The name Whitehaven Bay was given in 1879 by Staff Commander E.P. Bedwell, RN, in SS Llewellyn, being one of the many names from the then English county of Cumberland he brought to the area following on from Cook's 1770 naming of the group The Cumberland Isles'. Whitehaven is a town on the shore of Solway Firth. The name is particularly apt because the bay and its environs carry a large deposit of pure white silica sand giving the area a dazzling white clean appearance and this may have influenced Bedwell in his naming.
Most overnight vessels in the Whitsundays include Whitehaven Beach if possible during their voyages around the islands. Try polishing your jewelry in the sand while you laze on the beach ! The sand is minute powder-size grains of quartz and has been assayed at 99.89% pure, well above the minimum requirement for glass-making and suitable for the finest glass for optical lenses for binoculars etc. Its origin is not known definitely but geologists say it does not have a local origin as rocks of the Whitsunday area are quartz-poor. They think the most likely explanation is that it is the result of a longshore drift system which brings sand from the south along the Queensland coast, very evident in the Gold Coast/Fraser Island area. The Whitehaven sand is so pure it indicates that during the drift all heavy mineral sands and other impurities have been winnowed out leaving the quartz sand. Probably there is an eddy effect in Whitehaven Bay which causes the sand to drop out and accumuulate there.
Feeling the powder fine sand beneath your feet and swimming in turquoise waters while this 3D postcard stretches before you is an unforgettble sensation. Known affctionately as 'The Beach', Whiteheaven Beach is the epitome of paradise found.
