numerous shipwrecks, particularly during the 1800s.

Raine Island was named in 1824 after Thomas Raine (1793–1860), master mariner and captain of the Surry, who reported the presence of the island in 1815 on a return trip to England via China.

Raine Island is the site of the oldest European structure in the northern tropics of Australia—a stone beacon unique in form and context. The beacon was designed as an aid to shipping passing through this part of the reef. The beacon was constructed in 1844, under the order of the British Admiralty by 20 convict stonemasons and labourers.

Stone for the beacon was quarried from the phosphate rock found on the island. Shells were burned to make lime for mortar and ironically, timbers were taken from the shipwreck Martha Ridgway nearby . The work took four months and was supervised by soldiers from New South Wales. The 14m tall beacon, originally canvas-topped, was never lit. More than 900 legible inscriptions have been carved or painted inside the beacon including the names of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

In 1890–1892, guano (phosphatic rock) mining of historical significance began on the island. The J.T. Arundel Company established a large operation that included constructing tram tracks, huts and a loading jetty. One hundred Chinese and Malay labourers and ten European supervisors were employed. Tens of thousands of tonnes of phosphate were dug and exported. Evidence of the extensive quarry remains visible across the island. Albert F. Ellis was the manager and the grave near the tower is that of his mother, Annie Eliza, who died on 29 June 1891, aged 52 years. Her last words were recorded as ‘Father! Not my will but thine be done. My-God-of-Love. Reader! Be Ye Also Ready’, a potent reminder of the hardships endured by the island’s inhabitants.

Over the years the beacon has suffered damage from undermining, stone bedding loss, cracking walls from lightning strikes, and natural deterioration due to the harsh weather conditions experienced at Raine Island.

A grant, obtained under the 1988 Australian Bicentennial Project, enabled Scottish stonemason, Iain Watson, and crew to complete conservation and restoration work. This included actual replacement block fabrication on site using the 1844 quarry area, sealing of the parapet top and the construction of an aluminium access ladder leading to a grill floor just below the parapet, (to enable future research observational possibilities). To complete this project, the team lived on the island for two months.

In 1994 another restoration program was undertaken to repair and stabilise the beacon and to safeguard it from lightning strikes. A John Herbert Award for Excellence in Heritage Conservation Works or Action was awarded for the restoration project. The beacon, which includes 900 legible carved or painted inscriptions including Erubam Le, Meriam Le, and Ugaram Le names, is considered one of the most important historical monuments in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and is listed on the State Heritage Register and the Register of the National Estate.

Additional site inspections in recent years identified that further conservation works were required, including stabilisation of the underlying rock platform, repair of extensive lightning-induced cracks in the masonry, internal masonry repointing, and repair to the lightning conductor. In 2021, QPWS&P commenced restoration and stabilisation works on the beacon with stonemasons and Wuthathi and Meriam Nation Cultural Advisors.

Restoration of the Raine Island beacon was completed over five visits during 2021 and 2022. Urgent conservation measures were necessary to restore structural integrity to the beacon. The Wuthathi people and Meriam nations, were involved in the restoration process. Following initial geotechnical work, the stonemasonry repairs included addressing major vertical cracks and repointing minor cracks and joints. Additionally, algal deposits were treated with biocide.

This $1.13 million project successfully restored the beacon after enduring nearly 200 years of tropical extremes while conserving its significant heritage values. The restoration work involved twelve tonnes of materials and equipment, along with 10,000 litres of water from desalination plants on the Marine Parks vessels Reef Ranger and Reef Resilience. These resources were transported to the site via a small tender.