Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2014L00095:body:0:p19
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2014L00095
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 47689–50291

and tourists
The lightstation occupies only a small portion of Dent Island and the Queensland government has granted a succession of licenses and leases for the remainder (Blackwood 1997).

From 1905 until 1912 Michael Ahern held an occupation licence over the whole of the island, but it is not known what use he made of it. William Galbraith took over the lease until it lapsed in 1913. Blackwood (1997) notes that this may have been in connection with the Commonwealth Government's decision to create a lighthouse reserve and official correspondence in 1910 shows their claiming a strip of 200 acres (81 ha) running across the island 20 chains (396 m) north and south of the lighthouse, effectively isolating the southern end of the island. By 1919 or 1920s this reserve had been extended to cover the whole of the southern half of the island (about 400 acres (160 ha)) with some argument that the northern half should not be leased because of the danger that smoke from fires may obscure the light. In any event it seems that from about 1915 a reserve over the southern half was a 'fait accompli' as in that year all lighthouse reserves passed to the Commonwealth Government.

Between 1927 and 1933 Edward Stuart Abell held a lease over the whole island, including the southern lighthouse reserve, with a proviso that he was to fence the boundary to keep stock out of the lighthouse reserve. He built the fence, but did not run any stock or live on the island.

The lease was transferred to John James O'Hara in 1933. He ran cattle and sheep on the island and initially built a corrugated iron shack, and later a fibro house, for shelter during occasional visits. A more substantial fibro house came later, and was used by the workers who built the new lightkeepers' cottages around 1958. From 1939 O'Hara and his wife lived full-time on the island, in a building relocated from the main street of Proserpine. The lease passed to other O'Hara family members, who retained the interest until it was sold in 1968.

In 1961, the Wallace's leased 1.01 ha around the building that had been moved from Proserpine — this continues as the Coral Art lease (Lot 4 on CP855596) on the State part of the island.

The pastoral lease over the northern part of Dent Island passed in turn to Ronald Willam Vigar (1968), Sebastian Properties Pty Ltd / Normelda Developments Pty Ltd (1973), the Faust family (1974), and a private lessee (1989).

In 1989, following the de-manning of the lightstation, the Commonwealth leased the small area of land immediately around the lighthouse to AMSA, and put out to tender the