Picnic Bay, Queensland

On 27 September 1877, the Queensland Government sold 100 allotments in the "Town of Camoomillla situate on Picnic Bay".[10]

The first known settlement of Picnic Bay was by Harry Butler and his family who established a small dairy, orchard and mixed farm in Picnic Bay in 1877 when Magnetic Island was declared a quarantine station.[11] The family experimented in the cultivation of pineapples in the bay and as part of a tourism venture built a guest house establishing an intermittent ferry service from Townsville. The Butler family cared for the sick who were quarantined on the island prior to the construction of the permanent quarantine station at West Point.[12]

Having purchased the Butler family's huts in Picnic Bay in 1898 Robert Hayles, an entrepreneur formerly a pastoral worker in western Queensland, erected a two storey hotel, dance hall and a temporary jetty at the western end of the bay to establish a larger tourist operation in the bay.[11][13]

In 1900 Hayles applied to build a permanent wooden jetty (6 feet wide and 100 feet long). The jetty was approved by the Queensland Marine Department in March 1900 and the jetty hurriedly constructed. In 1903 Cyclone Leonta struck Townsville and Magnetic Island and caused serious damage to Hayles' new jetty. Hayles carried out extensive repairs on the structure but by 1910 the structure was in poor condition. In 1909 Hayles was granted a creek-front location in Ross Creek on the mainland and was able to establish a consistent passenger service to Magnetic Island. With Hayles establishing a regular ferry service to Magnetic Island the permanent population of the Island began to grow.[11]

In June 1910 Hayles was granted another permit to construct a jetty in Picnic Bay. Although it is unclear whether the second jetty was constructed in addition to the one constructed in 1900 or to replace it, a letter dated February 1917 from the Townsville Harbour Board to the Marine Department acknowledges the presence of two privately owned jetties in the bay. In 1911, Hayles' hotel was destroyed by a fire and a new hotel began construction. At around the same time, Hayles further expanded his business on Magnetic Island launching further tourism ventures in Nelly Bay, Horseshoe Bay and Arcadia. In June 1920 the Townsville Harbour Board were vested control of the jetty at Picnic Bay, as well as those established in other bays.[11]

In November 1916, the Queensland Government reserved 5 acres (2.0 ha) at Camoomilli for a school.[14] Magnetic Island State School opened on 1 March 1917. On 24 September 1925 it was renamed Picnic Bay State School. It closed in 1970.[15]

Magnetic Island Post Office opened on 1 July 1927 (a receiving office had been open from 1912). It was renamed Picnic Bay in 1935.[16]

With the outbreak of war in 1939 Hayles' facilities in Picnic Bay were commandeered by Australian defense forces as a rest and recreation camp for service personnel and were not returned until the end of World War II in 1945. Hayles undertook a large upgrade of the facilities on Magnetic Island during the period following the war including upgrades of roads, buildings and the dredging of a channel for vessels entering Picnic Bay.[11]

The Picnic Bay jetty, constructed in 1959 and used as a ferry terminal until the mid-2000s.

In 1957 a permit was issued for a construction of a new jetty in picnic bay by the Department of Harbours and Marine. Successfully completed in October 1959, the Picnic Bay Jetty was completed by John Holland using £43,000 financed by The Commonwealth Aid Marine Works Trust Fund . It was leased from 1960 to 1981 to Hayles Magnetic Island Pty Ltd. (established by Robert Hayles in 1922) who were also responsible for maintenance of the structure during the lease period.[11]

On 1 December 1962 the Queensland Place Names Board officially gazetted the town with the name Picnic Bay which was in common use, replacing the former town name of Camoomilli.[2] The suburb was formally named and bounded on 12 June 1992.[3]

On Christmas Eve 1971 Magnetic Island and Townsville were struck by Cyclone Althea, While the Picnic Bay jetty remained structurally sound despite receiving some damage, serious damage was inflicted upon most buildings in the bay and foliage stripped off trees.[11]

In 1977 a shelter was erected for passengers waiting for ferries at the end of the Picnic Bay jetty by the Townsville City Council. In 1985 the Townsville Harbour board gained approval to build a larger shelter shed on the Jetty. Following the completion of Magnetic Harbour in 2003 ferry operations to the Picnic Bay jetty ceased[11] and a large number of local retailers moved their businesses to newer premises in Nelly Bay. As such a large number of premises in the Picnic Bay Mall became empty. Shortly after this a development company attained a large amount of land (including that currently used by the Picnic Bay Hotel) and began work on a new multistory apartment complex with retail premises on the ground floor. Unfortunately due to the death of the developer and a series of legal issues work has halted on the project.

At the 2006 census, Picnic Bay had a population of 360.[17]

In the 2016 census, Picnic Bay had a population of 291 people.[1]