Rat Island (Houtman Abrolhos)

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Rat Island
Rat Island (Houtman Abrolhos) photo 2.jpg
Aerial view of Rat Island
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Rat Island
Location in Australia
Geography
Location Indian Ocean
Coordinates 28°42′54.9″S113°47′05.3″E / 28.715250°S 113.784806°E / -28.715250; 113.784806
Administration
State Western Australia

Rat Island is an island off the coast of Western Australia. [1] It is a part of the Easter Group of the Houtman Abrolhos. [2] [3]

It has been identified as a significant bird site. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Transport

The jetty at the island had a railway line in the early 1900s, that had been utilized for some time during the exploitation of guano and lime deposits. [9] [10] [11]

Rat Island is the location of Albrohos Rat Island Airport (ICAO: YRAT). [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houtman Abrolhos</span> Group of islands and reefs off Western Australia

The Houtman Abrolhos is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia about 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral reef in the Indian Ocean, and one of the highest latitude reef systems in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geraldton</span> City in Western Australia

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<i>Panulirus cygnus</i> Species of crustacean

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallabi Group</span> Islands in Western Australia

The Wallabi Group is the northernmost group of islands in the Houtman Abrolhos off the western coast of Western Australia. it is 58 kilometres from the Australian mainland, and about 9 kilometres from the Easter Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easter Group</span> Islands in the Houtman Abrolhos in Western Australia

The Easter Group is the central of three groups of islands that make up the Houtman Abrolhos island chain. The group measures about 20 kilometres by 12 kilometres, and consists of a number of islands including

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pelsaert Group</span> Islands in Western Australia

The Pelsaert Group is the southernmost of the three groups of islands that make up the Houtman Abrolhos island chain. It consists of a number of islands, the largest of which are Gun Island, Middle Island, and Pelsaert Island. The group is named after Francisco Pelsaert a Dutch "opperkoopman", who stranded nearby with the VOC-ship "Batavia" in 1629. The group contains the most southerly true coral reefs in the Indian Ocean. The group is part of the Houtman Abrolhos Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for supporting large numbers of breeding seabirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Island (Houtman Abrolhos)</span> Island in the Houtman Abrolhos, off the coast of Mid West Western Australia

North Island is the northernmost island in the Houtman Abrolhos, a coral reef archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mid West Western Australia. Located about 14 km (9 mi) from the nearest island group, it is one of the largest islands in the Houtman Abrolhos, and one of the few to support dune systems. It has relatively diverse flora dominated by chenopod shrubs and fauna that includes the introduced tammar wallaby, around seven species of reptile, and about 15 resident bird species.

<i>Batavia Road</i> (boat)

Batavia Road was a passenger boat used from 1946 for commercial tourist operation in the Houtman Abrolhos, a group of islands off the coast of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun Island</span> Island in Western Australia

Gun Island is one of the larger islands in the Pelsaert Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia. It is nominally at 28°53′10″S113°51′35″E, about 4 km (2.5 mi) north and east of Half Moon Reef and is a flat limestone outcrop of about 800 by 420 metres in size. The island is part of the Houtman Abrolhos Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for supporting large numbers of breeding seabirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abrolhos painted buttonquail</span> Subspecies of bird

The Abrolhos painted buttonquail is a subspecies of the painted buttonquail endemic to the Houtman Abrolhos. It is common on North Island, and also occurs on other islands of the Wallabi Group, namely East Wallabi, West Wallabi, Seagull and Pigeon Islands.

This is a list of the terrestrial flora of the Houtman Abrolhos. Only vascular plants are listed — there have been some collections of mosses, liverworts and lichens from the Houtman Abrolhos, but no information has been published on these non-vascular groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pigeon Island (Houtman Abrolhos)</span>

Pigeon Island is a small island located need the middle of the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, an archipelago off the coast of Western Australia. It is almost entirely given over to western rock lobster fishers' camps, and as a result is far more disturbed than most other islands in the archipelago. A nearby island also seasonally populated by fishers is named Little Pigeon Island, hence Pigeon Island is sometimes referred to as "Big Pigeon Island".

Shag Rock is a small rocky island in the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florance Broadhurst</span>

Florance Constantine Broadhurst (1861–1909) was a 19th-century Western Australian businessman who is most notable for successfully taking over the management of a number of business ventures of his ill-fortuned, yet extremely creative and hard-working father, Charles Edward Broadhurst, and turning a profit. The best known of these is the guano mining venture in the Houtman Abrolhos. While his entrepreneur father had recognised the potential of the industry and began mining, eventually to obtain a monopoly on the extraction of the guano, he proved unsuccessful in managing the concern. This situation continued until Florance, who had a mercantile education, joined the concern and began managing the venture under the name Broadhurst MacNeil and Company. MacNeil was initially a backer and a partner, but he took no part in the management of the venture. With his accountancy training F.C. Broadhurst proved enormously successful exporting to Europe and winning a gold medal at the Paris Exposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Wallabi Island</span> Island in Houtman Abrolhos islands in Western Australia

East Wallabi Island is an island in the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, located in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of mainland Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Wallabi Island</span> Island in Western Australia

West Wallabi Island is an island in the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of mainland Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pelsaert Island</span>

Pelsaert Island is one of the islands of the Pelsaert Group, which is the southernmost of the three groups of islands that make up the Houtman Abrolhos island chain in Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beacon Island (Houtman Abrolhos)</span> Island in Western Australia

Beacon Island, also known as Batavia's Graveyard, is an island on the eastern side of the Wallabi Group at the northern end of the Houtman Abrolhos, in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houtman Abrolhos Islands National Park</span> National park in Western Australia

Houtman Abrolhos Islands National Park is a national park in the Mid West region of Western Australia, 75 km (47 mi) west of Geraldton. It was declared on 5 July 2019, is located in the City of Greater Geraldton, and is part of the Geraldton Sandplains bioregion.

References

  1. "The recovery of Rat Island following the eradication of introduced predators" (PDF).
  2. "The Abrolhos". The West Australian . Vol. 2, no. 278. Western Australia. 9 December 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 30 July 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  3. "Abrolhos Islands Excursions". Geraldton Guardian . Vol. VI, no. 745. Western Australia. 9 December 1911. p. 4. Retrieved 30 July 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  4. "The Abrolhos Islands From the Scientific Side. (2 August 1909)", The Lone hand, 5 (28), W. McLeod]: 29, 2 August 1909, retrieved 5 August 2024
  5. "No Title". Kalgoorlie Western Argus . Vol. XVII, no. 864. Western Australia. 6 June 1911. p. 20. Retrieved 30 July 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  6. "The Abrolhos". The West Australian . Vol. XXIII, no. 6, 774. Western Australia. 7 December 1907. p. 5. Retrieved 30 July 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  7. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Radio National (5 June 2008), Abrolhos birds, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, retrieved 30 July 2024
  8. Carter, Ryan (1 January 2023), Island meltdown: Demise of the Abrolhos painted button-quail Turnix varius scintillans in the face of multiple threats, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, retrieved 30 July 2024
  9. "A Guano Depot". The Daily Telegraph . No. 3363. New South Wales, Australia. 11 April 1890. p. 7. Retrieved 5 August 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  10. Smith, Frank Derwent (1925), Fishing boats and stone railway jetty at Rat Island, Houtman Abrolhos , retrieved 5 August 2024
  11. "The Abrolhos Islands". Victorian Express . Vol. IX, no. 22. Western Australia. 5 February 1887. p. 3. Retrieved 5 August 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  12. ""Abri vossos olhos" to the Abrolhos", Australian fisheries, 29 (6), Fisheries Branch, Dept. of Primary Industry]: 5, 1 June 1970, ISSN   0004-9115