# Bernier Island

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Island in Shark Bay in Western Australia

Bernier Island Geography Location Shark Bay Administration Australia State Western Australia Region Gascoyne

**Bernier Island** is one of three islands that comprise the Bernier and Dorre Island Nature Reserve in the [Shark Bay](/source/Shark_Bay) [World Heritage Site](/source/World_Heritage_Site) in [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia).[1] It was named in 1801 after Pierre François Bernier, the astronomer on the [Baudin expedition to Australia](/source/Baudin_expedition_to_Australia).[2]

The island and the neighbouring [Dorre Island](/source/Dorre_Island) were locations for [a lock hospital](/source/Bernier_and_Dorre_Island_lock_hospital) in the early 1900s.[3]: 58–61[4]

## Geography

It is located at the north-western corner of the World Heritage area, almost due west of [Carnarvon, Western Australia](/source/Carnarvon%2C_Western_Australia). The 2.6-hectare (6-acre) Koks Island is offshore from the lighthouse at its northern end. It is separated from [Dorre Island](/source/Dorre_Island) to its south by a 500-metre (1,640 ft) gap with a depth of 4 metres (13 ft).

## Fauna

The island is home to one of the few remaining colonies of the Banded Hare-wallaby (*[Lagostrophus fasciatus](/source/Lagostrophus_fasciatus)*)[5] and the endangered species of mouse *[Pseudomys fieldi](/source/Pseudomys_fieldi)*, known as djoongari or the Shark Bay mouse, of which there are an estimated 5,000 to 9,000 individuals.[6]

## Use as a lock hospital (1908–1919)

Main article: [Bernier and Dorre Island lock hospital](/source/Bernier_and_Dorre_Island_lock_hospital)

In 1908, the Western Australian government created [lock hospitals](/source/Lock_hospital) on Bernier and Dorre Islands to forcibly incarcerate Aboriginal people suspected of having venereal disease.[7]: 59–61 Aboriginal men were mainly detained on Bernier; Aboriginal women and children mostly on Dorre.

The facilities at the lock hospitals were inadequate, inmates had no contact with their families back home, and they underwent experimental medical treatments.[8] It is conservatively estimated that 200 people died on the two islands, with their remains left in unmarked areas.[9] During the 2019 centenary commemoration, Regional Development Minister [Alannah MacTiernan](/source/Alannah_MacTiernan) described the Bernier and Dorre lock hospital era as "a really horrific piece of Western Australian history."[8]

## Memorial

In April 2019, the Lock Hospital Tragedy Memorial *Don't look at the Islands* was installed on the mainland at [Carnarvon](/source/Carnarvon%2C_Western_Australia), near the place where Aboriginal detainees were taken by boat to Bernier and Dorre.[9]

## See also

- [Western Australia portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Western_Australia)

- [List of islands in Shark Bay](/source/List_of_islands_in_Shark_Bay)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-habr00_1-0)** Hancock, Sue; Brown, Paul; Stephens, Burke (2000). [Shark Bay Terrestrial Reserves Management Plan 2000-2009](https://library.dbca.wa.gov.au/static/FullTextFiles/019858.pdf) (PDF) (Report). Perth, Western Australia: Department of Conservation and Land Management, for the National Parks and Nature Conservation Authority. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7307-5510-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7307-5510-X). Retrieved 29 July 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Bernier & Dorre Islands Nature Reserve"](https://www.sharkbay.org/place/bernier-dorre-islands-nature-reserve/). *www.sharkbay.org*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-hun93_3-0)** Hunter, Ernest M. (1993). *Aboriginal health and history: power and prejudice in remote Australia*. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-521-44760-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-521-44760-7). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [26502181](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/26502181).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Jebb, Mary Anne (1984). ["The Lock hospitals experiment"](https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/ielapa.850909632). *Studies in Western Australian History* (8, *December 1984*). Crawley: [University of Western Australia](/source/University_of_Western_Australia): 68–87. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0314-7525](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0314-7525). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [5290386](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/5290386). [Wikidata](/source/WDQ_(identifier)) [Q15749695](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15749695).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-msw3_5-0)** [Groves, C. P.](/source/Colin_Groves) (2005). [Wilson, D. E.](/source/Don_E._Wilson); Reeder, D. M. (eds.). [*Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference*](http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp) (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 59. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-801-88221-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-801-88221-4). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [62265494](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/62265494).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Env_6-0)** ["The Action Plan for Australian Rodents"](https://www.environment.gov.au/node/14808). [Department of the Environment](/source/Department_of_the_Environment_(Australia)). 1 April 1995. Retrieved 24 December 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-hun99_7-0)** Hunter, Ernest (1999). *Aboriginal health and history: power and prejudice in remote Australia*. Cambridge University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-521-41629-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-521-41629-9). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [918206471](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/918206471).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_8-1) Michelmore, Karen; Feng, Sonia (10 January 2019). ["Lock hospitals on Bernier and Dorre Islands acknowledged in ceremony as 'horrific piece of WA history'"](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-10/lock-hospitals-acknowledged-in-wa/10640732). *ABC News*. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 July 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_9-1) ["Commemorative Sculpture Acknowledges Lock Hospitals' History"](https://www.gdc.wa.gov.au/commemorative-sculpture-acknowledges-lock-hospitals-history/). *Gascoyne Development Commission*. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2020.

v t e Australian places named by French explorers in the 18th and 19th centuries South Australia Cape Bedout Cape Borda Cape Bouguer Cape Carnot Casuarina Islets (Îlots du Cassuarina) Cape du Couedic D'Estrees Bay (Baie d'Estrées) Dorothee Island (Île Dorothée) Fenelon Island Fleurieu Peninsula Cape Forbin Cape Gantheaume Guichen Bay (Baie de Guichen) Jussieu Peninsula Lacepede Bay Masillon Island Maupertuis Bay (Baie Maupertuis) Ravine des Casoars Rivoli Bay (Baie de Rivoli) Cape Thevenard Veteran Isles (Île du Vétéran) Vivonne Bay (Baie Vivonne) Western Australia Adele Island Bernier Island Bonaparte Archipelago Bonaparte Gulf Cape Bossut Cape Bouvard Cape Clairault Faure Island Cape Freycinet Freycinet Harbour Gantheaume Point Geographe Bay Hamelin Pool Institut Islands Cape Keraudren Lagrange Bay Lancelin Island Cape Latouche Treville Legendre Island Cape Leveque L'Haridon Bight Cape Mentelle Middle Island (Îles du Milieu) Montalivet Islands Montebello Islands Cape Naturaliste Peron Peninsula Recherche Archipelago (Archipel de la Recherche) Taillefer Isthmus Thevenard Island Only places with the name still in use in either the original or anglicised version are listed above. Many names have been anglicised; for these the original French name appears in brackets.

Authority control databases VIAF WorldCat

[24°52′S 113°10′E / 24.867°S 113.167°E / -24.867; 113.167](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Bernier_Island&params=24_52_S_113_10_E_region:AU_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bernier Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernier_Island) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernier_Island?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.