Middle Osborn Island
Geography | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 14°19′06″S 125°00′50″E / 14.31822°S 125.0138918°E |
Administration | |
Australia | |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 |
Middle Osborn Island is an island off the coast of the Kimberley region in Western Australia.
Located on the western side of Admiralty Gulf and a part of the Bonaparte Archipelago, the island encompasses an area of 2,361 hectares (5,834 acres).[1] It is part of the Osborn Island group which includes, South West Osborn, Borda, Carlia, Steep Head and Kidney Island as well as West, North and Centre Rock.
The island is a volcanic plug.[2]
The traditional owners of the area are the Uunguu peoples of the Wunambal language group whose name for the island is Ngurraali.[3]
The group was named in 1891 by Phillip Parker King after John Osborn, one of the Lords of the Admiralty.[1]
The air-breathing land snails, Kimberleymelon tealei and Carinotrachia admirale are both endemic to the island.[4]
In 2008 a boat carrying refugees that had travelled via Indonesia arrived at the island. The then immigration minister, Chris Bowen was attacked by the opposition over his "porous border protection policies".[5] Another boat arrived in 2010 with only two passengers and one crew on board.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Status Performance Assessment: Biodiversity conservation of Western Australian Islands" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ Gordon Graham (1 August 2001). "North Kimberley 1 - (NK-1) Mitchell Bioregion" (PDF). Department of Environment. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ T. Vigilante; et al. (2013). "Biodiversity values on selected Kimberley Islands, Australia" (PDF). Western Australian Museum. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ Köhler F. (2010). "Three new species and two new genera of land snails from the Bonaparte Archipelago in the Kimberley, Western Australia (Pulmonata, Camaenidae)." Molluscan Research 30: 1-16. abstract, PDF.
- ^ "Illegal boat arrivals accelerate under Bowen watch". Liberal Party of Australia. 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ "Annual boat arrival in Western Australian water in 2010" (PDF). Project SafeCome Inc. 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2014.