Peel Island

Peel Island, also known as Teerk Roo Ra, is a National Park accessible by private boat, with no commercial operators currently providing access for day trippers. The island was first settled by Europeans because it was so close to Dunwich; the site of Moreton Bay’s first quarantine station established in 1850. A new quarantine building was constructed at Dunwich in 1863. From 1865, this building was also used as a benevolent asylum and soon these joint functions became incompatible. A larger, more isolated site was needed and Peel was proclaimed a reserve for quarantine purposes in 1873. Dunwich also housed leprosy patients and in 1907 a new lazaret opened on Peel Island. Patients were housed in small huts in three compounds – male, female and coloured, although the huts for the coloured patients were sub-standard bark structures. There are many remnant timber huts, along with kitchen, staff accommodation, and a church. The lazaret closed in 1959 and the remaining patients transferred to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane. The site of the former lazaret is not accessible. However, boat owners are welcome to anchor nearby in Lazaret Gutter or camp or anchor along Horseshoe Bay.