Green Island Travel Guide
Green Island accommodation, Green Island activities and attractions, Green Island maps, transportation to and around Green Island - the ALL NEW Jasons Green Island Destination Travel Guide is your complete visitor guide for Green Island.
The stunning Green Island, which is only 12 hectares in area, has been one of
Cairns' primary tourist attractions for nearly 50 years. Once it had little more than a jetty, a marine viewing point and a few huts but today, even though the island is a national park, a multimillion dollar resort takes up a significant proportion of the island.
6000 years ago, waves swept loose debris from the reef into a pile that eventually emerged from the water and started sprouting vegetation – what subsists today is spectacular rainforest and beautiful coral beaches. It also lies upon 710 hectares of reef, making it a fantastic diving spot.
Green Island has quite a fascinating history and is of particular significance to the local aboriginals who used the island as an initiation ground for the males of the Gungandji people. The aboriginal name for Green Island is Wunyami meaning 'place of haunted spirits'. In 1770 James Cook named the island after Mr Charles Green who was an astronomer onboard the Endeavour. Many ships were shipwrecked on green island, so in 1899 fishermen removed the vegetation and the aboriginal tribes and planted hundreds of coconut trees by request of the Queensland government to provide food for shipwrecked sailors.
The rainforest stretches up to 25 metres in height and contains over 130 different plant species; the island is also home to over 60 different species of bird including Egrets, Doves, Ospreys, Sea Eagles, Silvereyes and Woodswallows. There is fabulous snorkelling around the clear blue waters around the island with various different corals and sea creatures.