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Stradbroke Island, also known as Minjerribah, was a large sand island that formed much of the eastern side of Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Queensland until the late 19th century. Today the island is split into two by the Jumpinpin Channel
Archaeological evidence suggests the Quandamooka people lived on the island for at least 21,000 years prior to European settlement. It was also a traditional meeting place between the Quandamooka and the Noonuccal and Gorenpul people. A 1964 survey found 121 pre-European dwelling sites with evidence of substantial wooden huts.
There are persistent stories a 17th-century Spanish shipwreck known locally as the Stradbroke Island Galleon. There exists a body of Aboriginal oral history and several artefacts found in the sand dunes, including a Spanish silver coin from 1597 and the blade of a 17th-century Spanish rapier, but no conclusive evidence.
Captain James Cook made the first documented European sighting of the island in 1770 and named Point Lookout, but did not land. The first historically documented contact between Europeans and the local Aborigines was 1803 when Matthew Flinders landed in search of fresh water. The next documented contact was between shipwreck survivors Thomas Pamphlett, Richard Parsons and John Finnegan landed on Moreton Island in April 1823, before being taken to Stradbroke Island by the natives where they were helped and provided with food, shelter and a canoe by the local Aborigines.
Initial white settlement of Stradbroke Island was at Amity Point where a pilot station was established in 1825. More fertile soil, good sources of fresh water and a better harbour was found at the present location of Dunwich so settlement soon concentrated there. Dunwich became a staging point where larger ships were unloaded of cargo which was placed into smaller vessels to be carried over the sand bars of Brisbane River and up to the penal settlement of Brisbane. The Dunwich settlement was in close proximity to a major Aboriginal camp at Myora Spring. Whites and Europeans generally lived in reasonable harmony though there were moments of conflict as would be expected within the context of two very different cultures meeting for the first time.
Early efforts to establish agriculture on the island, especially plans to grow cotton north of Dunwich, resulted in conflicts with the local Aboriginal tribes. In March 1830, the 57th regiment seeking reprisals for the murder of a guard, attacked a group of Ngugi people near a lagoon on Moreton Island. This was likely the first significant massacre of indigenous people in the region.
A quarantine station was established at the northern end of the island in July 1850. This was due to its proximity to the shipping route, its isolation and to there being a supply of fresh water available.
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