Sir Graham Moore Island (Western Australia)

Last updated September 09, 2024

Sir Graham Moore Island

Location of Sir Graham Moore Island

Niiwalarra, formerly known as Sir Graham Moore Island,^[1] is located off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia.

The island encompasses an area of 2,746 hectares (6,786 acres).^[2] It is situated within the Sir Graham Moore Islands group, about 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Kalumburu.

The Juarinanda people were recorded as early inhabitants of the island, but they were decimated by disease in the 19th century, with the remainder of the population moving to Drysdale River Mission. Wunambal, Gaambera and Kwini people made journeys to islands in the area by dugout canoes originally bought from Makassan traders, who began visiting the Kimblerley coast sometime between 1669 and 1763. Both Aboriginal and Makassan peoples harvested and processed sea cucumber. The Juarinanda incorporated several Malay words into their language.^[3]

Today, by succession, the traditional owners of the island are the Balanggarra (aka Kwini^[4]) people, of the Worrorran language group, whose name for the island is Niiwalarra.^[3] They have visited the island for millennia. Traditional owners have been assisting with archaeological assessments of the island in 2021, for the first time since Ian Crawford did his research in the 1960s. Evidence of pottery and other artefacts from new excavations on the island are being complemented by the oral histories of the Kwini people. A number of hearths are a record of where the trepang was cooked on the beach in large iron pots, with activity especially picking up around 1800.^[4]

The group and island were named in 1819 by Phillip Parker King, after Sir Graham Moore, who held a seat of the board of the English Admiralty Board.^[2]

A LORAN radar site was established on the north west corner of the island during World War II by American and Australian forces. The site consisted of a radar building, radio building, a powerhouse and a campsite. The concrete pad for the main building are all that remain today.^[5]

There were unsuccessful attempts at cotton farming on the island.^[4]

The island once supported a population of feral pigs, but by 2009 they had died out, apparently from the only fresh water source becoming saline following erosion from a cyclone.^[2]

Related Research Articles

The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, and on the east by the Northern Territory.

Makassar people from the region of Sulawesi in Indonesia began visiting the coast of Northern Australia sometime around the middle of the 18th century, first in the Kimberley region, and some decades later in Arnhem Land. They were men who collected and processed trepang, a marine invertebrate prized for its culinary value generally and for its supposed medicinal properties in Chinese markets. The term Makassan is generally used to apply to all the trepangers who came to Australia.

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The Wunambal language, also known as Northern Worrorran, Gambera or Gaambera, is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language of Western Australia. It has several dialects, including Yiiji, Gunin, Miwa, and Wilawila. It is spoken by the Wunambal people.

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Drysdale River Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Western Australia.

The Islands of the Kimberley are a group of over 2,500 islands lying off the coast of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The islands extend from the Western Australia–Northern Territory border in the east to just north of Broome in the west.

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Sir Graham Moore Islands may refer to:

The Sir Graham Moore Islands are located off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia.

Troughton Island is an island located off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north-west of Kalumburu and 45 kilometres (28 mi) north-west of the Mungalalu Truscott Airbase. Troughton Island is used as a helicopter base for the Timor Sea oil rigs approximately 500 kilometres (300 mi) west of Darwin.

Coronation Island, also known as Garlinju, is located off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. It encompasses an area of 3,817 hectares. It is located off Port Nelson in the Bonaparte Archipelago, as a part of the group of islands known as the Coronation Islands, which were named by Philip Parker King, the first European to visit the islands in 1820, after the anniversary of the coronation of George III, who had died in January of that year.

Hidden Island, known to the traditional owners as Banggoon, is an uninhabited island located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

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The Yeidji, also spelt Yiiji and other variants, commonly known as Gwini or Kwini, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of Western Australia, who also self-identify as Balanggarra.

The Wunambal (Unambal), also known as Wunambal Gaambera, Uunguu, and other names, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the northern Kimberley region of Western Australia.

References

↑ Niiwalarra Islands (Sir Graham Moore Islands) National Park and Lesueur Island Nature Reserve : Joint management plan 2019, 2019, p. 2
1 2 3 "Status Performance Assessment: Biodiversity conservation of Western Australian Islands" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
1 2 T. Vigilante; et al. (2013). "Biodiversity values on selected Kimberley Islands, Australia" (PDF). Western Australian Museum . Retrieved 10 August 2014.
1 2 3 Parke, Erin (18 July 2021). "New study reveals history of Aboriginal trade with foreign visitors before British settlement". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 2 August 2021.
↑ "Loran Radar Station, Kalumburu, WA, Australia". Australian Heritage Database. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

13°53′23″S126°32′58″E / 13.8896°S 126.5494°E / -13.8896; 126.5494

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[1] Niiwalarra Islands (Sir Graham Moore Islands) National Park and Lesueur Island Nature Reserve : Joint management plan 2019, 2019, p. 2

[SPA-2] 1 2 3 "Status Performance Assessment: Biodiversity conservation of Western Australian Islands" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2014.

[Country-3] 1 2 T. Vigilante; et al. (2013). "Biodiversity values on selected Kimberley Islands, Australia" (PDF). Western Australian Museum . Retrieved 10 August 2014.

[Parke_2021-4] 1 2 3 Parke, Erin (18 July 2021). "New study reveals history of Aboriginal trade with foreign visitors before British settlement". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[5] "Loran Radar Station, Kalumburu, WA, Australia". Australian Heritage Database. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

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