Depuch Island

Depuch Island

Location of Depuch Island

Depuch Island (or Warmalana) is a volcanic island located off the north-west coast of Western Australia's Pilbara region, near Port Hedland.

Aboriginal significance

The island was of cultural importance to the Ngaluma Aboriginal tribe, who called it Warmalana.^[1] According to Ngaluma legend, the island was formed during the Dreaming when Matalga, a leading Pilbara spirit man, lifted a large rock and threw it into the sea. The rocks and boulders of the island are covered with Aboriginal engravings and rock art.^[2]

European exploration

The island was charted in July 1801 by François-Michel Ronsard, the cartographer on a French expedition led by explorer Nicolas Baudin on board the ship Le Géographe. The island was named Ile Depuch after Louis Depuch, a mineralogist on Baudin's expedition. After a visit to the island, Ronsard established that it was volcanic, and was the first evidence of volcanic activity on the Australian continent the expedition had discovered.^[3]

In 1912, a Norwegian steel sailing ship, the Crown of England, was shipwrecked as it lay anchored on the island loading copper ore, after the area was struck by a cyclone. Many other ships were sunk in the area, such as the passenger liner SS Koombana.^[4]

Recent activity

The discovery of iron ore deposits in the Pilbara region during the early 1960s saw Depuch Island considered for use as a port for the mining facilities being established in the area. In 1962, however, a survey by the Western Australian Museum discovered thousands of Aboriginal engravings, and the port was moved to the Dampier Archipelago.^[5]

References

1. ^ Tindale, N.B.: Aboriginal Tribes of Australia - Ngaluma (WA), South Australian Museum, 1974.
2. ^ Wilson, Colin (1996). The Atlas of Holy Places & Sacred Sites. New York: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 0789410516. 
3. ^ Chart of Depuch Island, Freycinet Collection, State Library of Western Australia.
4. ^ Wreck Finder - Koombana, Western Australian Museum, 2003.
5. ^ Archaeology and rock art in the Dampier Archipelago - Industrial development and archaeological investigation, National Trust of Australia.

Coordinates: 20°37′54″S 117°43′27″E / 20.63167°S 117.72417°E / -20.63167; 117.72417