Dirk Hartog Island
Dirk Hartog Island, is an island off the north-west 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 62,000
hectares and is approximately 850 km north of
Perth.
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 eco-tourism destination. The island is regarded as one of the world's finest fishing destinations.
Dirk Hartog Island is the most important nesting site for loggerhead turtles in Western Australia, with Green and loggerhead turtles nesting on the beaches of Dirk Hartog Island and Peron Peninsula.
The island was discovered in October
1616 by the Dutch sea captain
Dirk Hartog, who was blown off course while sailing from
Cape Town to
Batavia (
Jakarta). The island 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 artefact 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.
Recently, two French coins were found in Turtle Bay by an archaeological expedition. These coins are thought to have been left by the French captain
François Alense de St Allouarn, who landed ashore in
1772 and claimed the Island in the name of the French King. As proof of his presence the captain buried a parchment in a bottle and two French coins.
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Dirk Hartog Island website*
Map of the island
