Shute Harbour

Shute Harbour is a sheltered natural harbour and mainland ferry port in the Whitsunday Region of Queensland, about 10 km east of Airlie Beach. It serves as the main gateway for passenger ferries and private vessels to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. Framed by Conway National Park, it features the redeveloped Shute Harbour Marine Terminal with pontoons, foreshore parkland and views across the Coral Sea.

Visitors can expect a working harbour and modern marine terminal set against bush-covered hills of Conway National Park. The area includes ferry pontoons, a terminal building with waiting areas and cafe, foreshore parkland, lookouts and boat ramps. Most visitors transit here for island ferries and cruises, but can also enjoy coastal views, photography, short walks and watching vessels depart for the Whitsunday Islands.

The harbour lies within the traditional sea country of the Ngaro people. European use developed in the early 20th century as a sheltered anchorage and later as the mainland port for the Whitsunday Islands from the 1960s. The original Shute Harbour terminal was severely damaged by Cyclone Debbie in 2017 and was subsequently rebuilt, with the new Shute Harbour Marine Terminal reopening in 2021.

Shute Harbour is culturally significant as the principal mainland gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef, and as a starting point for the Ngaro Sea Trail which interprets the maritime heritage of the Ngaro people through the Whitsunday Islands.