West Wallabi Island
Encyclopedia
West Wallabi Island is an island in the Wallabi Group
of the Houtman Abrolhos
, located in the Indian Ocean
off the west coast of mainland Australia
.
shipwreck and massacre. Following the shipwreck in 1629, a group of soldiers under the command of Wiebbe Hayes
were put ashore there to search for water. A group of mutineers who took control of the other survivors left them there in the hope that they would starve or die of thirst. However the soldiers discovered that they were able to wade to East Wallabi Island
, where there was a fresh water spring. Furthermore, West and East Wallabi Island are the only islands in the group upon which the Tammar Wallaby
lives. Thus the soldiers had access to sources of both food and water that were unavailable to the mutineers. Later the mutineers mounted a series of attacks, which the soldiers beat off. The remnants of improvised defensive wall
s and stone shelters
built by Wiebbe Hayes and his men on West Wallabi Island are Australia's oldest known European structures, more than a century and a half before expeditions to the Australian continent by James Cook
and Arthur Phillip
.
In the context of the Batavia mutiny and massacre, East Wallabi Island is often referred to as "Wiebbe Hayes' Island" . This was the name given it in contemporary sources, and was used by historians for as long as it remained a lost toponym
.
, the northernmost of three island groups in the Houtman Abrolhos.
The island contains three named points: Slaughter Point, Blowfish Point and Pelican Point. Between Blowfish Point and Pelican Point is a bay named Shag Bay, and south of Pelican Point is a bay named Horseyard Bay.
The island is surrounded by submerged coral reef
. This is narrow at Shag Bay, but fairly extensive along the rest of the coast. To the north-east, the reef is high enough that a person may wade from island to island; islands connected to West Wallabi Island in this way include Barge Rock, Turnstone Island, Seagull Island, Oystercatcher Island and East Wallabi Island
.
, a dense calcretised, coral
limestone
platform that underlies the entire Wallabi Group. This platform, which arises abruptly from a flat shelf, is about 40 metres thick, and is of Quaternary
origin. Reef that formed during the Eemian interglacial
(about 125,000 years ago), when sea levels were higher than at present, are now emergent in places, and constitute the basement of the group's central platform islands, which include West Wallabi Island.
The basement is capped in some places by an aeolianite pavement, and this is in turn overlain in places by sand dunes.
, identified as such by BirdLife International
because of its importance for supporting large numbers of breeding seabirds.
Wallabi Group
The Wallabi Group is the northern-most group of islands in the Houtman Abrolhos. Nominally located at , it is 58 kilometres from the Australian mainland, and about 9 kilometres from the Easter Group....
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...
, located in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
off the west coast of mainland 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...
.
History
West Wallabi Island played an important role in the story of the BataviaBatavia (ship)
Batavia was a ship of the Dutch East India Company . It was built in Amsterdam in 1628, and armed with 24 cast iron cannons and a number of bronze guns. Batavia was shipwrecked on her maiden voyage, and was made famous by the subsequent mutiny and massacre that took place among the survivors...
shipwreck and massacre. Following the shipwreck in 1629, a group of soldiers under the command of Wiebbe Hayes
Wiebbe Hayes
Wiebbe Hayes was a colonial soldier from Winschoten, Netherlands. Hayes became a national hero after he led a group of soldiers, sailors and other survivors of the shipwreck of the Batavia against the murderous mutineers led by Jeronimus Cornelisz at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands , off the Western...
were put ashore there to search for water. A group of mutineers who took control of the other survivors left them there in the hope that they would starve or die of thirst. However the soldiers discovered that they were able to wade to East Wallabi Island
East Wallabi Island
East Wallabi Island is an island in the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, located in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of mainland Australia.-History:East Wallabi Island played an important role in the story of the Batavia shipwreck and massacre...
, where there was a fresh water spring. Furthermore, West and East Wallabi Island are the only islands in the group upon which the Tammar Wallaby
Tammar Wallaby
The Tammar Wallaby , also known as the Dama Wallaby or Darma Wallaby, is a small member of the kangaroo family and is the model species for research on kangaroos and marsupials. It is found on offshore islands on the South Australian and Western Australian coast...
lives. Thus the soldiers had access to sources of both food and water that were unavailable to the mutineers. Later the mutineers mounted a series of attacks, which the soldiers beat off. The remnants of improvised defensive wall
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
s and stone shelters
Dugout (shelter)
A dugout or dug-out, also known as a pithouse, pit-house, earth lodge, mud hut, is a shelter for humans or domesticated animals and livestock based on a hole or depression dug into the ground. These structures are one of the most ancient types of human housing known to archeologists...
built by Wiebbe Hayes and his men on West Wallabi Island are Australia's oldest known European structures, more than a century and a half before expeditions to the Australian continent by James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
and Arthur Phillip
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
.
In the context of the Batavia mutiny and massacre, East Wallabi Island is often referred to as "Wiebbe Hayes' Island" . This was the name given it in contemporary sources, and was used by historians for as long as it remained a lost toponym
Lost toponym
A lost toponym is a name given to a place, which is no longer known or identifiable. For example, in 1618 the crew of the Mauritius explored a river in north-western Australia, which they named Willems Revier . However it is not now known which river they explored, so Willems River cannot be placed...
.
Geography
Nominally located at 28°28′3"S 113°41′12"E, West Wallabi Island is the largest island in the Houtman Abrolhos, with an area of 6.21 km², which is more than a third of the total aggregate land area of the entire archipelago. It is located in the north-west of the Wallabi GroupWallabi Group
The Wallabi Group is the northern-most group of islands in the Houtman Abrolhos. Nominally located at , it is 58 kilometres from the Australian mainland, and about 9 kilometres from the Easter Group....
, the northernmost of three island groups in the Houtman Abrolhos.
The island contains three named points: Slaughter Point, Blowfish Point and Pelican Point. Between Blowfish Point and Pelican Point is a bay named Shag Bay, and south of Pelican Point is a bay named Horseyard Bay.
The island is surrounded by submerged coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
. This is narrow at Shag Bay, but fairly extensive along the rest of the coast. To the north-east, the reef is high enough that a person may wade from island to island; islands connected to West Wallabi Island in this way include Barge Rock, Turnstone Island, Seagull Island, Oystercatcher Island and East Wallabi Island
East Wallabi Island
East Wallabi Island is an island in the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, located in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of mainland Australia.-History:East Wallabi Island played an important role in the story of the Batavia shipwreck and massacre...
.
Geology and physiography
The basement of West Wallabi Island is the Wallabi LimestoneWallabi Limestone
Wallabi Limestone is the name given to the dense calcretised, limestone platform that underlies the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, an archipelago off the coast of Western Australia. This platform, which arises abruptly from a flat shelf, is about 40 metres thick, and is of marine biogenic...
, a dense calcretised, coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
platform that underlies the entire Wallabi Group. This platform, which arises abruptly from a flat shelf, is about 40 metres thick, and is of Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
origin. Reef that formed during the Eemian interglacial
Eemian interglacial
The Eemian was an interglacial period which began about 130,000 years ago and ended about 114,000 years ago. It was the second-to-latest interglacial period of the current Ice Age, the most recent being the Holocene which extends to the present day. The prevailing Eemian climate is believed to...
(about 125,000 years ago), when sea levels were higher than at present, are now emergent in places, and constitute the basement of the group's central platform islands, which include West Wallabi Island.
The basement is capped in some places by an aeolianite pavement, and this is in turn overlain in places by sand dunes.
Flora
As one of the few islands in the Houtman Abrolhos large enough to support dune systems, West Wallabi Island supports a relatively high diversity of plant life: according to survey published in 2001, 97 plant species occur on the island. Both the dunes and the pavement limestone support species-rich vegetation complexes dominated by chenopod shrubs, and these communities have been identified has having species conservation importance, because they are so diverse, yet so easily disturbed and so slow to recover.Birds
The island is part of the Houtman Abrolhos Important Bird AreaImportant 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.