Cleveland Bay
Located between Cape Cleveland and Magnetic Island at the northern extremity of Bindal country, with Wulgurukaba country on its western shore, Cleveland Bay is effectively Townsville's natural harbour.
Shipping usually enters the bay, which James Cook named but did not closely examine in June 1770, from the northeast. Mariners took their bearings from the Cape Cleveland lighthouse and the Bay Rock light on Magnetic Island. Access is also possible via the shallow western passage between 'the island' and Cape Pallarenda.
Cook may have named the bay in honour of John Clevland, Secretary to the Admiralty (1751–1763), though Yorkshire's Cleveland Hills near his birthplace in Marton is a likely alternative.
