Middle Island (French: Île du Milieu) is an island off the south coast of Western Australia in the Recherche Archipelago, around 120 km (75 mi) south-east of Esperance. It is known for its pink lake, Lake Hillier. Goose Island lies just adjacent to the north.

Middle Island

Middle Island, Recherche Archipelago Nature Reserve, April 2011
Middle Island Location in Western Australia
Geography
Location	Off the south coast of Western Australia
Coordinates	34.1001°S 123.1907°E / -34.1001; 123.1907
Archipelago	Recherche Archipelago
Area	1,080 ha (2,700 acres)
Length	6.5 km (4.04 mi)
Highest elevation	174 m (571 ft)
Highest point	Flinders Peak
Administration
Australia

History

The island was named by d'Entrecasteaux.[1] Matthew Flinders, along with his botanist Robert Brown,[2] visited in January 1802 and Flinders climbed the peak (subsequently named Flinders Peak) to survey the surrounding islands. John Thistle, Investigator's Master, collected some salt samples from the pink lake later known as Lake Hillier.[1]

Philip Parker King anchored off the island in 1818 and lost two anchors that were later recovered in 1973. Sealers operated from the island throughout the 1800s.[3] Bay whaling operations were conducted here in the 1870s and, possibly, as early as the 1840s.[4]

According to legend, pirate Black Jack Anderson, based himself on Middle Island sometime after his arrival at King George Sound (now Albany) in 1826, and after being accused of murdering a man. He and a group of men fled to the islands, hunting seals for their skins and launching raids on ships making their way between the eastern and western ports of the continent.[2]

Belinda was wrecked off Middle Island in 1824.[5] In 1826 eight Englishmen who had been marooned on Middle Island by the captain of a sealing vessel Governor Brisbane were found by the French explorer Dumont d’Urville aboard Astrolabe. Mary-Jane was wrecked off the island in 1875.[3]

In 1889,[3] Edward Andrews investigated the commercial possibilities of producing salt from Lake Hillier, and briefly moved onto the island with both of his sons.[6] They left after working the salt deposits for about one year.[3]

Rodondo was wrecked off the island in 1894 and Eclipse met a similar fate in 1898.[3] SS Penguin was wrecked off the island while sheltering from a gale in 1920.[5]

Salt was once mined from Lake Hillier.[2]

Location and geographic features

The island lies around 120 km (75 mi) south-east of Esperance.[7][8]

The island is 6.5 kilometres (4 mi) in length occupies an area of 1,080 hectares (2,669 acres) and approximately 9 kilometres (6 mi) off shore from Cape Arid.[3] The island is the largest in the Recherche Archipelago.[9] Goose Island is just off the north coast of Middle Island.[10]

Flinders Peak, at 174 m (571 ft) high, dominates the island, and has a cairn at the summit. There is a track marked with surveyors' tape.[2]

The island is known for its pink lake, Lake Hillier, a shallow salt lake which is about 1 km (0.62 mi) in width.[2] Tourists take scenic flights over the island to see the lake.[7]

There are dunes along the coast, and many swimming beaches along the north coast.[2]

Wildlife

The island supports a population of the tammar wallaby and the bush rat.[11] One species of snake, the crowned snake, has been recorded, along with 31 species of birds.[2]

A small population of the critically endangered Gilbert's potoroo is being established as an "insurance population" on the island as of 2022^[update], funded by the state government and with Indigenous rangers of the Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation helping to monitor numbers. The island was chosen for its remote location, size, lack of predators, and the potoroos' food source, several species of underground fungi.[7][12]

Goose Island is a breeding ground for mutton birds, with prolific burrows covering the ground. There are also black rabbits and some crowned snakes here.[2]

Historical features

Evidence of former European settlement of the island is still visible. There are several granite fireplaces, one with a baker's oven; an old fishing hut; and relics of horse-drawn rail wagons and old rails. The latter were most likely used transport salt from the lake to the beach. There is also a deep well.[2]

The wreck of SS Penguin is visible from the shore off the north coast.[2]

See also

• List of islands of Western Australia
• List of islands of Australia
• HMS Investigator Anchors

References

Further reading

• Report on historical archaeological expedition to Middle and Boxer Islands, Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia, 16-25 April 2006 (PDF) (Report). Report—Department of Maritime Archaeology, Western Australian Museum No. 222. Report to DEC (formally CALM), Heritage Council of WA, DIA, UWA WA Museum, Esperance Museum. 2007.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

На других языках

[fr] Île du Milieu

[it] Middle Island (Australia Occidentale)