Hamilton Island (Queensland)
Hamilton Island is an island of the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, Australia. It is approximately 887 kilometres (551 mi) north of Brisbane and 512 kilometres (318 mi) south of Cairns.
Geography
5 km2 (1.9 sq mi)
1,208[1] (2011)
It is the largest inhabited island of the Whitsunday Islands and a popular year-round tourist destination. Hamilton Island is one of the only islands in the Great Barrier Reef with a commercial airport, offering direct flights from Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Education[edit]
Hamilton Island State School caters for students from the Preparatory Year to Year 6.[13] It is located on Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday group, twenty kilometres from mainland Australia. It opened on 28 January 1986.[14] The school also offers a range of extra-curricular offerings such as year 4, 5 and 6 students have the opportunity to learn how to sail and from 2018, year 4 students will have the opportunity to complete a PADI Seal Diving certificate.[15]
Facilities[edit]
Drinking water is provided by a combination of rainwater recycling, a dam, and seawater desalination. A Reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant was commissioned in 1996 and can supply up to 1.3 million litres of potable water per day. The plant's seawater intake is driven by two vertical turbine pumps installed on a purpose made jetty. Waste brine is discharged to a pit where it gravitates to an ocean outfall away from the seawater intake.[16] Electricity is provided by an undersea cable connected to the mainland, as well as by generators on the island.
Hamilton Island Airport, was one of the earlier infrastructure installations and was built in the early 1980s.[17]
The island hosts approximately 500 weddings per year at various venues.
Neighbouring Dent Island was purchased by the Oatley family and now houses the world-class Hamilton Island Golf Course.
Transport[edit]
Hamilton Island Airport is the only airport in the Whitsunday Islands that is big enough to cater for larger commercial aircraft. Hamilton Island is also served by several ferries, which can only carry passengers. Mainland motor vehicles are prohibited on the island with the exception of those for tradespeople and island public transport.[18]