Walker Island (Northern Tasmania)

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Walker Island
Walker Island Robbins Island Tasmania sign.JPG
Sign at crossing to Robbins and Walker Islands.
Relief Map of Tasmania.png
Red pog.svg
Walker Island
Location of Walker Island in the Bass Strait
Geography
Location Bass Strait
Coordinates 40°35′59″S144°55′47″E / 40.59972°S 144.92972°E / -40.59972; 144.92972
Area700 ha (1,700 acres) [1]
Administration
Australia
State Tasmania
LGA Circular Head Council
Additional information
Time zone
  Summer (DST)
Privately-owned

The Walker Island, sometimes also Walker's Island, is a 700-hectare (1,700-acre) [1] island located in Bass Strait, lying off the northwest coast of Tasmania, Australia. [2] The island, separated from the Tasmanian mainland by a highly tidal area known as Robbins Passage, [3] lies north of the adjacent Robbins Island. [4] [2]

Contents

Access to Walker Island is available via the Walker Island Airport. [5] In 1916, the Holyman family bought the island. [6]

The island, together with the adjacent Robbins Island, has been privately owned by the Hammond family since 1961. [1] They came into possession of the island after Eugene Hammond married Mary Holyman and the couple bought the island from her parents. [6] In 2016 it was reported that the Hammond family graze approximately 7,000 head of Wagyu cattle on both islands, [1] and mainland Tasmania. [7]

HMAS Riawe had her commercial origins in the Robbins and Walker Islands prior to her 1942 requisition by the Department of the Navy for duties with the Naval Auxiliary Patrol during World War II. [8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hudson, Sarah (29 November 2013). "Hammond brothers turn the tide". The Weekly Times. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Walker Island (TAS)". Gazetteer of Australia online. Geoscience Australia, Australian Government.
  3. "Scalefish Fishery Management Plan Review Information Paper" (PDF). Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery Management Plan. State Library of Tasmania. March 2004. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  4. "False Killer Whale stranding, Walker's Island, Tasmania". National Whale and Dolphin Sightings and Strandings Database. Australian Government - Department of the Environment and Water Resources. January 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  5. "Walker Island Airport". Airport Guide. 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  6. 1 2 Smith Thomas, Heather (17 May 2022). "Barnyard Basics: Robbins Island Wagyu — A unique cattle operation". Post Register. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  7. Breen, Fiona (4 October 2016). "The saltwater muster". ABC News . Australia. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  8. "Ships, Boats & Craft: HMAS Riawe". Royal Australian Navy . Australian Government. Retrieved 5 July 2017.

Further reading