Bickerton Island
Encyclopedia
Bickerton Island is situated 13 km west off Groote Eylandt
and 8 km east of the mouth of Blue Mud Bay
in eastern Arnhem Land
, in the Northern Territory of Australia
. It is about 21 by 21 kilometers in size, with deep bays and indentations, and has an area of 215 km2. The largest bays are South Bay and North Bay. The only village, Milyakburra, is located on the eastern side of South Bay, beside Bickerton Island Airport. Bickerton Island was named by Matthew Flinders
for Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton, Bt
.
It has a small aboriginal community of 140 people, http://www.bushtel.nt.gov.au/portal/page?_pageid=53,756278&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&p_text_only=&p_context_id=532, all in the community of Milyakburra.
Flinders actually called it "Bickerton's Island", and noted as follows in Voyage to Terra Australis II: "In passing the south side of Bickerton's Island, we observed in it a deep bight or bay which would afford shelter in the north-west monsoon, if there be depth sufficient for a ship; and the hills at the back being high and woody, there was a probability of its receiving a stream of fresh water. The country round the entrance of the bight, had the appearance of being sandy and sterile."
Bickerton Island administratively belongs to Anindiyakwa Ward of East Arnhem Shire
and is thereby governed by the Anindiyakwa Land Council in Angurugu on Groote Eylandt
. The community of Milyakburra was established in 1975 as a family outstation
, and the Milyakburra Community Council was incorporated in 1983 .
Groote Eylandt
Groote Eylandt is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northeastern Australia. It is the homeland of, and is owned by, the Anindilyakwa people who speak the isolated Anindilyakwa language)....
and 8 km east of the mouth of Blue Mud Bay
Blue Mud Bay
Blue Mud Bay is a large, shallow, partly enclosed bay on the eastern coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia, facing Groote Eylandt on the western side of the Gulf of Carpentaria. It lies 580 km east-south-east of Darwin in the Arnhem Coast bioregion...
in eastern Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land
The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...
, in the Northern Territory of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is about 21 by 21 kilometers in size, with deep bays and indentations, and has an area of 215 km2. The largest bays are South Bay and North Bay. The only village, Milyakburra, is located on the eastern side of South Bay, beside Bickerton Island Airport. Bickerton Island was named by Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
for Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton, Bt
Richard Hussey Bickerton
Admiral Sir Richard Hussey Bickerton, 2nd Baronet was a British admiral.-Early life:He was born the son of Vice Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton whom he succeeded as 2nd Baronet in 1792. He married in 1788 Anne, daughter of Dr James Athill of Antigua:they had no children.-Naval career:Bickerton...
.
It has a small aboriginal community of 140 people, http://www.bushtel.nt.gov.au/portal/page?_pageid=53,756278&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&p_text_only=&p_context_id=532, all in the community of Milyakburra.
Flinders actually called it "Bickerton's Island", and noted as follows in Voyage to Terra Australis II: "In passing the south side of Bickerton's Island, we observed in it a deep bight or bay which would afford shelter in the north-west monsoon, if there be depth sufficient for a ship; and the hills at the back being high and woody, there was a probability of its receiving a stream of fresh water. The country round the entrance of the bight, had the appearance of being sandy and sterile."
Bickerton Island administratively belongs to Anindiyakwa Ward of East Arnhem Shire
East Arnhem Shire
The East Arnhem Shire is a Local Government Area of the Northern Territory, Australia. The shire covers an area of and has a population of 9,120.-History:...
and is thereby governed by the Anindiyakwa Land Council in Angurugu on Groote Eylandt
Groote Eylandt
Groote Eylandt is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northeastern Australia. It is the homeland of, and is owned by, the Anindilyakwa people who speak the isolated Anindilyakwa language)....
. The community of Milyakburra was established in 1975 as a family outstation
Outstation
Historically, an outstation was a subsidiary homestead or other dwelling, on Australian sheep or cattle stations which were large enough to have more than a day's travel between different parts of the property....
, and the Milyakburra Community Council was incorporated in 1983 .