Founding History
Captain James Cook first placed the ‘Family Isles’ on the map when exploring the coast of Australia in the Endeavour in June 1770. He named the larger "The Father Isle" or Dunk Island, after the First Lord of the Admiralty, Montagu Dunk, the Earl of Sandwich.
The next largest island he called "The Mother Isle" which became known as Bedarra Island. The other islands he referred to as "The Children".
Initially marine charts referred to Bedarra island as Richards Island then Allason Island after the first European settler, Captain Henry Allason. Early in the 20th century author Edmund James Banfield (E.J Banfield) who lived as a beachcomber on Dunk Island began using the name Bedarra, a misspelling of the Aboriginal term Biagurra which roughly translates to "the place of endless water".
Captain Henry Allason, inspired by Banfields book ‘Confessions of A Beachcomber’, purchased Bedarra from the Queensland Lands Department in 1913 for the paltry sum of 20 pounds. He and his wife settled there until he was forced to return to Europe when World War 1 broke out.
When Allason on-sold the property to the Harris syndicate of London in 1934 it looked for a time like it might become a home for underprivileged boys.
Read more about this topic: Bedarra Island
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