Ward Islands (South Australia)
Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Great Australian Bight |
Coordinates | 33°44′38″S 134°17′11″E / 33.74398°S 134.28627°E |
Highest elevation | 49 m (161 ft) |
Administration | |
Australia | |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 |
Ward Islands is an island group in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Investigator Group about 53 kilometres (33 miles) west by south of Cape Finniss on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula. The group was discovered and named by Matthew Flinders on 13 February 1802. The island group has enjoyed protected area status since the 1960s and since 2011, it been part of the Investigator Group Wilderness Protection Area.
Description
Ward Islands is an island group located about 53 kilometres (33 miles) west by south of Cape Finniss on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, about 57 kilometres (35 miles) west by south of the town of Elliston and about 15 kilometres (8 nmi) west north-west of the south west point of Flinders Island.[1][2][3]
The group consist of two islands: Ward Island (also known as the NE islet) and South Ward Island (also known as the SE Islet).[3][4][5]
Ward Island covers an area of 20 hectares (49 acres). It rises above sea level with a coastline consisting of cliffs and scree slopes, all described as being ‘steep’, to a summit at 49 metres (161 feet) which has a relatively flat profile and ‘which carries a crust of soil and a few diminutive sand dunes’.[3][4]
South Ward Island is described as ‘a hump of rock and soil’ which reaches a height of 28 metres (92 feet) above sea level and which is located about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) to the south-east of Ward Island.[4]
Access to Ward Island (and presumably to South Ward Island) is reported as being ‘complicated by the swell and the rocky coast’ to the extent that in one instance, ‘no safe boat landing sites could be found’. As a result, a survey carried out in 1980 used a helicopter to land survey personnel on Ward Island.[6]
Formation, geology and oceanography
The Ward Islands were formed about 9450 years ago following the rise of sea levels at the start of the Holocene.[7]
Geologically, Ward Island is the remnant of a small hill with a
The Ward Islands are part of a submerged reef system which includes a number of ‘sunken rocks, and three detached reefs, on which the sea generally breaks’ and which extends from Ward Island to the west of for about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) and to the south for about 3 kilometres (1.9 miles). A depth of 50 metres (160 feet) is reached within 1.2 kilometres (0.75 miles) of the west of Ward Island.[1][3]
Flora and fauna
Flora
Terrestrial flora on the island group was found in 1980 to be represented by 12 species present as a ‘low, salt and wind-pruned
Fauna
History
European discovery and use
Flinders discovered the island group on Saturday, 13 February 1802, and reportedly named it after his mother’s maiden name. On the same day, Flinders also nominated it as one of the constituent parts of the Investigator Group.[2][11]
Protected areas status
The Ward Islands first received
See also
- List of islands of Australia
- Investigator Islands Important Bird Area
Citations and references
Citations
- ^ a b DMH, 1985, chart 38
- ^ a b c Robinson et al, 1996, page 194
- ^ a b c d Sailing Directions (Enroute), Pub. 175: North, West, and South Coasts of Australia (PDF). Sailing Directions. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2017. p. 179.
- ^ a b c d e f Robinson et al, 1996, page 195
- ^ a b DEWNR, 2012, page 26 of 26
- ^ Robinson et al, 1996, page 382
- ^ Robinson et al, 1996, Page 11
- ^ Robinson, 1996, pages 479- 480
- ^ DEH, 2006, page 64
- ^ DEH, 2006, pages 65, 68 & 69
- ^ Flinders, 1814 (1966), pages 221
- ^ DEH, 2006, pages 5-6
- ^ Robinson et al, 1996, pages 140-144
- ^ WAC, 2013, pages 16-17
References
- South Australia. Department of Marine and Harbors (DMH) (1985), The Waters of South Australia a series of charts, sailing notes and coastal photographs, Dept. of Marine and Harbors, South Australia, ISBN 978-0-7243-7603-2
- Anon (2006). Island Parks of Western Eyre Peninsula Management Plan (PDF). Adelaide: Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH), South Australia. ISBN 1-921238-18-6.
- "Wilderness Advisory Committee Annual Report 2012-13 (WAC)" (PDF). Annual Report. Department for Environment Water and Natural Resources: 16–17. September 2013. ISSN 1832-9357. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- A.C., Robinson; Canty, P.; Mooney, T.; Rudduck, P. (1996). South Australia's offshore islands (PDF). Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission. ISBN 0-644350-11-3.
- Flinders, Matthew (1966) [1814]. A Voyage to Terra Australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803 in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland Schooner; with an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island (Facsimile ed.). Adelaide: Libraries Board of South Australia. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
- Investigator Marine Park Management Plan 2012 (PDF). Adelaide: Department for Environment Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR). 2012.