Great Keppel Island
Encyclopedia
Great Keppel Island lies 15 kilometres from the coast off Yeppoon
Yeppoon, Queensland
Yeppoon is a coastal resort town situated in Central Queensland, Australia. Located on Keppel Bay, at the 2006 census, Yeppoon had a population of 13,284.-Geography:...

, Central Queensland
Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The island is the largest of the eighteen islands in the Keppel Group, and covers an area of more than 14.5 square kilometres. The islands were named by Captain James Cook in 1770 after the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Admiral Augustus Keppel
Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel
Admiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel PC was an officer of the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence...

.

The island has always been attractive to visits from people, with centuries old midden
Midden
A midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...

s testifying to the quantity of seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...

 found in the surrounding waters. During its early European history, the island was used to raise sheep, however it is now a tourist destination. The tropical climate and numerous beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

es attract tourists from all points, and a number of accommodation houses cater for them, in particular the large Great Keppel Island Resort. The island is served by ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 and aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

.

It was once a resort owned by Contiki, dedicated to making it a "backpackers' island", though has recently been taken over by Mercure Resort, making it more of a family resort.

GKI Resort Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the privately owned Australian company Tower Holdings, unveiled a $1.15 billion revitalisation plan for the Island. The plan, which has been declared a "significant project" by the Queensland Government, includes a 300-room resort hotel, 300 resort apartments, 1700 villas, a 560-berth marina and ferry terminal, a championship golf course, yacht club, sporting ovals, childcare facilities, chapel and cultural centre. Significantly the plan includes 1300 acres (or 545 hectares) of environmental parkland. The plan is published on www.gkiresort.com.au.

Confusingly, Tower chairman Terry Agnew explained his motivation for the development:
"Unfortunately, tourism investment in the region has fallen well behind the other coastal regions in Queensland. From the first time I stepped on the island, I was amazed by its beauty and I knew that this was probably the most outstanding island paradise in Australia. Together with the support of the residents of Central Queensland, we can transform Great Keppel Island into one of Australia's premier tourist attractions.”

After vigorous opposition from environmental groups and Island residents, the proposal was rejected by the Federal Environment Minister in October 2009.
Unfazed by the objections, Tower Holdings will submit a third proposal for a low-rise resort on Great Keppel Island early in 2010.

There are many accommodation options available on Great Keppel Island from the Holiday Village, Keppel Haven, Keppel Lodge and various holiday houses.
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