Rottnest Island

Rottnest Island

      Australian island in the Indian Ocean, lying 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Fremantle (at the mouth of the Swan River, near Perth), Western Australia. A coastal limestone fragment, the island measures about 7 by 3 miles (11 by 5 km) and has sand dunes and several salt lakes. It was sighted in 1658 by a Dutch party under Samuel Volkerson, and in 1696 a Dutch sea captain, Willem de Vlamingh, gave the island its original name, Rottenest (meaning “rat's nest”), because the place appeared to be infested with large rats. These, in reality, were quokkas (quokka) (a kind of wallaby), rare marsupials whose existence is now protected by the island's status as a wildlife sanctuary.

      First settled in the 1830s, Rottnest has served as a pilot station for Fremantle, an Aboriginal penal settlement (to 1850), a juvenile reformatory (1882–1906), and a World War II military base. It is now a resort for the Perth area and is accessible by sea and air.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rottnest Island — Western Australia Rottnest Island from space Population: 300 (up to …   Wikipedia

  • Rottnest Island — Nordküste im Osten mit Leuchtturm Gewässer Indischer Ozean …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rottnest Island — /ˌrɒtnɛst ˈaɪlənd/ (say .rotnest uyluhnd) noun a small island lying about 20 km north west of Fremantle, WA, opposite the mouth of the Swan River. about 11 km by 5 km. {named originally Rottenest, rat s nest, by Dutch navigator Willem de Vlamingh …  

  • Rottnest Island Authority — (Rottnest Island,Австралия) Категория отеля …   Каталог отелей

  • Rottnest Island shipwrecks — The following list of shipwrecks off Rottnest Island (coord|32|0|S|115|31|E|type:isle) shows twelve larger and surveyed wrecks close to the island, which is off the Western Australia coast. The wrecks are listed in chronological order.Since the… …   Wikipedia

  • Rottnest Island cypress-pine — stambusis kiparisotis statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Kiparisinių šeimos dekoratyvinis augalas (Callitris preissii), paplitęs Australijoje. atitikmenys: lot. Callitris preissii angl. Rottnest Island cypress pine; Rottnest Island pine… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • Rottnest Island-pine — stambusis kiparisotis statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Kiparisinių šeimos dekoratyvinis augalas (Callitris preissii), paplitęs Australijoje. atitikmenys: lot. Callitris preissii angl. Rottnest Island cypress pine; Rottnest Island pine… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • Colonial buildings of Rottnest Island — Several important colonial buildings including the Superintendent s Residence overlook the seawall in Thomson Bay Rottnest Island was first settled by European colonists in 1830 following their arrival at Western Australia and the Swan River… …   Wikipedia

  • List of features of Rottnest Island — List of features of Rottnest IslandThis list is ancillary to the main article Rottnest Island, Western Australia, and should be checked against any available maps. It includes physical features as well as administrative features. Bayseeker Bus… …   Wikipedia

  • Rottnest Lodge — (Rottnest Island,Австралия) Категория отеля: 3,5 звезд Адрес: 4 Kitson Street, 6161 Rottnes …   Каталог отелей

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
https://universalium.en-academic.com/285861/Rottnest_Island Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”