Palm Island’s big dreams could become reality with Tourism Master Plan

The CEO of Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council, Michael Bissell, said the recently completed Master Plan lays out a strategic framework for how Indigenous-led tourism can create a thriving tourism industry filled with authentic First Nations experiences in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef.

“If you want a really rich and deep Indigenous engagement experience which the vast majority of international tourists say they want, but they also say that they don’t get when they come to Australia, that’s our point of difference,” said Mr Bissell.

“Walking trails are really popular, and we have exceptional offerings of coastal walks as well as mountain walks, that compliment other great walks in the region.

“You can do a beautiful 8.5kms one way walk from the jetty all the way around the west and south coast of the island and finish at Small Bay and Butler Bay, where we’ll pick you up and bring you back to your accommodation, or you can make it a 17kms round trip.

“The local ranger group, Mingga Mingga Rangers can take you on that, show you around, take you over to other south island bays such as Mundy Bay or Onion Bay, there’s some lovely BBQ areas down at Butler Bay, you can stop there for a bit of a lunch.

“The next day you can do a longer walk up to the north of greater Palm Island to Canon Bay and you can stop off at the old Catalinas at Long Beach that were dropped there by the Americans in the second world war.

“The shuttle will pick you up, bring you back to the mission, you can have a look at the Indigenous Knowledge Centre that details much of our history.

“You can do lots of arts and crafts activities, so it’s not just a walk but it’s coming over and doing a bit more of a cultural immersion as well.

“The fringing reef around Palm Island is as good as any of the outer reef across the Great Barrier Reef, so you can go to the end of the jetty and you can catch spanish mackerel and coral trout and mangrove jack, there’s lots of giant clams around.

“One of the most amazing things is that from July through to November we have the humpbacks come through.”

There are also plans for eco-cabins on nearby Havannah Island to provide a more exclusive and luxurious getaway.

“We’re going to call that a Havannah Nights experience. We’ll probably put four cabins down there, with a bit of exclusion, maybe 100 metres between, so there will just be a little jetty, they will be serviced, so very exclusive,” said Mr Bissell.

The cabins would be maintained by locals, who would also operate the tourism experiences like cultural tours, fishing and snorkel charters, guided walks and kayak hire. The Master Plan even talks about horse riding over reef flats at low tide for visitors.

Greater Palm Island is the largest discrete Indigenous community in Australia, now home to 4,000 people, with two schools, an indoor sports stadium and modern allied health centre.

Mr Bissell said the big plans can become a reality, with potential for government funding and private investment, on the proviso tourism operations are led by the local community.

“We’ve put some cost estimates that have got good contingencies built in there at $3.7 million for the five walks, and then we’ve got nearly $2 million for 8 glamping sites,” he said.

“But it’s the community that tells us look, we really want to show off our island, we want to show off our culture.

“The message to people is that the tourism plan is there, we’re not far from the investment, we’ll have it up and running soon and just come along and have a good time.”

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