Kent group

Kent group
Satellite image of the archipelago
Waters	Bass Street
Geographical location	39 ° 28 ′  S , 147 ° 19 ′  E Coordinates: 39 ° 28 ′  S , 147 ° 19 ′  E
Number of islands	6th
Main island	Deal Island
Total land area	22 km²
Residents	uninhabited
map

The Kent Group ( English Kent Group ) is an uninhabited group of islands in the Bass Strait between Australia and Tasmania . The group consisting of six islands is located about 50 kilometers northwest of the Furneaux Group .

All islands are rocky and mostly only sparsely overgrown. The largest island, Deal Island, is in the center of the group. The Murray Passage or Murray Pass separates them from the two islands in the west, Erith Island (north) and Dover Island (south). These two islands are at low tide by a gritty sand - The Swashway called - linked. The Murray Pass, on the other hand, is around one kilometer wide and has high cliffs on both sides.

history

Traces of Aborigines were found on the islands .

On February 7, 1798, the English explorer Matthew Flinders passed the islands on board the HMS Supply and named them after his captain William Kent .

List of islands

Deal Island cliffs

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

Island name	Alias	Coordinates	surface	Residents	annotation
Dover Island		39 ° 28 ′  S , 147 ° 17 ′  E	2.9	-
North Rock		39 ° 26 '  S , 147 ° 17'  E	0.01	-	rock
Erith Island		39 ° 27 '  S , 147 ° 17'  E	3.2	-
Deal Island		39 ° 29 ′  S , 147 ° 20 ′  E	15.74	-
Anvil rock		39 ° 26 '  S , 147 ° 22'  E	0.01	-	rock
North East Island		39 ° 27 '  S , 147 ° 23'  E	0.3	-

The Judgment Rocks ( 39 ° 31 ′  S , 147 ° 8 ′  E ), twelve kilometers to the west, are occasionally assigned to the Kent group.

Wildlife

The archipelago is an important habitat for seals as they find a safe place to raise their young on beaches protected from flooding. In addition, the islands provide a habitat for petrels , Feensturmvögel , oyster fishermen and cormorants , as well as colonies of short-tailed shearwaters and little penguins .

natural reserve

The Kent Islands and the Judgment Rocks, together with the marine area surrounding them, have formed the Kent Group National Park since 1947 , which has a total area of ​​165 km².

Shipwrecks

The Murray Pass , named after the English explorer John Murray , between Deal Island and Erith Island has long been used by ships as a haven during storms in the Bass Strait . However, this open roadstead proved to be dangerous when the wind direction and speed suddenly changed, and many ships were shipwrecked as a result. Others ran into the islands trying to find shelter because of poor navigation in the dark or in bad weather. The ships that have sunk here include:

• 1816, The Brothers , schooner , 40 tons, Captain William Hovell , 1 dead.
• 1819, Daphne , brig , 151 tons, Captain John Howard, no dead.
• 1819, John Palmer , schooner, 37 tons, Captain Bastian, 2 dead (one of them from the Daphne )
• 1831, Ionia , Brig, 226 tons, Captain Buck. 3 dead.
• 1850, Ida , schooner, 50 tons, no dead.
• 1851, White Squall , schooner, 104 tons, Captain Chattock, no dead.
• 1852, Dorset , Brig, 82 tons, Captain Birdwood, no dead.
• 1852, Mary , Brig, 308 tons, no dead.
• 1855, Elizabeth Mason , schooner, 79 tons, Captain McIntyre, no dead.
• 1856, Kendall , schooner, 157 tons, Captain Read, no dead.
• 1862, Reindeer , schooner, 104 tons, Captain Morris, entire crew (approx. 8 men) lost.
• 1863, General Jessup , Bark , 193 tons, Captain Hodge, no dead.
• 1866, Boscarne , schooner, 63 tons, Captain Black, no dead.
• 1875, Essie Black , Bark, 281 tons, Captain Sivier, entire crew (approx. 10 men) lost.
• 1877, Bulli , Iron Steamship , 524 tons, Captain Randell, no dead (popular diving destination).
• 1921, Karitane , steel hulled steamship, 1376 tons, Captain Spain, no dead.
• 1930, Ida N , new fishing boat, 25 tons, Captain Busk, no dead.
• 1961, St. Nicholas , newly built fishing ship, 45 tons, no dead.

literature

• Broxam & Nash, Tasmanian Shipwrecks , Volumes 1 and 2, Navarine Publishing, Canberra, 1998 and 2000, ISBN 0-9586561-5-0 and ISBN 0-9586561-6-9 .

Web links

Commons : Kent Group  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Official site for Kent Group National Park (Engl.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Kent Group. In: AustraliaForEveryone.com.au. Retrieved April 15, 2020 . 
2. ^ Matthew Flinders: A Voyage to Terra Australis
3. ↑ Explanations of the flora and fauna
4. ↑ Map of the national park