Wessel Islands
The Wessel Islands is a group of uninhabited islands in the
Bumaga Island and Warnawi Island, both part of the Wessel Islands group, are also part of the Cunningham Islands.
History
The Wessel Islands constituted the homelands of the Nango or Yan-nhaŋu.[1]
Marchinbar coins
In 1944, Australian soldier Morry Isenberg found nine coins buried in the sand one day while fishing when he was stationed on Marchinbar Island. In 1979 he sent these coins to be authenticated. Four of the coins were found to have come from the Dutch East India Company, while the other five were determined to be from the Kilwa Sultanate in Tanzania. Their re-examination has given rise to much speculation about how these medieval African coins came to Australia.[2] Another coin, believed to be from Kilwa, turned up on Elcho Island where it was found by Past Masters amateur archaeologist Mike Hermes in 2018.[3]
European discovery and naming
The islands were mapped and named by a Dutch expedition that sailed from
The ships sailed on 17 April 1636 under the command of Gerrit Thomas Pool, who was killed on New Guinea just 11 days later. The merchant Pieter Pieterszoon took over command and continued the voyage, returning to Banda. Besides the Wesel Eilanden, named after the ship, Pietersen described the
Later history
Much of the population of the Wessel Islands was decimated by
During
Extent and geography
The islands extend in a more or less straight line from Buckingham Bay and the Napier Peninsula of Arnhem Land, and Elcho Island, to the northeast. Marchinbar Island is the largest of the group. Other islands include Elcho Island, Rimbija Island (the most outlying island), Guluwuru, Raragala, Stevens Island, Burgunngura, Djeergaree, Yargara, Drysdale Island, Jirrgari Island, Graham Island, Alger Island, Abbott Island, and Howard Island.[12]
Bumaga Island and Warnawi Island, both part of the Wessel Islands group, are also part of the Cunningham Islands.
Marchinbar has bauxite deposits.[13]
Most of its bays are unnamed, with only three bearing names, including Picture Bay.[10]
Easterly
Transport
Locals visit the islands by boat. Tourists can get to Gove Airport from Cairns using Airnorth, and take tours from there.[10]
Population
There are no permanent settlements on the islands.[14][10]
Ecology
Protection
Wessel is the name of the
The archipelago is known for its biodiversity, and harbours several endangered species.[14]
Plastic waste
Researchers from the
See also
Notes
Citations
- ^ Tindale 1974, p. 232.
- ^ McIntosh 2012, pp. 9–26.
- ^ Judd & Trevaskis 2018.
- ^ Kirk 2012, p. 29.
- ^ PMI.
- ^ Heeres 1899, p. viii,64-67.
- ^ Heeres 1899, p. viii.
- ^ Flinders 1814, p. 246.
- ^ McIntosh 2012, p. 21.
- ^ a b c d e Tansley, Craig (2 April 2021). "The forgotten Top End islands even the locals don't know about". Traveller. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ Long 1992, pp. 83–84.
- ^ "Wessel Islands - Truant Island Special, Northern Territory : sheets SC5315, SC5316". Geoscience. Retrieved 21 January 2022. Includes downloadable map, available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
- ^ "Wessel Islands". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Abram, Mitchell (20 January 2022). "Calls for clean-up to remove plastic waste piling up on the Wessel Islands, off Arnhem Land". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ ERIN 2012.
Sources
- "A Pictorial History of ELCHO ISLAND". Past Masters International.
- ERIN (2012). "Wessel Commonwealth Marine Reserve" (PDF). Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2013.
- Flinders, Matthew (1814). A voyage to terra Australis..in the years 1801-1803. London: Bulmer.
- Heeres, Jan Ernst (1899). Het aandeel der Nederlanders in de ontdekking van Australië 1606-1765. E.J. Brill.
- Judd, Bridget; Trevaskis, Liz (10 July 2018). "Coin found off Arnhem Land coast could be among Australia's oldest foreign artefacts". ABC Radio Darwin.
- Kirk, Robert W. (2012). Paradise Past: The Transformation of the South Pacific, 1520–1920. ISBN 978-0-786-49298-5.
- Long, Jeremy (1992). "The Sinking of the "Patricia Cam": Narritjin's s Story". JSTOR 24046211.
- McIntosh, Ian S. (2012). "Life and Death on the Wessel Islands: The Case of Australia's Mysterious African Coin Cache" (PDF). Australian Folklore. 27: 9–26.
- ISBN 978-0-708-10741-6.