Wanjuru, Queensland
| Ella Bay | |
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Southern end of Ella Bay, looking north from Heath's point
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| Location | Far North Queensland |
| Coordinates | 17°27′05″S 146°04′02″E / 17.45139°S 146.06722°ECoordinates: 17°27′05″S 146°04′02″E / 17.45139°S 146.06722°E |
| Ocean/sea sources | Coral Sea |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Max. length | 9 km (5.6 mi) |
 Indo-pacific humpback dolphin
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Endangered southern cassowary
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Ella Bay is a bay located in the Cassowary Coast Region in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is within close proximity to the town of Innisfail. Innisfail is situated 88 kilometres (55 mi) south of Cairns and 260 kilometres (160 mi) north of Townsville. The bay is bounded by Cooper's point in the north and Heath's point in the south. The land area adjacent to Ella Bay is named Wanjuru, however this name is not commonly used and the name Ella Bay can refer to this land area as well.
At the landscape scale, the mountain ranges encircling Ella Bay itself lie mostly within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, recognised for its natural heritage. Parts of Ella Bay are protected within the Ella Bay National Park. The ocean directly offshore at Ella Bay lies within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which is also the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. There are two blocks of private land at the southern end of Ella Bay, a predominantly cleared 470 hectare block and a 65 acre rainforest block named Little Cove by property developer Satori Ella Bay.
The average annual rainfall at Innisfail is over 3,500 mm or 3.5 m according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and the average number of rainy days per year is 150 days.
The Ella Bay area was originally inhabited by the Bagirbarra clan, the recognised Traditional Owners of the Ella Bay land and one of the Mamu speaking clan groups of the Innisfail region. The richness and diversity of the Wet Tropics lowland rainforest environment, would have allowed for a population density of approximately two km2 per person and a 'band' of approximately 50 individuals.
Ella Bay lies within the traditional country of the Mamu peoples, an Australian Aboriginal tribe with a number of distinctive clan groups. These clan groups have cultural and spiritual ties to coastal lowlands, coastal lands and waters within what is now known as the northern part of the Cassowary Coast region of north eastern Queensland, Australia. Before colonisation, Mamu people moved seasonally within their traditional country, accessing and using important food sources including seafoods, freshwater fish, game animals, rainforest fruits and roots. Certain plant species used by rainforest Aboriginal tribes in this area on a regular basis are highly toxic, and careful preparation using time honoured methods were employed to make these food sources safe for eating. During particular seasons, these toxic foods would form a staple of the tribes' diets. In some locations, early European visitors (for example the anthropologist Roth) recorded seeing communal settlements with multiple shelters including long-house type structures, and there is evidence that a taro-type species of yam was cultivated for regular harvest along creeks and rivers. Like so many Aboriginal people in Australia, many Mamu traditional owners were forcibly removed from their traditional lands to other places in Queensland including Cherbourg, Woorabinda, Yarrabah and Palm Island mission settlements. Some have come back to live in the area since the mid-20th century.
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