This page designed by
Number of Visitors to this page:
Cowrie Island
HISTORY
Cowrie Island (Dent Passage)
The name 'Cowrie Island' was officially adopted by the Proserpine Shire
Council in January 1960 for the small island in the Dent Passage
(Proserpine Shire Council minutes 25 January 1960) presumably because cowrie
shells were found there.
Some maps show this island as 'Karie Island' the explanation being that it actually was named after the daughter of Lloyd Williams, the lighthouse keeper at Dent Island at the time and that 'Cowrie' is a mistaken corruption of her name. However the Williams family say that while there was a daughter Ceridwen (known as Ceri pronounced Kerry) this was not the case and they knew the island as Cowrie Island (Mrs Margaret Chittick, daughter of Lloyd Williams).
Another story has it that it is named after the three year old daughter of lightkeeper Edwin Biss, Caroline (Carrie) who died at the lighthouse site in 1885 but this incident is too remote to be true, particularly as none of the names wereevident before the official naming.
The Information on the Whitsunday Islands is reproduced by kind permission of Mr. Ray Blackwood from his book: " The Whitsunday Islands An Historical Dictionary ".
Please visit his site here. It is well worth the time!