Wellesley Islands

The Wellesley Islands (English Wellesley Islands ) are a located in the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the north coast of the Australian state of Queensland archipelago.

On the largest of - depending on how you count 22 to 30 - Islands, Mornington Iceland, lies the city of Gununa. Of Australians of European descent permanently inhabited is otherwise only Sweers Iceland.

• 4.1 Tourism

Geography

History

About 16,000 years before Christ, the sea level was still 140 feet lower; the Gulf of Carpentaria was still a lake. The rising sea then led about 5,000 years before Christ to form the Wellesley Islands.

For several thousands of years people live as hunter-gatherers on the Wellesley Islands. Before the arrival of Europeans the root of the Lardil Yangkaal on Forsyth Iceland, the Kaiadilt on the South Wellesley Islands and the Ganggalita lived mainly on Mornington Iceland, on the adjacent mainland. The various tribes are grouped because of similar languages ​​to the group of Tangkic.

The first European who sighted the archipelago in 1644 was the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. In the years 1802/ 03, the islands were mapped by the British navigator Matthew Flinders and in honor of the then Governor General of India, named Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley. This was the older brother of the famous British military Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. Flinders spent almost two weeks on Sweers Iceland to put his ship Investigator repaired. A tree in which he carved the name of the ship, located since 1888 in a museum in Brisbane.

In 1866 the settlement was built on Carnarvon Sweers Iceland to offer refuge of the population Burke Towns. In Burketown was raging at this time, called the Gulf Fever epidemic. 1872 Carnarvon was abandoned.

After the year 1914, Christian missionaries reached Mornington Iceland, the settlement Gununa began to develop. The indigenous people of the tribes Lardil and Yangkal were settled there; later, in the 1940s, the members of the tribe of Kaiadilt of the South Wellesley Islands were added. The last Bentinck left Iceland after a storm in 1948. Ensure that the last tribe, based in the coastal area Aboriginal people had abandoned the traditional way of life. Since the 1980s, however, there are efforts especially their descendants to return to the original settlement areas. On Bentinck Iceland now live again 40 to 50 people.

Environment

Since only a few of the islands are permanently inhabited, the environment is largely intact. On Rocky Iceland guano was mined in the 1920s. Since that time, rats live on the island. Sweers Iceland has been added in the past by settlement, grazing and the introduction of the cane toad of the greatest damage.

Fauna

Mammals

The waters around the Wellesley Islands are home to a large number of dugongs. Also Irawadidelfine and Chinese white dolphins can be found here.

The Wellesley Islands are an important resting place for migratory birds. The world's largest colony of Eilseeschwalben there on North Bountiful Iceland. On the islands Rocky Iceland and Iceland Manowar is overall the largest colony found on white-bellied dolts eastern Australia, 60 percent of the Australian stock of Arielfregattvögeln offers Manowar Iceland on, and threatened on the northern hemisphere roseate tern nests on numerous South Bountiful Iceland.

Reptiles

Some of the Wellesley Islands, particularly North Bountiful Iceland, South Iceland Bountiful, Pisonia and Rocky Iceland Iceland serve as nesting beach of the green turtle. The flatback turtle nests numerous on the islands of North Bountiful Iceland, South Iceland Bountiful and Pisonia Iceland and on the larger islands of the archipelago, the olive ridley turtle was sighted.

Pisces

The Wellesley Islands are in Australia the only place that can be found on the Pristis pectinata and the Grey sharpnose.

Economy

The economic activity is very weak; unemployment is therefore high. On Mornington Iceland handcrafted items for sale on the mainland are produced.

Tourism

Tourism plays no important role for the whole of the archipelago. There are only two commercial providers of accommodation and meals, one on Mornington Iceland, another on Sweers Iceland. Recreational fishing are the main target group. A permit is otherwise required to enter Mornington Iceland.