Horn Island (Torres Strait)
| Horn Island | ||
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| Waters | Pacific Ocean | |
| Archipelago | Thursday Islands | |
| Geographical location | 10 ° 36 '25 " S , 142 ° 17' 2" E | |
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| length | 8.7 km | |
| width | 6.8 km | |
| surface | 53.16 km² | |
| Highest elevation | Horn Hill 120 m |
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| Residents | 585 (2006) 11 inhabitants / km² |
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| main place | Wasaga | |
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Horn Island , also known as Nguruapai or Nurupai , is located in the archipelago of the Torres Strait Islands , a group of islands in the strait between Australia and Papua New Guinea . The island, eight kilometers from the main island Thursday Island , has an area of about 53 square kilometers and is inhabited by about 600 people. Administratively, the island belongs to the Inner Islands , an island region in the Torres Shire administrative district of Queensland .
The island's name goes back to the explorer Matthew Flinders , who passed the island in 1802 with his ship, the Investigator . He named it after the shape of the highest point on the island, Horn Hill , which is almost 120 meters high . The Kaurareg still call the island Nguruapai .
settlement
On the west coast is the village of Wasaga , which has shops, churches, a community hall and a hotel. There are also storage facilities for cargo and some shipping docks, which were once of particular importance for the operation of the gold mine in the east of the island; however, the mine was closed in 1990.
Airport
The island was bombed by Japanese forces during the Second World War , as it was an air base used by Australians and Americans, which was used by the Allies to attack Japanese positions in nearby New Guinea . The airport still exists today and integrates Torres Strait into the Australian flight network.
Since 1995, the approximately six square kilometer " Horn Island (Ngurapai) Airport " in the north of the island has been operated by the municipality of Wasaga and is undergoing a fundamental renovation. The airport is approved for international flights and has two runways. The longer one is almost 1,400 meters long, 30 meters wide and illuminated.
There are two daily passenger services to Cairns and regular connections to most of the islands. In addition, there are charter services that also include helicopters .
See also
Web links
- Official website of the Torres Shire Council
- torresstrait.com.au (English)
- Australian Bureau of Meteorology - Official climate statistics for Horn Island
- Map with neighboring islands
