It was not until 1866, when Commander G. S. Nares, Royal Navy, on HMS Salamander, carried out a detailed survey of the northern waters of the Whitsunday Passage that the charts were amended to show two separate islands.

Another small mangrove island in Queensland is known locally as "Dent Island", It is located in the Proserpine River just downstream of the mouth of Saltwater Creek.

It was given the name after the 33-ton steamer Ada Dent, which shipwrecked and sank in deep water off Lady Elliot Island on 21 June 1907.

Designed by five times British Open winner Peter Thomson, the championship Par 71 course measures 6,715 yards (6,140 m).

[1] In 1879 as part of a Government programme of improving navigational aids along the Queensland coast, a lighthouse was erected on the island, the first in the area.