Edmund Banfield Was The Original Beachcomber

A Short History Of The Beachcomber Of Dunk Island

Nov 4, 2008

Banfield didn't want to follow the standard beat of society in the late 1800s, so with wife Bertha, moved onto deserted Dunk Island off the Queensland coast, Australia.

"If man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears."

This is the epitaph of an early Queensland pioneer who lived a unique life on a unique island on Australia’s Great Barrier Reefin tropical North Queensland, Australia.

In September of 1897, Edmond Banfield became the original “Beachcomber” on Dunk Island. He lived on the island for nearly 25 years until his death, living a life many, then and now, dream about.

Banfield’s Early Life

Banfield was born in England in 1852 and came with his family to Australia three years later. With a talent for putting his thoughts on paper, he forged a career in journalism, eventually working as co-editor of the Townsville Daily Bulletin in North Queensland. He married Bertha Golding in 1886.

While co-editor, he almost worked himself to a nervous breakdown. Around this time he found the writings of American nature philosopher, Henry Thoreau who advocated a life away from the hustle and bustle of society; something Banfield craved. Thoreau's words appear on Banfield's headstone.

In September 1897 Banfield and his wife took up permanent residence on the uninhabited Dunk Island. He cleared an area of wild rainforest with his bare hands and erected a small hut with odds and ends he found along the island’s shores. The ridgepole was a ship's broken mast and the roof was made of pieces of corrugated iron with nail holes plugged with solder.

The Banfield’s original lease (360 acres) was eventually converted to freehold and is now split into a number of portions. The Dunk Island Resort is on the land that was once Banfield's garden.

Banfield drew a small income from the Townsville Daily Bulletin writing under the pen-name 'Rob Krusoe'.

These books contain his observations of Dunk Island and neighbouring islands and their wide range of flora and fauna.

He kept records of the birds, animals and fish; and even discovered a brown rat which was eventually named in his honour - Uromys Banfieldi.

Banfield’s first book, "Confessions of a Beachcomber", gained him fame and recognition. It touched a romantic nerve in many people and they flocked to Dunk Island and the surrounding islands to join him in his idyllic lifestyle; but none lasted.

Banfields’ Death

On the 5 June 1923 the captain of a steamer passing Dunk Island saw a figure beckoning from the beach. The figure collapsed on the sand so the captain sent a party ashore to investigate. They discovered the Beachcomber had passed away from acute appendicitis three days earlier, leaving Bertha alone with his body.

It is ironic he lived on a uninhabited tropical island with its dangers of cyclones, poisonous snakes and marine life, and an uncertain food supply only to be struck down by such an illness.

The crew of the steamer buried him in his garden under a stone cairn, which is now surrounded by the wild jungle. Bertha died nine years later. Her ashes were also placed under the stone cairn. Her epitaph depicts the respect and love she held for her husband.

"Whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge - where thou diest, will I die and there will I be buried."

The copyright of the article Edmund Banfield Was The Original Beachcomber in Australian History is owned by Bruce Iliff. Permission to republish Edmund Banfield Was The Original Beachcomber in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.