About Curtis Island

Park features

Curtis Island is the third largest continental island in Queensland. Located in the southern region of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area the island contains a very high diversity of landforms and ecosystems. The island is a unique part of the central Queensland coast. Coastal heath and littoral rainforest scatter the sand dunes and beach ridges, while extensive salt flats make up the large plain on the northern section of the island.

The small settlement of Southend is the entry point for your stay on the southern end of this scenic island. Driving north from here you will reach Southend Conservation Park, Curtis Island Conservation Park and Curtis Island National Park. The parks offer tranquil ocean vistas and stretches of uninhabited beaches.

The endangered Capricorn yellow chat has been recorded in remnant wetlands on Curtis Island Conservation Park to the island’s north. The threatened flatback turtle nests on the island's beaches.

Looking after the park

• Toilets are not provided—use a portable toilet. A toilet waste dump point is available to dispose of toilet waste 18km to the south near the Oceanview junction
• Generators and chainsaws are prohibited.
• Read and obey signs. Some areas of the park are closed to public access. Please read all signs and do not enter restricted or protected areas.
• Keep wildlife wild. Do not feed or interfere with native animals. All plants, animals and natural features are protected. Disturb nothing.
• Take rubbish with you. Bins are not provided. Please help and collect rubbish left by others. A council rubbish transfer station is located north of Southend.
• Avoid clearing plants and leaf litter when setting up camp. All vegetation—including grasses, vines, fallen timber and leaves—are part of the natural ecosystem. Remember, all plants are protected on national parks and collecting is not permitted.
• Cook without campfires. Fires are prohibited in the park, please use a gas or liquid fuelled stove for cooking. Open fires are also prohibited on tidal land (beaches).

Be pest-free!

Our precious Great Barrier Reef World Heritage islands are among the most pest-free islands in the world. They need your help to stay this way. Please Be pest-free! (PDF, 573.6KB) , Be pest-free! video—YouTube before your visit.

Before you visit, please check that your boat, clothing, footwear and gear are free of soil, seeds, parts of plants, eggs, ants and insects (and their eggs), spiders, lizards, toads, rats and mice.

Be sure to:

• Unpack your camping gear and equipment and check it carefully as pests love to hide in stored camping gear.
• Clean soil from footwear and gear as invisible killers such as viruses, bacteria and fungi are carried in soil.
• Check for seeds in pockets, cuffs and hook and loop fastening strips, such as Velcro.

While you are on the islands, remove soil, weeds, seeds and pests from your boat, gear and clothes before moving to a new site. Wrap seeds and plant material, and place them in your rubbish.

Everyone in Queensland has a General Biosecurity Obligation to minimise the biosecurity risk posed by their activities. This includes the risk of introducing and spreading weeds and pests to island national parks.

See the guidelines on caring for parks for more information about protecting our environment and heritage in parks.

Park management

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) manage Curtis Island National Park, Conservation Park and State Forest for the enjoyment of visitors and the conservation of our natural and cultural heritage. Work is currently being undertaken to manage feral animals—pigs, foxes and cats—to conserve biodiversity on the island. Signs will be in place when pest control activities are being undertaken. Please comply with sign directions for your own safety.

Tourism information links

Gladstone Information Centre
www.gladstoneregion.info
Marina Ferry Terminal
Bryan Jordan Drive
Gladstone QLD 4680
Phone: (07) 4972 9000
Email: gladstonevic@gapdl.com.au

Curtis Ferry Services
www.curtisferryservices.com.au
215 Alf O'Rourke Drive
Gladstone QLD 4680
Phone: (07) 4972 6990
Email: info@curtisferryservices.com.au

For tourism information for all regions in Queensland see Queensland Holidays.

Nature, culture and history

Curtis Island contains a high diversity of regional coastal vegetation and landscape types that are in near ‘natural condition’ and are considered excellent examples of their type. This diversity, within well-defined boundaries, presents Curtis Island as a major natural asset where connectivity and resilience of ecosystems and habitats has been maintained.

The vegetation communities, many of which are ‘endangered’ or ‘of concern’, include wetlands, littoral rainforests, eucalypt forests and woodlands, lowland melaleuca swamps, open heathlands, low shrublands and dune communities. Although the island occurs in one of the drier zones of the Queensland coast, it contains a diversity of vegetation with both tropical and sub-tropical floristics.

Curtis Island has biogeographical significance for species and communities that are at their distribution limits including 33 plant species including four mangrove species, the southernmost rookery site of the ‘vulnerable’ flatback turtle Natator depressus and the most southern occurrence of a tropical marine plain community. These features supported the listing of the eastern half of Curtis Island on the Register of the National Estate in 1993.

The 4,000ha marine plain is major habitat for the critically endangered Capricorn yellow chat Epthianura crocea subsp macgregori, migratory waders and other significant wetland species. Located in the north of the island, the marine plain is part of the ‘Northeast Curtis Island’ listing in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia. ‘Northeast Curtis Island’ is a highly significant wetland at regional, state and national levels.

There are also significant historical values such as the Cape Capricorn lighthouse precinct, Sea Hill pilot station, quarantine station and recent years marked the end of 150 years of cattle grazing.