{{Short description|Island in Queensland, Australia}} {{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{coord|17.101131|S|139.619398|E|display=title}} thumb|Aerial view of the southern end of Sweers Island, 2009 thumb|right|Wellesley Islands '''Sweers Island''' is an island in the South Wellesley Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia. Most of the island is Aboriginal Freehold Land, held in trust by the Kaiadilt Aboriginal Land Trust (KALT) on behalf of the traditional owners. There is a small private resort, [https://www.sweers.com.au/ Sweers Island Resort] owned via a perpetual lease on Crown Land, being the site of a township dating from the 1800s, with the only residents being the owners and workers at the resort.

Sweers Island was the location of "The Investigator Tree" which is now in Queensland Museum.

==History== thumb|Drawing of the Investigator tree, 1857 Kayardild (also known as Kaiadilt and Gayadilta) is a language of the Gulf of Carpentaria, once spoken by the Kaiadilt people. The Kayardild language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Mornington Shire Council.<ref>{{Cite SLQ-CC-BY|url=https://maps.slq.qld.gov.au/iyil/view/81?embed=true|title=Indigenous languages map of Queensland|author=|date=|website=State Library of Queensland|access-date=5 February 2020}}</ref>

The island was given its European name by explorer Matthew Flinders on 16 November 1802 after Salomon Sweers, a council member of the East India Company at Batavia who was one of those who instructed Abel Tasman to explore the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1644. Flinders was circumnavigating the Australian continent in the sloop HMS ''Investigator'' to map the coastline and establish if Australia was a single island or whether there were two or more islands (the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Great Australian Bight were suspected to be the entrances to straits between the islands).<ref name="qpn" />

Robert Towns established Burketown in 1865 as a base for his extensive holdings in the Gulf Country. Burketown's development was limited due to the extent of tropical diseases suffered by its inhabitants. When the ship ''Margaret and Mary'' arrived in Burketown from Sydney carrying a fever (possibly malaria), the majority of those on board died at Burketown. In the belief that Burketown was inherently unhealthy, William Landsborough evacuated most of the survivors to Sweers Island for 18 months, with only a further two people dying. Towns and Co then traded wool, tallow, hides and skins between Sweers Island and Batavia in October 1868.<ref>{{cite web|title=Burketown History|url=https://www.savannah-lodge.com/burketown-history/|publisher=Savannah Lodge|accessdate=6 April 2015}}</ref>

Thomas ("Tex") and Lyn Battle, along with Ray and Salme Atherinos, established a low-key fishing lodge on the island in 1987.

===The Investigator Tree=== thumb|The Investigator Tree, 1871 thumb|Investigator tree at Queensland Museum (formerly at Sweers Island) In 1841, the island was visited by John Lort Stokes, commander of the ''Beagle'' on an exploration of northern Australia. Stokes discovered a tree (''Celtis paniculata'') on the western part of the island with the word "Investigator" carved into it by Flinders on his 1802 visit, giving the tree the name "The Investigator Tree". Stokes also carved the name "Beagle" on the tree. Subsequent visitors to the island also carved names, including from Augustus Charles Gregory's expedition in 1856 and Landsborough's search for the Burke and Wills expedition in 1861. A cyclone on 5 March 1887 severely damaged the tree, so part of the trunk was removed to the Queensland Museum in 1889.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stubbs|first1=B.J.|last2=Saenger|first2=P.|title=The Investigator Tree: Eighteenth century inscriptions, or twentieth century misinterpretations ?|url=http://www.burkeshirecouncil.com/sweers_island/investigator_tree.htm|publisher=Burke Shire Council|accessdate=6 April 2015}}</ref>

==Geography and governance== Sweers Island is approximately {{cvt|8|km}} long. It is located {{convert|3|km}} east of Bentinck Island (the largest island in the South Wellesley Islands) and {{convert|70|km}} north from Burketown on the Queensland mainland.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sweers Island|url=https://maps.google.com.au/maps?ll=-17.185403,139.743347&spn=1.645182,2.469177&t=m&z=9|website=Google Maps|publisher=Google|accessdate=6 April 2015}}</ref>

The island lies within the Shire of Mornington.<ref name=qpn>{{cite QPN|32989|Sweers Island|accessdate=7 May 2015}}</ref>

=== Climate === Sweers Island has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw), with a sultry wet season from November to March, and a long dry season from April to October, with cooler temperatures. Average daily maxima remain warm to hot year-round: from {{convert|25.5|C}} in July to {{convert|33.6|C}} in December. Average annual rainfall is {{convert|1202.8|mm|in|abbr=on}}, and the highest daily rainfall recorded was {{convert|251.0|mm}} on 1 March 2011. Extreme temperatures have ranged from {{convert|9.1|C}} on 1 July 2002 to {{convert|39.5|C}} on 6 December 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.farmonlineweather.com.au/climate/station.jsp?lt=site&lc=29139 |title = Sweer Island Climate (1893-2024) |publisher = FarmOnline Weather |access-date = July 19, 2024}}</ref> {{Weather box |location = Sweer Island (17º06'36"S, 139º36'00"E, 4 m AMSL) (2001-2024 normals and extremes, rainfall to 1893) |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan record high C = 39.0 |Feb record high C = 38.1 |Mar record high C = 37.9 |Apr record high C = 36.0 |May record high C = 33.7 |Jun record high C = 32.0 |Jul record high C = 30.7 |Aug record high C = 32.8 |Sep record high C = 35.8 |Oct record high C = 38.5 |Nov record high C = 39.2 |Dec record high C = 39.5 |Jan high C = 32.5 |Feb high C = 32.4 |Mar high C = 32.3 |Apr high C = 31.5 |May high C = 28.6 |Jun high C = 26.0 |Jul high C = 25.5 |Aug high C = 27.9 |Sep high C = 29.6 |Oct high C = 32.0 |Nov high C = 33.2 |Dec high C = 33.6 |Jan low C = 26.5 |Feb low C = 26.3 |Mar low C = 26.2 |Apr low C = 25.0 |May low C = 21.8 |Jun low C = 18.8 |Jul low C = 17.9 |Aug low C = 18.9 |Sep low C = 22.1 |Oct low C = 25.1 |Nov low C = 26.6 |Dec low C = 27.1 |Jan record low C = 17.5 |Feb record low C = 20.6 |Mar record low C = 19.5 |Apr record low C = 17.3 |May record low C = 12.9 |Jun record low C = 11.2 |Jul record low C = 9.1 |Aug record low C = 10.7 |Sep record low C = 14.0 |Oct record low C = 18.9 |Nov record low C = 18.0 |Dec record low C = 21.5 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 335.8 |Feb precipitation mm = 342.0 |Mar precipitation mm = 228.0 |Apr precipitation mm = 48.3 |May precipitation mm = 5.9 |Jun precipitation mm = 3.9 |Jul precipitation mm = 3.1 |Aug precipitation mm = 1.5 |Sep precipitation mm = 4.3 |Oct precipitation mm = 10.3 |Nov precipitation mm = 69.6 |Dec precipitation mm = 146.0 |year precipitation mm = 1202.8 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 11.3 |Feb precipitation days = 11.0 |Mar precipitation days = 8.3 |Apr precipitation days = 2.5 |May precipitation days = 0.6 |Jun precipitation days = 0.4 |Jul precipitation days = 0.4 |Aug precipitation days = 0.2 |Sep precipitation days = 0.2 |Oct precipitation days = 0.8 |Nov precipitation days = 3.5 |Dec precipitation days = 7.1 |source 1 = Bureau of Meteorology (2001-2024 normals and extremes, rainfall to 1893)<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_029139_All.shtml |title = Sweer Island Climate Statistics (1893-2024) |publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |access-date = July 19, 2024}} </ref> }}

==Recreation== Recreational activities on Sweers Island include fishing and watching wildlife. Sweetlip is the most common table fish caught off the island, while other fish species include: coral trout, red emperor, golden snapper, nannygai and parrot fish. In winter fish species including Spanish mackerel, grey mackerel, giant trevally, giant leatherskin, queenfish, northern bluefin tuna, and cobia can be caught.<ref>{{cite web|title=Boats & Fishing|url=http://www.sweers.com.au/fishing.html|website=Sweers Island Resort|accessdate=6 April 2015}}</ref>

Fishing experiences including accommodation, meals and boat hire are available at [https://www.sweers.com.au/ Sweers Island Resort].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sweers Island Resort |url=http://www.sweers.com.au |accessdate=6 April 2015 |website=Sweers Island Resort}}</ref>

==Transport== The island has a {{convert|1100|m}} all-weather gravel airstrip,<ref>{{cite web|title=Getting Here|url=https://www.sweers.com.au/here.html|website=Sweers Island Resort|accessdate=6 April 2015}}</ref> owned by [https://www.sweers.com.au/ Sweers Island Resort].<ref name=sale>{{cite web | last1=Waterson | first1=Larissa |first2=Emily| last2=Dobson| title=Sweers Island Resort hits market for $3.95m as owners vow 'good people' will take it over | website=ABC News| publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=9 May 2022 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-09/sweers-island-resort-for-sale-to-good-people-after-35-years/101049694 | access-date=12 May 2022}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Queensland|Islands}} *List of islands of Australia

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category-inline|Sweers Island}} * [http://vernon.qm.qld.gov.au:8080/search.do;jsessionid=04147EAAB2E3939395E5309CCAB58DE4?id=242239&db=object&page=1&view=detail Museum entry for The Investigator Tree with photo]

Category:Islands of Queensland Category:Shire of Mornington (Queensland) Category:Gulf of Carpentaria