 The archaeological remnants on the island are representative of the responses of former Queensland governments to the public health issues of sexually transmitted infections (STIs, previously known as venereal diseases, or VD) and Hansen's disease (leprosy) as they affected Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and South Sea Islander people.The island has a long history as a site of segregation and as an example of the working of the Aboriginal Protection Acts.In February 1925 the Home Secretary's Department proposed a lock hospital on Fantome Island in conjunction with the (Great) Palm Island Aboriginal reserve.