Back to map Kennedy Walking Track

The Edmund Kennedy* Memorial Walking Track was the dream of Len Staff from Wongaling Beach. In 1984, he submitted a proposal for funding from the 1988 Bi-Centennial Council.

The Cardwell Shire Council was not intent on supporting this project and the public also showed little community interest. Len, with the help of the Tully Branch of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, applied for and received a grant in 1986 for $40,000 to construct the path.

The venture was cited as a Heritage Project and was to commemorate the 1848 landing of the ill-fated Kennedy expedition. A caveat on the funding included that it be completely hand built and that most of the work force be Aboriginal.

With very little support, Len, along with South Mission Beach locals, Bill and Norma Morgan, designed and constructed the Track. They received assistance from National Parks Director, Peter Stanton, who helped with technical and logistical assistance as the track travelled some precarious landscapes. They were continually criticised and ridiculed from everyone from the editor of the local paper, Council officials and local people alike.

With an enthusiastic team of helpers from the Camu Aboriginal Community near Kennedy, the track construction was undertaken with wheelbarrows, shovels, spades and forks. The project took two years and could not have been possible without these committed helpers.

On the 29^{th of} May 1988, the Edmund Kennedy Memorial Walking Track was officially opened. It commences at the southern end of Kennedy Esplanade and travels four kilometres along Kennedy Bay terminating at the Hull River. The track follows beaches, rocky outcrops and coastal rainforests abound with fauna and flora. Spectacular views of the Family Islands follow you along the way and marine animals such as turtles and dugong can sometimes be spotted. It has been walked and enjoyed by thousands of people since its opening. None of this would have been possible without the fortitude and determination of these dedicated people.

References and Reading

Protecting Kennedy Bay:25 years on. The History of the Conservation Movement at Mission Beach during the Modern Era from 1982 to 2007. Tandy, Kirsty. Pg13,14,15,16
Kennedy Walking Track, Queensland.com
*Refer Kennedy Esplanade, South Mission Beach
Images from Cassowary Coast Council
Images author’s own