UQ has partnered with QYAC and the Queensland Government to create Yalingbila Bibula (Whale on the Hill) on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah).
The unique attraction will be built at Point Lookout (Mooloomba).
Yalingbila Bibula will showcase the Quandamooka people’s continuing connection to eastern Australian humpback whales, which migrate past the island in the tens of thousands every year.
It will also display information about Mooloomba’s role in international whale research and conservation, and provide scientific insights into the animals’ health, behaviour and migration patterns.
The attraction will feature the skeleton of a whale (yalingbila) that washed ashore in the area in 2011, and a hydrophone – an underwater microphone system – allowing visitors to watch whales pass and listen to their song at the same time.
Ongoing research
Researchers from all over the world come to Moreton Bay Research Station to study whales.
Yalingbila Bibula will house a research pod, which will be a place of ongoing research in partnership with QYAC.
During migration season (June to November), UQ whale acoustics and behaviour researchers will be on site to work and talk to visitors.