Middle Osborn Island

Middle Osborn
Middle Osborn Island
Location of Middle Osborn Island
Geography
Coordinates 14°19′06″S 125°00′50″E / 14.31822°S 125.0138918°E / -14.31822; 125.0138918Coordinates: 14°19′06″S 125°00′50″E / 14.31822°S 125.0138918°E / -14.31822; 125.0138918
Total islands 1
Area 2,361 ha (5,830 acres)
Country
Australia
Demographics
Population 0

Middle Osborn Island is an island off the coast of the Kimberley region in Western Australia.

Located on the western side of Admiralty Gulf and a part of the Bonaparte Archipelago, the island encompasses an area of 2,361 hectares (5,834 acres).[1] It is part of the Osborn Island group which includes, South West Osborn, Borda, Carlia, Steep Head and Kidney Island as well as West, North and Centre Rock.

The island is a volcanic plug.[2]

The traditional owners of the area are the Uunguu peoples of the Wunambal language group whose name for the island is Ngurraali.[3]

The group was named in 1891 by Phillip Parker King after John Osborn, one of the Lords of the Admiralty.[1]

The air-breathing land snails, Kimberleymelon tealei and Carinotrachia admirale are both endemic to the island.[4]

In 2008 a boat carrying refugees that had travelled via Indonesia arrived at the island. The then immigration minister, Chris Bowen was attacked by the opposition over his "porous border protection policies".[5] Another boat arrived in 2010 with only two passengers and one crew on board.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Status Performance Assessment: Biodiversity conservation of Western Australian Islands" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  2. ↑ Gordon Graham (1 August 2001). "North Kimberley 1 - (NK-1) Mitchell Bioregion" (PDF). Department of Environment. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  3. ↑ T. Vigilante; et al. (2013). "Biodiversity values on selected Kimberley Islands, Australia" (PDF). Western Australian Museum. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  4. ↑ Köhler F. (2010). "Three new species and two new genera of land snails from the Bonaparte Archipelago in the Kimberley, Western Australia (Pulmonata, Camaenidae)." Molluscan Research 30: 1-16. abstract, PDF.
  5. ↑ "Illegal boat arrivals accelerate under Bowen watch". Liberal Party of Australia. 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Annual boat arrival in Western Australian water in 2010" (PDF). Project SafeCome Inc. 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
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