Montebello Islands

[2] The islands have been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because they support over 1% of the world populations of fairy and roseate terns, and of sooty oystercatchers.

Archaeological remains show that the islands were visited by indigenous Australians until about 8248 BP, when a period of global warming and rising sea levels caused the Montebellos to become separated from the mainland, and forced their abandonment.

The islands were economically significant for pearl fishing from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of the Second World War.

[9][10] HMS Plym, moored in Main Bay on Trimouille Island, was the site of Operation Hurricane, the first-ever atomic weapon tested by the United Kingdom, on 3 October 1952.

Mosaic G2 was later described as an "exceptionally dirty explosion", the fallout from which contaminated large areas of mainland Australia, as far away as the Queensland towns of Mount Isa, Julia Creek, Longreach and Rockhampton.