After the devastating Mackay cyclone of 1918, agitation for such a station grew and was reinforced by the fact that a network of coastal radiotelegraph stations was then operating; this network would increase by including the larger ocean-going ships, which from October 1921 would be required to carry wireless equipment.

In June 1921, a party set out from Townsville in the launch Mandalay to examine the various islets. A member of the party, Mr Macdonald, an officer of the Radio Service of the Postmaster-General's Department, reported that the southernmost islet of the Willis Group, was a suitable site for a radio-telegraph station. (When established a little later, it became the Willis Island Meteorological Station, though the Radio Authorities maintained the name Willis Islets for some time.)

Another member of the Mandalay party was Captain Rhodes, then Harbour Master at Rockhampton and an energetic protagonist of the scheme for years. It was reported that by the time the Mandalay reached Willis Islets, he was the only person who was not too seasick to land on the island for a close examination, particularly for the purpose of seeking any evidence of past inundations. It was he also who had first interested Captain J. K. Davis in the project.

Bureau of Meteorology