Stanley Island is located at the tip of Cape Melville, North of Denham Island and Flinders Island in the Flinders Group National Park. Stanley Island was first declared a national park in 1939.
Stanley Island is an integral part of the mythological complex of the Flinders Group. There are several spectacular rock art sites on Stanley Island, the best known being the huge Yindayin rock shelter known as the "Ship" rock shelter. The rock art covering the walls of the Ship shelter shows ships from a number of nations, painted in red and white ochre on the red sandstone.