# Dorothee Island

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Island in South Australia

Dorothee Island Dorothee Island Geography Location Great Australian Bight Coordinates 33°44′34″S 134°17′05″E / 33.742752°S 134.284829°E / -33.742752; 134.284829 Area 56 ha (140 acres)[1] Highest elevation 140 m (460 ft)[1] Administration Australia

**Dorothee Island** ([French](/source/French_language): *Ile Dorothee*) is an [island](/source/Island) in the [Australian state](/source/Australia) of [South Australia](/source/South_Australia) which is part of the [Pearson Isles](/source/Pearson_Isles) which itself is part of the larger island grouping known as the [Investigator Group](/source/Investigator_Group). It is located about 69 kilometres (43 miles) west south-west of [Cape Finniss](/source/Cape_Finniss) on the west coast of [Eyre Peninsula](/source/Eyre_Peninsula). It was discovered as part of the Pearson Isles by [Matthew Flinders](/source/Matthew_Flinders) on 13 February 1802. The island was given its name in August 1969 in order to preserve a name used within the locality by the [Baudin expedition](/source/Baudin_expedition_to_Australia). The island has enjoyed [protected area](/source/Protected_area) status since at least 1972 and since 2011, it been part of the [Investigator Group Wilderness Protection Area](/source/Investigator_Group_Wilderness_Protection_Area).

## Description

Dorothee Island is located about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) south of Pearson Island and about 69 kilometres (43 miles) west-southwest of Cape Finniss on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is part of the island group known as the Pearson Isles. The island has an area of about 56 hectares (140 acres). The island has undergone extensive erosion with the result that a large crevasse bisects the island in the east-west direction, forming a pair of peaks. The north side reaches a height of 140 metres (460 feet) while the south side reaches a height of 102 metres (335 feet). The top of both peaks each “retains some pockets of soil, predominantly coarse and granitic but with small patches of calcareous sandy loam”. The island’s east coast is reported in 1996 as providing “enough shelter to allow a cautious landing in all but severe swells”.[1][2]

## Formation, geology and oceanography

Further information: [Pearson Isles § Formation, geology and oceanography](/source/Pearson_Isles#Formation,_geology_and_oceanography)

Dorothee Island was formed along with the rest of the Pearson Isles about 10,500 years ago following the rise of sea levels at the start of the [Holocene](/source/Holocene).[3] Geologically, Dorothee Island and the other parts of the Pearson Isles are the summits of an [inselberg](/source/Inselberg) partially concealed by sea level rise.[4] Dorothee Island’s southern and western sides fall to water depths greater than 50 metres (160 feet) within 500 metres (1,600 feet) from its shoreline.[2][5]

## Flora and fauna

### Flora

As of 1996, Dorothee Island retained significant soil around its twin peaks and shelter to support the following five [plant associations](/source/Plant_associations) which are informed by the specific characteristics of the soil and the associated exposure to the elements.[1][6] The deepest and the most sheltered granitic soils are vegetated by a [heath](/source/Heath) dominated by [twiggy daisy-bush](/source/Olearia_ramulosa) followed by other heath species such as [common correa](/source/Common_correa), [black-anther flax lily](/source/Dianella_revoluta) and [coast beard-heath](/source/Leucopogon_parviflorus) as well as two small patches of [Cape Leeuwin wattle](/source/Paraserianthes_lophantha). A “[calcareous](/source/Calcareous) [sandy](/source/Sand) [loam](/source/Loam)” associated with the central crevasse on the northern half of the island supports a [grey saltbush](/source/Atriplex_cinerea) heath. The granitic soils associated with the island’s southern peak support a shrubland of [marsh saltbush](/source/Atriplex_paludosa) that forms a perimeter around the twiggy daisy-bush confined to the peak. The thinnest soils support [herbfields](/source/Herbfield) dominated by [rosy stork's bill](/source/Pelargonium_australe). Soils at top of the granite ridges closest to the sea are occupied by herblands of [round-leaved pigface](/source/Disphyma_crassifolium).

### Fauna

[Vertebrate](/source/Vertebrate) animals observed on the island include mammals, birds and reptiles. As of 1980 and 1990, mammals are represented by [New Zealand fur seals](/source/New_Zealand_fur_seal) and [Australian sea lions](/source/Australian_sea_lion) who use the island as a [haul-out](/source/Haul-out) site. Observations of both species published in 2014 advise that only fur seals have been using the island in the recent past as a breeding colony.[1][7][8][9][10] As of 2006, birds were represented by the following species: [Nankeen kestrel](/source/Nankeen_kestrel), [Australian raven](/source/Australian_raven), [barn owl](/source/Eastern_barn_owl), [black cormorant](/source/Black_cormorant), [Cape Barren geese](/source/Cape_Barren_geese), [common starling](/source/Common_starling), [crested tern](/source/Crested_tern), [fork-tailed swift](/source/Pacific_swift), [house sparrow](/source/House_sparrow), [masked lapwing](/source/Masked_lapwing), [Pacific gull](/source/Pacific_gull), [rock parrot](/source/Rock_parrot), [ruddy turnstone](/source/Ruddy_turnstone), [short-tailed shearwater](/source/Short-tailed_shearwater), [silvereye](/source/Silvereye), [silver gull](/source/Silver_gull), [welcome swallow](/source/Welcome_swallow), [white-faced heron](/source/White-faced_heron), [white-faced storm petrel](/source/White-faced_storm_petrel) and breeding populations of the following species: [little penguin](/source/Little_penguin), [sooty oystercatcher](/source/Sooty_oystercatcher), [white-faced storm petrel](/source/White-faced_storm_petrel) and [short-tailed shearwater](/source/Short-tailed_shearwater).[11] As of 2006, reptiles were represented by the following species: [peninsula dragon](/source/Ctenophorus_fionni) and [four-toed earless skink](/source/Four-toed_earless_skink).[12]

## History

### European discovery

Dorothee Island is part of the island group which was first sighted by [Matthew Flinders](/source/Matthew_Flinders) on Saturday, 13 February 1802 and who subsequently named the group as the Pearson Isles on the same day.[13]

### Scientific research

Dorothee Island is one of a number of islands in South Australia where specifically marked locations known as “photopoints” have been established for photographing vegetation at periodic intervals in order to identify changes occurring in the absence of a permanent human presence or introduced pests such as rabbits.[14]

## Nomenclature

Further information: [Pearson Isles § Nomenclature](/source/Pearson_Isles#Nomenclature)

The island was officially named as Dorothee Island, being the anglicised version of “Ile Dorothee”, in August 1969 by the [South Australian government](/source/Government_of_South_Australia) in response to the following recommendation made by the Nomenclature Committee in 1965 within the then Department of Lands:[15][16]

The Committee recommends the adoption of the names "[Veteran Isles](/source/Veteran_Isles)" for the two small islands in the Pearson Islands and "Dorothee Island" for the southernmost island in this group. It is with some reservations that the Committee makes this recommendation as these names were first used on the chart of [Captain Baudin's](/source/Nicolas_Baudin) voyage prepared by [F Peron](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_P%C3%A9ron) and [L de Freycinet](/source/Louis_de_Freycinet) and difficulty is experienced in relating islands shown in this chart to present day [Admiralty Charts](/source/Admiralty_Chart) but as these names do not appear on modern charts this recommendation is a means of perpetuating them in the general area of the first use'.

## Protected areas status

Further information: [Investigator Group Wilderness Protection Area](/source/Investigator_Group_Wilderness_Protection_Area)

Dorothee Island is first mentioned as specifically receiving [protected area](/source/Protected_area) status in 1972 as part of the [Investigator Group Conservation Park](/source/Investigator_Group_Conservation_Park) proclaimed under the *[National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972](/source/National_Parks_and_Wildlife_Act_1972)* for the purpose of protecting “delicate island ecology and Australian sea lion and New Zealand fur seal haul-out areas”. On 25 August 2011, it was one of the islands excised from the Investigator Group Conservation Park to form the Investigator Group Wilderness Protection Area.[17][18][19] Since 2012, the waters adjoining Dorothee Island have been part of a sanctuary zone in the [Investigator Marine Park](/source/Investigator_Marine_Park).[20]

## See also

- [List of islands of Australia](/source/List_of_islands_of_Australia)

- [List of little penguin colonies](/source/List_of_little_penguin_colonies)

- [Investigator Islands Important Bird Area](/source/Investigator_Islands_Important_Bird_Area)

## Citations

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Robinson201_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Robinson201_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Robinson201_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Robinson201_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Robinson201_1-4) Robinson et al, 1996, page 201

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-RAN_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-RAN_2-1) RAN, 1979

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Robinson et al, 1996, Pages 11 & 13

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Robinson196_4-0)** Robinson et al, 1996, page 196

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Baker (Part 2), 2004, page 59

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Robinson481_6-0)** Robinson et al, 1996, pages 481-482

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** DEH, 2006, page 64

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Robinson383_8-0)** Robinson et al, 1996, pages 383

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Goldsworthy et al, 2013, page 2

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Shaughnessy et al, 2014, page 31

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** DEH, 2006, pages 65-71

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** DEH, 2006, page 72

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Flinders, 1814 (1966), page 223

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** DEH, 2006, page 19

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Manning, 2006, pages 131 & 435

1. **[^](#cite_ref-RSSA121_16-0)** RSSA, 1971, page 121

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Robinson145_17-0)** Robinson et al, 1996, page 145

1. **[^](#cite_ref-DEH6_18-0)** DEH, 2006, page 6

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** WAC, 2013, pages 16-17

1. **[^](#cite_ref-DEWNR2012_20-0)** DEWNR, 2012, page 22 of 26

## References

- Baker, J.L (2004). [*Towards a System of Ecologically Representative Marine Protected Areas in South Australian Marine Bioregions - Technical Report. Part 2*](http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/fb88fcf1-1aaa-41d9-8a5d-9e2500c89bab/part_2.pdf) (PDF). Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia.

- Anon (2006). [*Island Parks of Western Eyre Peninsula Management Plan*](http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/570dd7a4-2986-4563-ae90-9e4f00b22af4/WESTEYRE_IP.pdf) (PDF). Adelaide: Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH), South Australia. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-921238-18-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-921238-18-6).

- [*Investigator Marine Park Management Plan 2012*](http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/3e8d3aff-c9fa-4be9-8c56-a117009e0e88/mp-gen-4investigator-managementplan.pdf) (PDF). Department for Environment Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR). 2012.

- [Flinders, Matthew](/source/Matthew_Flinders) (1966) [1814]. [*A Voyage to Terra Australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803 in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland Schooner; with an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island*](http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=1486723&pageno=223) (Facsimile ed.). Adelaide: Libraries Board of South Australia. Retrieved 5 January 2014.

- Goldsworthy, S.D.; Mackay, A.I.; Shaughnessy, P.D.; Bailleul, F.; McMahon, C.R. (December 2014). [*Maintaining the monitoring of pup production at key Australian sea lion colonies in South Australia (2013/14). Final Report to the Australian Marine Mammal Centre. SARDI Publication No. F2010/000665-4. SARDI Research Report Series No. 818*](http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/239987/ASL_Pup_Production_Report_-_FINAL.pdf) (PDF). Adelaide: South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences). Retrieved 20 April 2015.

- Manning, Geoffrey H (2006), *Manning's place names of South Australia from Aaron Creek to Zion Hill* ([Extended and rev. ed.] ed.), Gould Books, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-947284-60-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-947284-60-2)

- A.C., Robinson; Canty, P.; Mooney, T.; Rudduck, P. (1996). [*South Australia's offshore islands*](http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/5a7dbb25-70b9-4ceb-bbfd-a25800961994/offshore-islands-gen.pdf) (PDF). Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-644350-11-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-644350-11-3).

- Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Hydrographic Service Hydrographic Department (1979). *Streaky Bay to Whidbey Islands (chart no. Aus 342)*.

- ["The Flora and Fauna of Nuyts Archipelago and the Investigator Group"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/108497). *Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia*. **47**. Adelaide: [Royal Society of South Australia](/source/Royal_Society_of_South_Australia) (RSSA): 79–366. 22 December 1923. Retrieved 10 May 2015.

- ["Pearson Island Expedition 1969"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/127776#page/1/mode/1up). *Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia*. **4** (Part 3). Adelaide: [Royal Society of South Australia](/source/Royal_Society_of_South_Australia) (RSSA): 121–183. 15 October 1971. Retrieved 10 January 2015.

- Shaughnessy, P.D.; Goldsworthy, S.D.; Mackay, A.I. (June 2014). [*Status and trends in abundance of New Zealand fur seal populations in South Australia. Final report to the Australian Marine Mammal Centre. SARDI Publication No. F2014/000338-1. SARDI Research Report Series No. 781*](http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/232394/NZ_Fur_Seals_Survey_2013-14_Report_-_FINAL.pdf) (PDF). Adelaide: South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences). Retrieved 20 April 2015.

- ["Wilderness Advisory Committee Annual Report 2012-13 (WAC)"](http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/5ad5624b-73b3-4284-86e0-a28900c9111c/wilderness-annual-report-2012-13-rep.pdf) (PDF). *Annual Report*. Department for Environment Water and Natural Resources: 16–17. September 2013. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1832-9357](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1832-9357). Retrieved 17 March 2014.

v t e Islands of South Australia West coast of Eyre Peninsula Generally Avoid Bay Islands Black Rocks Sudden Jerk Baird Bay Jones Unnamed Cap Eba Germein Greenly Liguanea Neptune Islands Nicolas Baudin Nuyts Reef Olive Pigface Price Purdie Rocky Island (north) Rocky Island (south) Sinclair Curta Rocks Whidbey Isles Four Hummocks Perforated Price Island Golden Williams Investigator Group Flinders Pearson Isles Pearson Dorothee Veteran Isles Topgallant Waldegrave Islands Ward Islands Nuyts Archipelago Blefescu Breakwater Evans Eyre Franklin Gliddon Reef Goat Isles of St Francis Dog Egg Fenelon Freeling Hart Masillon Smooth St Francis West Lacy Lounds Lilliput Purdie Islands St Peter Spencer Gulf Generally Bicker Isles Bird Boston Curlew Entrance Gambier Islands Wedge Grantham Goose Green Lipson Louth Rabbit Shag Tumby Wardang Weeroona Jussieu Peninsula coastline Carcase Rock Donington Grindall Hopkins Lewis Little Owen Smith Taylor Thistle Sir Joseph Banks Group Blyth Boucaut Dalby Dangerous Reef Duffield English Hareby Kirkby Langton Lusby Marum Partney Reevesby Roxby Seal Rock Sibsey Spilsby Stickney Winceby Pondalowie Bay Royston Middle South Investigator Strait Althorpe Islands Althorpe Haystack Seal Chinamans Hat Kangaroo Island Main article Kangaroo Island Nepean Bay Beatrice Islets Busby Islet Pelican Lagoon Islets West and south coasts Casuarina Islets Douglas Rock Lipson Reef Nobby Islet North Rock Paisley Islet Pelorus Islet South West Rock Unnamed island (Hanson Bay) Young Rock Gulf St Vincent Garden Torrens Troubridge Backstairs Passage The Pages Encounter Bay and adjoining waters Granite Pullen Seal West Wright South east coast Baudin Rocks Penguin Mainland Artificial islands Delfin Murray River List of Murray River islands Hindmarsh Pomanda Category Commons

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.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dorothee Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothee_Island) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothee_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.