Bedarra Island

Bedarra Island (also known as Richards Island) is one of the Family Islands group within the locality of Dunk in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.

Bedarra Island is approximately seven kilometres off the tropical North Queensland coast, midway between Townsville and Cairns, the nearest coastal town being Mission Beach. It is in the middle of Family Islands National Park. The granite island was part of the mainland before the last sea level rise began 8,000 years ago.^{[citation needed]}

The island consists of pristine coral sandy beaches with coves formed by giant granite boulders and fringed with lush green jungle. Bedarra is a continental island made up of granite boulder formations that rise to moderately high rocky peaks, with steep granite escarpments on the north-easterly and south-easterly aspects.

All the islands in the Family Group have a shelving sandspit at their northwestern corner giving them a family "resemblance". These sandspits offer ideal sheltered boat landings and deep water swimming at the lowest tide. The sand is drawn out into a narrow spit by the wave action and sea currents from the prevailing sou'easters and nor'easters. Bedarra Island has a northwest sandspit.

Captain James Cook first placed the Family Isles on the map when exploring the coast of Australia in HMS 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".^{[citation needed]}

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 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".^{[citation needed]}

Allason, inspired by Banfields book Confessions of A Beachcomber, purchased Bedarra from the Queensland Lands Department in 1913 for 20 pounds. He and his wife settled there until he was forced to return to Europe when World War I 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.^{[citation needed]}

The island is privately owned. Noel Wood, an Australian landscape artist, purchased East Bedarra in the late 1930s and over time it was developed into a luxury tourist destination.^{[citation needed]}