Visit to North Stradbroke Island

Last Friday we went across to North Stradbroke Island for the weekend.  Unfortunately, Friday was very hazy and windy so not a good day weather-wise.  We went across on the Big Red Cat ferry with our car.  The crossing took about 50 minutes and I didn't see much as I was unable to get out of the car.  Fortunately we were under cover.  Terry was able to get out and have a look around.

When we disembarked at Dunwich, we had a drive around there to see where the water taxi comes in and also to see where the cemetery and the museum was.  I had an oral history committee meeting on the Saturday morning and I wanted to be sure we knew where to come in the morning.  We then drove to Point 

Lookout, stopping along the way to have a look at Brown Lake which is a popular tourist and barbecue stop.  We also drove in to Amity Point which is also right on the water and looked very nice.  We stopped at Main Beach at Point Lookout for a short time then drove to the Stradbroke Island Hotel.  This is a lovely modern hotel which looks out over the water with fabulous views from the bistro and bar.  Our room did not have a sea view but it was very well appointed for a disabled person.  See more about this on my Disabled Toilets blog.  We had lunch in the bistro and then had a nap and read.  We had dinner in the restaurant and returned to our room for the night.

On Saturday morning we had breakfast in the bistro.  The food here was delicious with generous servings and the staff were all very friendly and helpful.  We then drove to Dunwich to meet the water taxi and the oral history members who had come for the meeting.  Elisabeth, the curator of the Museum gave us a very interesting guided walk around the historic cemetery.  She pointed out the headstones of some of the people who had died from typhus after immigrating to Queensland in the mid-19th century.  Even the Brisbane doctor who treated them died in this terrible epidemic.  There is an American Civil War veteran buried here.  Many of the graves are unmarked.  World War I veterans who had "shell-shock" and people who were on the "fringes" of society ended up in a Benevolent Asylum here and when they died, they were buried in anonymous graves.  There is a rich aboriginal culture on this island.  They had an abundance of food from the sea and on the island.  They also had freshwater creeks.  As elsewhere in Australia, their lives changed when the European settlers arrived. The aboriginal culture is kept alive by their many descendants here.

We had our meeting in the Museum which is real credit to the curators and volunteers who work here.  Their work is ongoing and has really reached capacity.  We enjoyed exchanging ideas at our meeting which was very successful.  We then went to the Little Ship's Club for lunch, looking out over the water.  Terry came to pick me up and we returned to our hotel room for a rest.  We had dinner at the hotel, meeting with a couple who now live on the island.  It was good to see them and we had an enjoyable evening catching up on our lives for the past few years.

On Sunday we checked out of the hotel.  On the drive to Dunwich we could see the damage from the recent bushfires.  Fortunately no buildings were lost, but the wildlife would have suffered. We stopped at Myora Springs and watched children enjoying themselves in the water there.  It was a beautiful spot.  We then caught the Big Red Cat back across to the mainland, arriving home mid-afternoon.  I was very tired but very happy with the weekend.