- Flag Hill (Houtman Abrolhos)
Flag Hill is the highest hill on
East Wallabi Island , and the highest point in theHoutman Abrolhos , anarchipelago off the coast ofWestern Australia . It is located in the north-east of the island;Australia 1:100000 Topographic Survey, Sheet 1641 (Edition 1): Wallabi] its gazetted location is coord|28|26|7|S|113|44|14|E|display=inline,Gazetteer of Australia (1996). Belconnen, ACT: Australian Surveying and Land Information Group.] Gazetteer of Australia | name = Flag Hill | id = 268325] but in fact it is located somewhat east of there at about coord|28|26|02|S|113|44|18|E|display=inline,title|type:mountain_scale:25000. It is about 15 metres (50 ft) high.Although East Wallabi Island was extensively explored by survivors of the 1629 "Batavia"
shipwreck , no records of that event refer specifically to Flag Hill. Accordingly, discovery of the hill is attributed toJohn Clements Wickham , Commander during the third voyage of HMS "Beagle", which surveyed East Wallabi Island in May 1840. Wickham's lieutenant,John Lort Stokes , later wrote: quote|" [T] he loftiest point rising on the north-east extreme of E. Wallaby Island, measures no more than convert|50|ft|m.... The loftiest, which is called Flag Hill, is, as I have mentioned, on the north-eastern extreme, and has a long finger-shaped point running out from its foot in a north-east direction.... Flag Hill is a rock formed of sand and comminuted shells."cite book | first = John Lort | last = Stokes | authorlink = John Lort Stokes | year = 1846 | title = , | publisher = T. and W. Boone | location = London] No explanation for the name "Flag Hill" was given.From the peak of Flag Hill, Wickham's party sighted an island to the north-north-west; they would later visit it and name it North Island.
References
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