Dirk Hartog Island
Dirk Hartog Island is an island off the Gascoyne coast of Western Australia, within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. It is about 80 kilometres (50 miles) long and between 3 and 15 kilometres (1.9 and 9.3 miles) wide and is Western Australia's largest and most western island. It covers an area of 620 square kilometres (240 square miles) and is approximately 850 kilometres (530 miles) north of Perth.
Native name: Wirruwana | |
|---|---|
Dirk Hartog Island is situated off the Gascoyne coast of Western Australia. | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Indian Ocean |
| Coordinates | 25°50′S 113°05′E |
| Area | 620 km2 (240 sq mi) |
| Length | 80 km (50 mi) |
| Width | 15 km (9.3 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 188 m (617 ft) |
| Highest point | Herald Heights |
| Administration | |
Australia | |
| State | Western Australia |
| Region | Gascoyne |
| Shire | Shire of Shark Bay |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 9 (SAL 2021) |
Known as Wirruwana by the traditional owners of the island, the Malgana people, it was given its present name by Europeans. It was named after Dirk Hartog, a Dutch sea captain who first encountered the Western Australian coastline close to the 26th parallel south latitude, which runs through the island, around 1616. After leaving the island, Hartog continued his voyage north-east along the mainland coast. Hartog gave the Australian mainland one of its earliest known names, as Eendrachtsland, which he named after his ship Eendracht, meaning "concord". The island is now the location of a major environmental reconstruction project, Return to 1616, that has seen all introduced livestock and feral animals removed, with eleven native species now in various stages of reintroduction.