Woodwark Bay was named in 1886 by Lieutenant GE Richards, RN in HMS “Paluma”. The bay is named after George Smith Woodwark (1841-1898), a wealthy timber merchant, prominent public figure from the Grimston/King’s Lynn area in Norfolk, England. Present-day descendants of that family have a letter (a copy of which is held by the Museum) written to an uncle in 1923 by one of Woodwark’s six sons stating that a bay in Australia was named after his father.
It is quite unusual for the time to have such a feature named after a civilian. So why in this case? And how did it come about?
When HMS “Paluma” came on the scene, the eastern headland to the bay already carried the name Grimston Point given in 1886 by Commander Nares, RN in HMS “Salamander” after one of his officers. This raises the reasonable assumption that the existing Grimston name triggered the naming of the bay by someone in “Paluma” who knew the Woodwark family and their prominent position in the Grimston/King’s Lynn area.
That person was crew member, Lieutenant Alexander Leeper, RN, who had been on earlier surveys of the Whitsundays in SS “Llewellyn” under Staff Commander EP Bedwell and who had carried out a detailed survey of the area. Leeper Shoal east of Hook Island commemorates his name.
Leeper’s home town was King’s Lynn where his father, William, was rector of All Saints Church at South Lynn and where George Woodwark was a leading member and churchwarden. His association with All Saints Church would have brought him into close contact with the Leeper family. He was a well-known philanthropist, and quite likely a benefactor of the church and perhaps even the Leeper family. This, as well as the presence of Grimston Point and the Woodwark family association with Grimston in Norfolk would likely have led Leeper to suggest the name.
Upon Woodwark’s sudden death on 21 January 1898, his funeral service was held at the All Saints Church and obituaries of the time clearly show how respected and important a person he was, very involved in all facets of King’s Lynn public life including its mayoralty. The attendance at his funeral of many English notables including a representative of the then Prince of Wales confirmed the esteem in which he was held.
As an interesting but sad footnote, one of Woodwark’s sons was with the British Sandringham Regiment which disappeared without trace during a mission at Gallipoli during World War I, a mystery never solved and the subject of books and films since.
But was it really Woodwark Bay?
During the 1980/90s, the belief persisted among some locals that the correct name of the bay should be Woodbark Bay based on a report in the [Brisbane] “Courier Mail” July 22, 1862 that a beche-de-mer vessel of that name came close to Port Denison on June 28 and had been boarded by the Harbour Master. It was reasoned that the vessel may have visited the bay and that its name may have been adopted by locals but mis-spelt by Lieutenant Richards. There is no substantive evidence to support this theory.
In recent times, Woodwark Bay has developed considerably having become a popular place for people to establish their homes. In 1997, the area became famous when the television series “Tales of the South Seas” was filmed there. Using professional actors for the main parts and locals for bit parts and as extras, the filming was completed over nine months. The series was produced by Village Road Show with some finance from Germany and America and was televised overseas and later on Channel 10.
Story courtesy Proserpine Historical Museum and “The Whitsundays – An Historical History” by Ray Blackwood
George Woodwark