clearing the area around Cardwell of Aboriginal presence by "burning camps and dispersing the natives." In the late 1860s and early 1870s, Cardwell became a transport hub for prospectors heading to the Etheridge Shire goldfields inland from the town. Captain John Moresby visited Cardwell in 1871 and wrote that "various tribes of aborigines roam about the vicinity, and not unnaturally regard the white men, who are rapidly dispossessing them of their homes, as mortal enemies. They ... suffer terrible retaliation at the hands of our countrymen, who employ native troopers, commanded by white men to hunt down and destroy the offenders when the opportunity offers". In January 1872, two British dugong fishermen named Henry Smith and Charles Clements were killed at nearby Goold Island by resident Aboriginals. Wet weather prevented an immediate punitive expedition of four boats of armed local white men who were eager that "the blacks" be "taught that what they do is punishable by death". However, within the same month the Native Police forces of Sub-Inspectors Crompton and Johnstone completed a punitive mission and returned to Cardwell with three young Aboriginal children from the island. The eldest of the children was ten and "they were given away in Cardwell to domesticate them." Cardwell Provisional School opened on 1 October 1870, becoming Cardwell State School on 22 August 1887. Murray River Provisional School opened circa 1893 and closed in 1904. Its location was described as "via Cardwell". In 1985, it was proposed to build an integrated marina and resort called Port Hinchinbrook at Oyster Point south of the town. The proposal encountered many environmental objections and financial collapse of one of the development companies, before construction commenced in 1999. The long-running controversy led to the Australian Senate establishing an inquiry in May 1998 to try to understand the roles of the regulatory processes of the three levels of government in the approval for the development and what might be learned from the experience and how processes might be improved. The Cardwell Library opened in 2008. Cardwell suffered significant damage from Cyclone Yasi, a category 5 cyclone, in February 2011. The marina and the boats within it were destroyed. As at 2019, ongoing legal disputes have prevented work on rebuilding the marina. In 2013, the Cardwell community began being the target of an online hoax, which claimed the town's Christmas lights competition had been cancelled to appease the local