Used as a leper colony from 1894 until 1924.

In total, 49 people, all men, and all but one Chinese, were shipped to the colony.

The federal government shut it down in 1924, when the remaining residents were moved to Bentinck Island, closer to medical quarantine facilities.

In 1961, the island became a marine park. Ruins of the D'Arcy Island colony can still be seen.