Booby Island, Torres Strait
Encyclopedia
Booby Island is an island
West of Muttee Heads
at the tip of Cape York Peninsula
within the Endeavour Strait
, Queensland
, Australia
. This island in the Torres Strait
, south of Thursday Island and Prince of Wales Island
.
Struck a sunken reef near Booby Island, 24 July 1862. As she was undermanned, the boats were launched with difficulty after big seas had driven her over the rocks into calm water. Natives and adverse currents prevented them reaching safety on the Australian coast before one boat was abandoned and a course set for Timor
Foundered in a heavy gale south of Booby Island, Queensland, 19 January 1894. She was overloaded with guano
from Rocky Islet in the Gulf of Carpentaria; struck by heavy seas, she rolled over, giving the crew only a short time to launch boats and escape
Lost in Torres Strait, from Sydney to Singapore, 28 May 1866. Crew landed on Booby Island and a ship took them on to Singapore
eventually took up service on the island, an 18 metres (59.1 ft) tall timber framed iron clad conical tower with a focal plane at 37 m. The light characteristic is one flash every 7.5 seconds. The tower is painted white with a red lantern room.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
West of Muttee Heads
Muttee Heads
Muttee Heads is about 20 km West of Bamaga at the tip of Cape York Peninsula.During World War II the No 52 Radar Station moved from Mascot in New South Wales to Townsville in north Queensland and finally to Muttee Head on Cape York in far north Queensland.No...
at the tip of Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
within the Endeavour Strait
Endeavour Strait
The Endeavour Strait is a strait running between the Australian mainland and Prince of Wales Island, in the extreme south of the Torres Strait...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, 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...
. This island in the Torres Strait
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...
, south of Thursday Island and Prince of Wales Island
Prince of Wales Island, Torres Strait
Prince of Wales Island is an island north of Muttee Heads which is adjacent to Bamaga at the tip of Cape York Peninsula within the Endeavour Strait Queensland, Australia in the Torres Strait and south of Thursday Island....
.
Shipwrecks
In the 19th century such a high number of ship were lost in the area, that provisions were stored on Booby Island for shipwrecked sailors. Wrecks include:- Delfshaven. BarqueBarqueA barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
, 656 tons. Newcastle to Java.
Struck a sunken reef near Booby Island, 24 July 1862. As she was undermanned, the boats were launched with difficulty after big seas had driven her over the rocks into calm water. Natives and adverse currents prevented them reaching safety on the Australian coast before one boat was abandoned and a course set for Timor
- Kanahooka Iron steamship, 386 tons. Built 1883.
Foundered in a heavy gale south of Booby Island, Queensland, 19 January 1894. She was overloaded with guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
from Rocky Islet in the Gulf of Carpentaria; struck by heavy seas, she rolled over, giving the crew only a short time to launch boats and escape
- Marina Barque.
Lost in Torres Strait, from Sydney to Singapore, 28 May 1866. Crew landed on Booby Island and a ship took them on to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
- Morning StarMorning Star (ship)The Morning Star was a ship wrecked near Quoin Island, Queensland 12.4305ºS, 143.421667ºE in 1814.The Morning Star was a brig of 140 tons constructed in Calcutta, India and registered there to the owners Lackersteen & Co. On the 2nd or 3rd of July 1814, whilst on its way from Sydney to Batavia...
, wrecked 1814 somewhere near Booby Island.
- Pacific. SchoonerSchoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
. Foundered off Booby Island, Queensland, 6 July 1935
- Shamrock. Schooner. Involved in rescue of survivors from two ships, on Booby Island (Hydrabad and Coringa Packet)
Lighthouse
In 1890 a lighthouseLighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
eventually took up service on the island, an 18 metres (59.1 ft) tall timber framed iron clad conical tower with a focal plane at 37 m. The light characteristic is one flash every 7.5 seconds. The tower is painted white with a red lantern room.