Nuyts Archipelago

{{Short description|Group of islands off Southern Australia}} {{other uses|Nuyts Archipelago (disambiguation){{!}}Nuyts Archipelago}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}} {{Use Australian English|date= August 2015}} {{Infobox islands | name =Nuyts Archipelago | map = South Australia | map_caption = | location = [[Great Australian Bight]] | country = Australia }}

The '''Nuyts Archipelago''' is an [[island group]] in [[South Australia]] in the [[Great Australian Bight]], to the south of the town of [[Ceduna, South Australia|Ceduna]] on the west coast of the [[Eyre Peninsula]]. It consists of mostly [[granite|granitic]] islands and reefs that provide breeding sites for [[Australian sea lion]]s and support [[seabird colony|colonies]] of [[short-tailed shearwater]]. It also includes the island group known as the Isles of St Francis. All the islands, with the exception of a part of Evans Island, are located within the [[protected area]]s of the [[Nuyts Archipelago Wilderness Protection Area]] and the [[Nuyts Archipelago Conservation Park]].

==Description== Of the roughly 30 islands and reefs in the archipelago, those lying furthest from the coast of the Eyre Peninsula are the '''Isles of St Francis''', after the largest. Most of the islands are formed of [[calcarenite]] lying on granite; where the softer calcarenite is close to sea level it has been heavily eroded by wave action.

The area is biologically unique in South Australia due to the influence of the [[Leeuwin Current]], flowing eastwards across the Great Australian Bight and bringing features more typical of western than south-eastern Australia. In and around the archipelago the subtropical Leeuwin Current meets and mixes with the colder waters of the [[Flinders Current]] creating a [[biodiversity hotspot]]. Examples of the effect of the Leeuwin Current include the presence of [[plate coral]]s and fish such as the [[Neatypus obliquus|Western Footballer]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/4bacd1f5-0745-4049-9b17-9e3600979ae4/MP_Park_Description_2.pdf |title=Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park |access-date=2011-09-10 |work=Marine Park 2 |publisher=South Australian Government }}</ref>

==History== Prior to the last ice age, approximately 9,800 years ago, the islands formed part of the mainland coastline.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2019-08-07 |title=Tales from the Nuyts Archipelago |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-history-listen/tales-from-the-nuyts-archipelago/11366970 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=ABC Radio National |language=en-AU}}</ref>

The archipelago was named in 1802 by [[Matthew Flinders]] after Dutch diplomat [[Pieter Nuyts]], who was the senior official of the [[Dutch East India Company]] on the ship ''[['t Gulden Zeepaert]]'' ("The Golden Seahorse"), captained by [[François Thijssen]] who mapped 1800km of the southern coastline of Australia from [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]] to Ceduna in the course of a 1626–27 voyage from the [[Netherlands]] to [[Formosa]] and [[Japan]]. Nuyts was in the region of the archipelago in January 1627. The remote and desolate islands were later arguably also used as a source in the 1726 novel ''[[Gulliver's Travels|Gulliver’s Travels]].''<ref>{{Citation |last=SLSA |title=Taking it to the edge: Coast: The Dutch |date=2006-04-06 |url=https://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=197 |publisher=SLSA |language=en |access-date=2022-03-29}}</ref> Both Flinders and [[Nicolas Baudin]], who also explored the area in 1802-1803, named several of the islands.<ref name="mp">{{cite book |title=Island Parks of Western Eyre Peninsula Management Plan |author=Anon |year=2006 |publisher=Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia |location=Adelaide |isbn=1-921238-18-6 |url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/570dd7a4-2986-4563-ae90-9e4f00b22af4/WESTEYRE_IP.pdf }}</ref>

During the early 19th century the archipelago and adjacent coast were used as a base for [[seal hunting|sealing]] and for [[whaling]], usually by [[Hobart]]-based entrepreneurs who established whaling stations on St Peter Island as well as at [[Fowlers Bay, South Australia|Fowlers Bay]] and [[Streaky Bay, South Australia|Streaky Bay]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/archaeology/department/research/projects/awsanz/sStPeters.html |title=St Peters Island |work=The Archaeology of Whaling in Southern Australia and New Zealand |first=Rebecca |last=O’Reilly |publisher=Flinders University }}</ref> Early interactions by sealers with the mainland native people were usually hostile.<ref name=":0" /> Later, the islands were privately purchased in 1925 and used for farming and sheep grazing.<ref name=":0" />

==List of constituent islands==

===St Francis Island=== [[St Francis Island]] was named in 1627 by Thijssen after his [[patron saint]], at {{convert|809|ha|abbr=off}} it is the second largest island in the archipelago. It is covered by a mix of [[grassland]], [[Atriplex|saltbush]] and low [[shrubland]] and supports a large population of muttonbirds (estimated at 273,000 pairs).<ref name=bli/> The highest point, {{convert|81|m|abbr=off}} above sea level, carries an automated lighthouse and radio beacon. It has a long history of agricultural use as well as of [[guano]] mining.<ref name=mp/>

===Masillon Island=== '''Masillon Island''' is located about {{convert|2.5|km|abbr=off}} south of St Francis, it was named in 1802 in the course of [[Baudin expedition to Australia|Baudin’s expedition]] after a Bishop of Clermont, [[Jean Baptiste Massillon]].<ref name=mp/> It is vegetated with heathy shrubland and saltbush, and supports muttonbirds (39,520 pairs).<ref name=bli/>

===Fenelon Island=== '''Fenelon Island''' is located about {{convert|1.5|km|abbr=off}} south of Masillon, it was named by Baudin after [[François Fénelon]], a French archbishop and theologian.<ref name=mp/> It features [[heath]]land on shallow soils and supports a large population of white-faced storm petrels (13,000 pairs),<ref name=bli/> as well as a sea lion breeding colony.<ref name=sardi/>

===Smooth Island=== [[Smooth Island (South Australia)|Smooth Island]] is a dome-shaped island with a covering of dense, low scrub,<ref name=bli/> it lies {{convert|200|m|abbr=off}} north of St Francis.<ref name=mp/>

===Egg Island=== Egg Island is located about {{convert|400|m|abbr=off}} north-east of St Francis, it is dome shaped with a high point 41 m above sea level.<ref name=mp/> It has deep soils and muttonbirds (400 pairs).<ref name=bli/>

===Dog Island=== Dog Island is located about {{convert|300|m|abbr=off}} east-north-east of St Francis, it has saltbush shrubland and muttonbirds (1816 pairs).<ref name=bli/>

===Freeling Island=== Freeling Island is located about {{convert|100|m|abbr=off}} north-east of Dog Island, it was named after Major-General Sir [[Arthur Henry Freeling]], [[Surveyor General of South Australia]].<ref name=mp/> The island first obtained protected area status as a fauna conservation reserve declared under the ''Crown Lands Act 1929-1966'' on 16 March 1967 .<ref name=FCR-1967>{{cite web|title=CROWN LANDS ACT, 1929-1966: FAUNA CONSERVATION RESERVES DEDICATED.|url=http://www8.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1967/11.pdf |website=THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT GAZETTE |publisher=Government of South Australia|access-date=5 February 2018|pages=961–962|date=16 March 1967}}</ref> It has muttonbirds (112 pairs).<ref name=bli/>

===West Island=== West Island is located in the open ocean about {{convert|1.5|km|abbr=off}} west of St Francis, it features exposed granite surfaces<ref name=mp/> and is used by [[Cape Barren goose|Cape Barren geese]].<ref name=bli/> It supports a sea lion breeding colony.<ref name=sardi/>

===Lacy Island=== Lacy Island is located about {{convert|12|km|abbr=off}} north-east of St Francis, it was named by Flinders on 3 February 1802 after Mr Lacy, a crew member of [[HMS Investigator (1798)|HMS ''Investigator'']].<ref name=mp/> It has low heath, shrubland, and supports muttonbirds (4740 pairs).<ref name=bli/>

===Hart Island=== Hart Island was named after [[John Hart (South Australian colonist)|Captain John Hart]], a Premier of South Australia.<ref name=mp/>

===Evans Island=== Evans Island is located about between the two protected areas but is part of neither. It serves as a lighthouse reserve managed by the [[Australian Maritime Safety Authority]] (AMSA). It features [[Atriplex paludosa|Marsh Saltbush]] shrubland on deep soils, and supports muttonbirds (29,472 pairs).<ref name=bli/>

===St Peter Island=== [[St Peter Island (South Australia)|St Peter Island]] (also called St Peter's Island) is located about {{convert|13|km|abbr=off}} in length and {{convert|3429|ha|abbr=off}} in area, is the largest and most accessible island in the archipelago, and holds the greatest number of muttonbirds (334,800 pairs). It lies only {{convert|5|km|abbr=off}} from the mainland and was farmed from 1859 until it was added to the conservation park in 1988. Since sheep grazing ceased the vegetation has become dominated by regenerating native plant communities with patches of [[Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands|mallee woodland]].<ref name=bli/> It was named in 1627 by Thijssen after Nuyts' patron saint.<ref name=mp/>

===Gliddon Reef=== Gliddon Reef is an islet to the south-west of St Peter, it supports a sea lion breeding colony.<ref name=sardi/>

===Purdie Islands=== Purdie Islands are little more than a chain of low rocks,<ref name=bli/> they were named by Flinders on 3 February 1802 after Robert Purdie, the surgeon’s assistant on the ''Investigator''.<ref name=mp/> They support a sea lion breeding colony.<ref name=sardi/>

===Lounds Island=== Lounds Island is covered by low, dense vegetation,<ref name=bli/> it was named by Flinders on 7 February 1802 after midshipman Sherrard Lound.<ref name=mp/> It supports a sea lion breeding colony.<ref name=sardi/>

===Goat Island=== Goat Island is a {{convert|303|ha|abbr=off}} island lying 2 km south-west of St Peter Island, it supports muttonbirds (94,800 pairs).<ref name=mp/> The wreck of the single-screw steamer, ''Eleni K'' (originally ''Johns Hopkins'') lies on the north side of the island.<ref>{{cite web|title=Goat Island|url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/our-places/Heritage/Visiting_heritage_places/Ships_graveyards/Locations/Goat_Island|publisher=Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources|access-date=11 August 2015}}</ref>

===Breakwater Island=== Breakwater Island is an islet to the south-east of Goat Island, it supports a sea lion breeding colony.<ref name=sardi/>

===Eyre Island=== Eyre Island is a sand island supporting large numbers of pied oystercatchers,<ref name=bli/> it was named after explorer [[Edward John Eyre]].<ref name=mp/> The island first obtained protected area status as a fauna conservation reserve declared under the ''Crown Lands Act 1929-1966'' on 16 March 1967 .<ref name=FCR-1967>{{cite web|title=CROWN LANDS ACT, 1929-1966: FAUNA CONSERVATION RESERVES DEDICATED.|url=http://www8.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1967/11.pdf |website=THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT GAZETTE |publisher=Government of South Australia|access-date=5 February 2018|pages=961–962|date=16 March 1967}}</ref>

===Franklin Islands=== Franklin Islands – both East and West Franklin Islands are covered by [[Nitraria billardierei|nitre bush]] on deep soils, with breeding muttonbirds (102,080 pairs).<ref name=bli/> They were named by Flinders on 3 February 1802 after midshipman [[John Franklin]] who was later to become well known as a polar explorer. Similar [[calcarenite]]-capped plateaus on granite platforms, the islands are joined at low tide by a strip of sand. Once part of the St Francis Island [[pastoral lease]], they were occasionally used for grazing sheep. Public access to the Franklin Islands is prohibited, to safeguard the relict population of [[stick-nest rat]]s there.<ref name=mp/>

===Lilliput and Blefescu Islands=== Lilliput and Blefescu Islands are small islets which were only officially named in 2007, lying off East and West Franklin respectively, they both support sea lion breeding colonies.<ref name=sardi/>

==Other animals== [[Tiger snake]]s and [[Morelia imbricata|southern carpet python]]s occur in the archipelago. [[Greater stick-nest rat]]s are found on the Franklin Islands. An isolated subspecies of the [[southern brown bandicoot]] (''Isoodon obesulus nauticus'') is endemic to the archipelago and confined to St Francis and the Franklin Islands. An unsuccessful attempt was made to reestablish a colony of [[brush-tailed bettong]]s on St Francis Island, where the species had previously become extinct; a similar introduction to St Peter Island has been more successful.<ref name=mp/><ref name=bli/> The archipelago is important for [[Australian sea lion]]s; it contains eight breeding colonies as well as several [[hauling-out|haul-out]] sites.<ref name=sardi>{{cite book |title=Developing population protocols to determine the abundance of Australian sea lions at key subpopulations in South Australia |author1=Goldsworthy, S.D. |author2=Page, B. |author3=Lowther, A. |author4=Shaughnessy, P.D. |author5=Peters, K.P. |author6=Rogers, P. |author7=McKenzie, J. |author8=Bradshaw, C.J.A. |name-list-style=amp |year=2009 |series=SARDI Research Report No.348 |publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, South Australia |location=Adelaide |url=http://www.sardi.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/116268/No_348_Developing_population_protocols_AMMC_ASL_population_monitoring_2008.pdf}}</ref> [[Arctocephalus forsteri|southern fur seals]] also use haul-out sites in the archipelago, while [[southern right whale]]s migrate along the coast from May to October.<ref>Department of Environment and Natural Resources (2010), Environmental, Economic and Social Values of the Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, South Australia.</ref>

==Protected area status and other arrangements==

===Statutory reserves===

The majority of islands within the group are within the Nuyts Archipelago Wilderness Protection Area which was proclaimed on 25 August 2011 and was excised from all of the [[Isles of St Francis Conservation Park]] and from the Nuyts Archipelago Conservation with exception to Eyre Island and St Peter Island. Evans Island which was previously unalienated Crown land has only partially included in the wilderness protection area as part of the island is held by AMSA for use as a site for a [[lighthouse]].<ref name="SAGG-2011">{{cite web |title=Wilderness Protection (Nuyts Archipelago Wilderness Protection Area) Proclamation 2011 |url=http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/proc/wpawpap2011810/ |website=The South Australian Government Gazette |publisher=Government of South Australia |access-date=26 January 2019 |page=3626 |date=25 August 2011}}</ref><ref name=mp/><ref name=2012-13report>{{cite journal|title=Wilderness Advisory Committee Annual Report 2012-13|journal=Annual Report|date=September 2013|pages=18 & 23|url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/5ad5624b-73b3-4284-86e0-a28900c9111c/wilderness-annual-report-2012-13-rep.pdf|access-date=17 March 2014|issn=1832-9357}}</ref> The waters around the archipelago and adjoining the mainland have been within the 4000 km<sup>2</sup> [[Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park]] since 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=NUYTS ARCHIPELAGO MARINE PARK MANAGEMENT PLAN 2012|url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/files/03c8379b-160b-42b1-b5c1-a117009d595e/mp-gen-2nuytsarchipelago-managementplan.pdf|publisher=Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources|access-date=18 October 2014|page=5}}</ref>

===Non-statutory arrangements===

====Important Bird Area==== The [[archipelago]], with the exception of Hart Island, has been identified by [[BirdLife International]] as a 110 km<sup>2</sup> [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) because it contains over 1% of the world populations of [[short-tailed shearwater]]s (with an estimated maximum of 890,740 breeding pairs), [[white-faced storm-petrel]]s (22,750 breeding pairs) and [[pied oystercatcher]]s (about 250 individuals).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdata.com.au/iba.vm |title=IBA: Nuyts Archipelago |access-date=2011-09-05 |work= Birdata |publisher=Birds Australia }}</ref> Other birds nesting in the IBA include [[little penguin]]s (over 1000 pairs), [[Pacific gull]]s (about eight pairs), [[Caspian tern]]s (about 250 pairs) and [[crested tern]]s (at least 3000 pairs), as well as [[eastern reef egret]]s, [[osprey]]s, [[white-bellied sea eagle]]s and [[hooded plover]]s. [[Rock parrot]]s occur on Lounds Island and probably Smooth Island.<ref name=bli>{{cite web|title=Nuyts Archipelago (important bird area)|url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=23983|publisher=BirdLife International|access-date=11 August 2015|date=2015}}</ref>

==See also== *[[List of archipelagos]] *[[Murat Commonwealth Marine Reserve]] ==References== {{reflist}}

{{Islands of South Australia |state=collapsed}} {{AusplacesnamedbyFrench |state=autocollapse}} {{coord|32|19|44|S|133|37|31|E|display=title|region:AU-SA_type:isle}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuyts Archipelago}} [[Category:Islands of South Australia]] [[Category:Great Australian Bight]]