The Friends of Peel Island Association (FOPIA) is a community support group for Peel Island, one of the beautiful islands in the Moreton Bay Marine Park east of Brisbane.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

The Friends of Peel Island will be winding up as from June 30, 2020.  No further Memberships are being accepted and the publication "Going to the Gums" is no longer available.

Peel Island (Teerk Roo Ra) is special

Peel Island means different things to different people.  To some it is a place of natural beauty - a jewel of an island among many found in Moreton Bay.  It is now a national park in recognition of its important cultural as well as natural history.

With its remnants of European history it is remembered as a prison:  first as a quarantine station for early immigrants, many of whom spent up to three months held on the island after arriving on ships with notifiable diseases such as typhoid, cholera and smallpox.

Later it held patients of many races - notably Caucasians, Chinese, South Sea Islanders, and Aborigines - unfortunate enough to contract Hanson's Disease (Leprosy).  They were sent to spend their lives in isolation at the island’s Lazaret until they recovered, or not;  an untold number are buried in the island’s bush cemetery.

Peel’s Aboriginal history stretches much further back.  It remains a special place for the local traditional owners and their ancestors who used the island as a feasting and ceremonial place for countless centuries.

The Quandamooka People’s traditional rights to the island were recognised in 2011 and the island is now formally known as Teerk Roo Ra.

To read more about the history of Peel Island visit our About Peel Island page.

Newsletters

FOPIA's Newsletter is emailed to current members.

Past editions are available online -  for details refer to the Events Section of this website.