Dirk Hartog Island
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Dirk Hartog Island, is an island off the Gascoyne coast of Western Australia, within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. It is about 80 kilometres long and between 3 and 15 kilometres wide and is Western Australia's largest and most western island. It covers an area of 620 square kilometres and is approximately 850 km north of Perth.
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[edit] Natural History
The island consists mostly of scrub-covered sand dunes. At times it has been used as a Sheep station and supported 20,000 head of sheep; however, the numbers have been reduced for environmental reasons.
It is within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area and it is owned by the Wardle family who run it as an ecotourism destination. The region is widely used for recreational fishing.
Dirk Hartog Island is an important nesting site for Loggerhead Sea Turtles, with Green Turtles and Loggerhead Turtles both nesting on the beaches. It is also home for the endemic nominate subspecies of the White-winged Fairy-wren.
[edit] Capes and features
The northerly most point Cape Inscription is the location of the plates mentioned - and also the main lighthouse. The bay facing north next to Cape Inscription (25° 28' S 112° 58' E) is known as Turtle Bay.
The most south westerly point - Surf Point(26°7′26″S 113°10′46″E) is located at the channel known as South Passage(26°7′55″S 113°9′31″E) across from Steep Point on its south west side.
[edit] History
- See also: Hartog Plate
The island was discovered on October 25, 1616 by the Dutch sea captain Dirk Hartog, who was blown off course while sailing in the VOC ship Eendracht from Cape Town to Batavia (Jakarta). Eendrachtsland was the name given by him to the island, which was later named in his honour. Hartog nailed a pewter plate with his name and the date inscribed on it to a tree.
In 1697 the Dutch captain Willem de Vlamingh landed on the island and discovered Hartog's plate. He replaced it with one of his own which included Hartog's inscription and took the original plate home to Amsterdam, where it may be seen in the Rijksmuseum. This plate is the oldest European artifact in Australian history.
In 1801 the island was again visited, this time by a French expedition aboard the Naturaliste led by Captain Emmanuel Hamelin. This expedition found de Vlamingh's plate almost buried in the sand, its post having rotted away. The Captain ordered that it be re-erected in its original position.
In January 1998, two French coins were found in Turtle Bay. On 1 April 1998, an intact bottle bearing a lead closure similar to that recovered earlier in the year was discovered by expedition team members Bob Sheppard, Bob Creasy and Dr Michael McCarthy These coins and bottle are thought to have been left by the French captain François Alense de St Allouarn, who landed ashore in 1772 and annexed Western Australia in the name of the French King. As proof of this the captain buried a parchment in a bottle and two French coins.
On March 16, 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that the wreck of the World War II German raider Kormoran had been found, about 150 kilometres west of the island.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ The West Australian (website) "Sydney hunt digs up the Kormoran" (March 16, 2008). Access date: March 16, 2008.
[edit] External links
[edit] Further reading
- Playford, Phillip E.(1998) Voyage of discovery to Terra Australis : by Willem De Vlamingh in 1696-97Perth, W.A. Western Australian Museum. ISBN 0730712214 - specifically chapter titled A story of two plates pp. 51 - 60
