Whitsunday Tourist Information

The Whitsunday Shire is one of the fastest growing Region basking in the magnificent tropical climate of the beautiful North Queensland . With an area that covers 2644 square kilometres and an approximate resident population of just over 15,000 the Whitsunday Shire is one of the most popular major tourist destinations in Australia .

Encompassing the town of Proserpine , the tourism based town of Whitsunday (Cannonvale, Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour) and the surrounding 74 Whitsunday Islands , the Whitsunday's economy relies on contributions from cane, tourism, grazing, agriculture, small scale manufacturing and a range of support industries.

Located on the central Queensland coast, the Whitsundays offer numerous advantages for holidaying, and boasts the natural attributes of the Great Barrier Reef , tropical islands, national parks, rural industries, seaside towns and its enviable climate.

Climate

The tropical climate of the Whitsundays is extremely attractive with an estimated daily average of 8.25 hours of sunshine, and average annual temperatures of 27.24 degrees maximum and a minimum of 21 degrees.

Summer 17-31 deg C.
Winter 17-26 deg C.

Whitsundays History

British explorer Captain James Cook mapped and named the Whitsundays on his journey down the coast of Australia 's Queensland in the year 1770.

Most of the islands have been catalogued as national parks and remain in much the same natural state as when Cook saw them almost a quarter of a century ago.

The inhabitants of the island were lured by the development of the fishing, logging and cattle grazing industries on the mainland and islands brought more and more people to the region tourism began in the 1920s and is today the region's largest industry.