Lizard Island, Australia
Lizard Island is a 1,000 hectare granite island on the Great Barrier Reef with pristine white sand beaches and healthy diverse fringing coral reef ecosystems. In 1939 it was declared a National Park and in 1973 the Lizard Island Research Station was established. It was "discovered" and named by James Cook in 1770. However, Lizard Island was known as Dyiigurra to the Dingaal Aboriginal people and was regarded as a sacred place. It was used by the people for the initiation of young males and for the harvesting of shellfish, turtles, dugongs and fish. The Dingaal believed that the Lizard group of islands had been created in the Dreamtime.