Gun Island
Encyclopedia
Gun Island is one of the larger islands in the Pelsaert Group
of the Houtman Abrolhos
. It is nominally located at 28°53′10"S 113°51′35"E, about 4 km north and east of Half Moon Reef and is a flat limestone outcrop of about 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) by 420 metres (1,378 ft) in size. The island is part of the Houtman Abrolhos Important Bird Area
, identified as such by BirdLife International
because of its importance for supporting large numbers of breeding seabirds.
with 11 seamen which had been despatched to go for help had failed to return, the remaining survivors constructed a 20 metres (65.6 ft) sloop
from the wreckage, which they named the Sloepie. Of the 88 who survived the ordeal, 82 arrived in Batavia on 30 April 1728.
During admiralty surveys of the north-west coast in 1840, crew from HMS Beagle
discovered a brass gun of about three pounds calibre and an iron swivel on which paint was still adhered. Captain Stokes
with Commander John Clements Wickham
named the place Gun Island. They also discovered several coins, including one dated about 1707 and another dated 1720. Also seen was what appeared to be the beam of a ship with an iron bolt through it, and glass bottles and clay pipes. The material was presumed to have been left there by the Zeewyk castaways, 112 years earlier.
In 1883, Charles Edward Broadhurst
, who had been granted a lease for guano
export, discovered several campsites and seal bones there, which had evidentially been killed for sustenance by the Zeewyk crew.
Gun Island was one of the most heavily worked islands of the Abrolhos Islands for guano. Guano workings continued on a commercial scale from the 1880s to the 1920s, and again in the mid-1940s. A 100 metres (328.1 ft) stone jetty built for loading guano on the south-eastern corner is still intact.
A yacht, the Nautilus was wrecked at Gun Island in 1897.
A stratigraphic test well was drilled on Gun Island (28º53'30.11"S, 113º51'27.0"E) by BP Petroleum Development Australia in June-November 1968. It was drilled within the Perth Basin and reached a total depth (TD) of 3725 m (12,220 ft). The extent of the drilling platform near the wharf can still be seen on satellite images today.
was made to the island in 1974.
Gun Island is classified as having 'High' conservation significance and is one of the seven protected zones in the Abrolhos Islands. Protected zone restrictions mean that "visitors shall not carry out any digging or major earthworks within the zones around declared maritime archaeological sites unless permitted to do so", and that they shall also not take metal detecting devices onto the island.
A 20 metres (65.6 ft) wide rock called "Gun Islet" is situated about 30 metres (98.4 ft) off the southern tip of the island.
Pelsaert Group
The Pelsaert Group is the southernmost of the three groups of islands that make up the Houtman Abrolhos island chain. Nominally located at , it consists of a number of islands, the largest of which are Gun Island, Middle Island, and Pelsaert Island. The group is named after a Dutch "opperkoopman"...
of the Houtman Abrolhos
Houtman Abrolhos
The Houtman Abrolhos is a chain of 122 islands, and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia. Nominally located at , it lies about eighty kilometres west of Geraldton, Western Australia...
. It is nominally located at 28°53′10"S 113°51′35"E, about 4 km north and east of Half Moon Reef and is a flat limestone outcrop of about 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) by 420 metres (1,378 ft) in size. The island is part of the Houtman Abrolhos Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
, identified as such by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
because of its importance for supporting large numbers of breeding seabirds.
History
Between June 1727 and March 1728, crew of the Dutch VOC ship Zeewyk were stranded on the island after it struck Half Moon Reef. After a longboatLongboat
In the days of sailing ships, a vessel would carry several ship's boats for various uses. One would be a longboat, an open boat to be rowed by eight or ten oarsmen, two per thwart...
with 11 seamen which had been despatched to go for help had failed to return, the remaining survivors constructed a 20 metres (65.6 ft) sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
from the wreckage, which they named the Sloepie. Of the 88 who survived the ordeal, 82 arrived in Batavia on 30 April 1728.
During admiralty surveys of the north-west coast in 1840, crew from HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which...
discovered a brass gun of about three pounds calibre and an iron swivel on which paint was still adhered. Captain Stokes
John Lort Stokes
Admiral John Lort Stokes, RN was an officer in the Royal Navy who travelled on HMS Beagle for close to eighteen years.Stokes grew up in Scotchwell near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. He joined the Navy on 20 September 1824...
with Commander John Clements Wickham
John Clements Wickham
John Clements Wickham was a naval officer, magistrate and administrator. He was a Lieutenant on HMS Beagle during her second survey mission from 1831 to 1836, which took the young naturalist Charles Darwin on what became the subject of his book, The Voyage of the Beagle...
named the place Gun Island. They also discovered several coins, including one dated about 1707 and another dated 1720. Also seen was what appeared to be the beam of a ship with an iron bolt through it, and glass bottles and clay pipes. The material was presumed to have been left there by the Zeewyk castaways, 112 years earlier.
In 1883, Charles Edward Broadhurst
Charles Edward Broadhurst
Charles Edward Broadhurst was a pioneer pastoralist and pearler in colonial Western Australia. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council in 1874 and 1875...
, who had been granted a lease for 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...
export, discovered several campsites and seal bones there, which had evidentially been killed for sustenance by the Zeewyk crew.
Gun Island was one of the most heavily worked islands of the Abrolhos Islands for guano. Guano workings continued on a commercial scale from the 1880s to the 1920s, and again in the mid-1940s. A 100 metres (328.1 ft) stone jetty built for loading guano on the south-eastern corner is still intact.
A yacht, the Nautilus was wrecked at Gun Island in 1897.
A stratigraphic test well was drilled on Gun Island (28º53'30.11"S, 113º51'27.0"E) by BP Petroleum Development Australia in June-November 1968. It was drilled within the Perth Basin and reached a total depth (TD) of 3725 m (12,220 ft). The extent of the drilling platform near the wharf can still be seen on satellite images today.
Archaeology
An archaeological expedition by members of the Western Australian MuseumWestern Australian Museum
The Western Australian Museum is the state museum for Western Australia.The Western Australian Museum has seven main sites: two in Perth within the Perth Cultural Centre, two in Fremantle , and one each in Albany, Geraldton, and Kalgoorlie-Boulder...
was made to the island in 1974.
Gun Island is classified as having 'High' conservation significance and is one of the seven protected zones in the Abrolhos Islands. Protected zone restrictions mean that "visitors shall not carry out any digging or major earthworks within the zones around declared maritime archaeological sites unless permitted to do so", and that they shall also not take metal detecting devices onto the island.
A 20 metres (65.6 ft) wide rock called "Gun Islet" is situated about 30 metres (98.4 ft) off the southern tip of the island.