William Westall , of Sir Edward Pellews Group, Gulph of Carpentaria, 1802 (painted 1811), Ministry of Defense Art Collection
The Sir Edward Pellew Islands , a group of over 55 islands , are located off the north coast of Australia in the southwest corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria in the great estuary of the McArthur River in the Northern Territory . The nearest larger town Borroloola is 60 km inland on the Australian mainland. There are eight small towns ( family outstations ) on the islands, each with four to six residents.
The archipelago comprises five large islands: Vanderlin Island (267.26 km²), North Island (54.93 km²), West Island (128.40 km²), Center Island (88.73 km²) and South West Island (81.27 km²) km²). South West Island and Center Island are the British Crown Land . The larger Sir Edward Pellew Islands are surrounded by over fifty small, sandy islets, reefs and rocks with liana thickets , open forests and bushland, sandstone heights , mud flats, mangroves and sand dunes.
The main island, Vanderlin Island, is 32 km long and 8 km wide. Four of the eight small settlements ( family outstations ) are on Vanderlin Island, all on the west coast. In the northern part of the island lies the 100 hectare Lake Eames . Three other settlements bear the names of the islands on which they are located: South West Island, North Island and West Island. The eighth settlement is Jimilaya on the smaller Black Craggy Island . Most of the islands are temporarily inhabited by the indigenous Yanyuwa, they are also part of the Wurralibi Aboriginal land . Tourists can camp and fish for a fee. North Island is home to the 5.41 km² Barranyi North Island National Park , which makes up 8% of the area of all islands. There are places at Paradice Bay where free camping is possible and where drinking water and barbecue facilities are available.
In 1802, Matthew Flinders named the islands in honor of the British naval hero Sir Edward Pellew . Flinders was the first British explorer in the area, but reported evidence that the islands had been visited by foreigners who he suspected were Chinese. The islands had been sighted as early as 1644 by Abel Tasman , who assumed they were part of the mainland and named them Cape Vanderlin .
environment
The Pearce, Urquhart and Hervey Islands Important Bird Area is a bird sanctuary owned by BirdLife International as it is a major breeding ground for thousands of terns on three of the group's islets, located in the northeast of North Island. In addition to bird protection, there are important breeding grounds for sea turtles. 14 plants and 2 reptiles are endemic.
The world's largest open-pit zinc mine, the McArthur River Mine on the McArthur River, stores large amounts of heavy metals in tailings mud pools, which are seen as a threat to the island's flora and fauna.
Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap
