| Maʼalpiku Island National Park Queensland | |
|---|---|
 Restoration Island, Cape York | |
  Maʼalpiku Island National Park | |
| Nearest town or city | Lockhart River |
| Coordinates | 12°37′13″S143°26′49″E / 12.62028°S 143.44694°E /-12.62028; 143.44694 |
| Established | 1989 |
| Area | 26 ha (64 acres) |
| Managing authorities | Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service |
| Website | Maʼalpiku Island National Park |
| See also | Protected areas of Queensland |
Maʼalpiku Island National Park is a national park atIron Range in theShire of Cook inFar North Queensland, Australia. It lies 1,928 km (1,198 mi) northwest ofBrisbane and a few hundred metres (yards) from Cape Weymouth and theKutini-Payamu National Park. The park includes part of Maʼalpiku Island, also known asRestoration Island, and nearby Restoration Rock. The traditional owners of the park are theKuuku Ya’u people.
The continental island rises to 116 m (380'). The landscape features granite boulders, closed scrub, open paperbark scrub and wind-sheared heath.[1]
On 29 May 1789, after themutiny on theBounty,Captain Bligh and the men who remained loyal to him arrived on the island in the ship's boat. This was the first Australian island they came to, and he named it Restoration Island because the food they found (oysters and native fruits) greatly restored their spirits[1][2] and because that date wasOak Apple Day, the anniversary of therestoration ofKing Charles II (in 1660).[3]
Bligh saw evidence of the localAboriginal people using the island. He also sawkangaroo tracks and wondered if the Aboriginal people brought them from the mainland to breed, since they would be easier to catch later in the confined space of an island.[citation needed]
Today Restoration Island is not just a National Park: one third of the island is leased to David Glasheen, a former mining tycoon, who, after losing his fortune during the1987 stock market crash, decided to live a solitary existence on the island.[4]
Glasheen lives in a renovated World War II outpost on Ma'alpiku Island with solar-powered internet access and a mobile phone. He also has a small boat for reaching the mainland whenever necessary and several times a year he makes a trip to the mainland for groceries. He gathers bananas and coconuts from the island, catches crabs, fish, and oysters and has a fruit and vegetable garden.[5]
In July 2019 Glasheen and Neil Bramwell releasedThe Millionaire Castaway, published by Affirm Press, detailing Glasheen's experiences of being a castaway on Restoration Island for the past 22 years.[6]
The island contains places of cultural significance to thetraditional owners. In 2009, formalnative title was granted over the island to theKuuku Ya’u people.[1] The park is now jointly managed between the Northern Kuuku Ya’u Kanthanampu Aboriginal CorporationRNTBC Land Trust and theGovernment of Queensland.
Access to the national park is provided by private boat only.
