In 1959, when Shute Harbour was adopted as a main tourist terminal, the Government of the day decided to recoup part of the cost by selling off some of the adjacent Crown land for residential development. As a result the official name "Town of Shutehaven" was nominated and accepted by the Proserpine Shire Council in October 1960. With the debate that ensued from the excising of crown land, a compensation area near Flame Tree was resumed and added to the Conway National Park.

In Shutehaven there is car parking for day trippers and secure undercover parking facilities for people who are spending more time out amongst the Whitsunday Islands. Facilities at the village include an information and check in desk for departures, public phones, toilets, bus parking bays, public transport to/from Shute Harbour to Airlie Beach and beyond, taxi rank and cafe for visitors waiting for their scheduled departures.

Water Taxis are available, as are charter facilities. A claim to fame for the area is that the harbour itself is now home to the largest sea plane airbase in the southern hemisphere, as well as laying claim to being the second busiest harbour in Australia.

History
The name "Shutehaven" first appeared when "Shute Islands" was named during a survey by Captain J. F. L. P. Maclear, RN on the HMS Alert around May 1881. The origin of the name was thought to be one of the crew above HMS Alert, although at the time there were at least five people by that name of Shute in the Royal Navy, with no conclusive evidence of which one was on board the Alert at the time.

During the period that followed "Shute Isles" was used in relation to the islands of Shute, Tancred and Repair as they are known today, and sometimes the name was misspelt as "Schute". During the survey in 1881, the channel between the three islands and the mainland to the west was named Rooper Inlet after Lieutenant Henry E. Rooper, RN aboard the HMS Alert.

The name "Shute Bay" was named in 1932 for the waters at the northern end of Rooper Inlet, during a survey of the region in what today is known as "Shute Harbour". In fact Shute Harbour was used locally to refer to the region of waters around Shute, Tancred and Repair Islands, as well as including Rooper Inlet and Shute Bay for many years. It had already become popular area for boating, picnics and holiday camps.

In the late 1950s the name "Shute Harbour" was put forward, but was defeated in the Proserpine Shire Council on 22 August, 1960 and again in October of the same year, with a majority in favour of retaining the names Rooper Inlet and Shute Bay. It wasn't until 11 March 1985 that the council acceded to the Department of Harbours and Marine to name the waters as "Shute Harbour". In April 1986 the name became official, with the harbour encompassing all the waters west of a line joining The Beak, White Rock and Stripe Point on the mainland.

Source: Ray Blackwood The Whitsunday Islands, An Historical Encycolopedia
Author: Ray Blackwood

Available through the Prosperpine Information Centre or
Parks & Wildlife, Whitsunday District Office,
PO Box 332, AIRLIE BEACH QLD 4802.