Booby Island is an island West of Muttee Heads at the tip of Cape York Peninsula within the Endeavour Strait Queensland, Australia. This island in the Torres Strait, south of Thursday Island and Prince of Wales Island.
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In the 19th century such a high number of ship were lost in the area, that provisions were stored on Booby Island for shipwrecked sailors.[1] Wrecks include:[2]
Struck a sunken reef near Booby Island, 24 July 1862. As she was undermanned, the boats were launched with difficulty after big seas had driven her over the rocks into calm water. Natives and adverse currents prevented them reaching safety on the Australian coast before one boat was abandoned and a course set for Timor
Foundered in a heavy gale south of Booby Island, Queensland, 19 January 1894. She was overloaded with guano from Rocky Islet in the Gulf of Carpentaria; struck by heavy seas, she rolled over, giving the crew only a short time to launch boats and escape
Lost in Torres Strait, from Sydney to Singapore, 28 May 1866. Crew landed on Booby Island and a ship took them on to Singapore
| Booby Island Lighthouse | |
|---|---|
| Location: | 27 nmi WNW of Cape York |
| Year first lit: | 1890 |
| Construction: | Cast iron |
| Markings/Pattern: | White, red lantern house |
| Height: | 18 metres (59 ft) |
| Focal Height: | 37 metres (120 ft) |
| Characteristic: | Fl. 7.5 s |
| Admiralty number: | K3274 |
| NGA number: | 9620 |
| ARLHS number: | AUS-011 |
In 1890 a lighthouse eventually took up service on the island, an 18 metres (59 ft) tall cast iron construction with a focal plane at 37 m. The light characteristic is one flash every 7.5 seconds. The tower is painted white with a red lantern room. The site includes several keepers' houses as well as other buildings which may host Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service personnel.[1]
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