What is Barrow Island used for?
The island was used as a slave trading centre for Aboriginal Australians during the 1870s by Captain William Cadell until he was arrested and removed from the colony in 1876. Slave labour was used in the nearby mainland pearling industry. Guano was found on the island and mining began in 1883.
Can you live on Barrow Island?
Passing sailors or fishermen are not permitted to weigh anchor and stretch their legs for fear of bringing invasive species ashore in their boardshorts and eskies. Local police confirmed that Barrow is off-limits to all Australians, except for the 3000 FIFO workers who live in a closely monitored world of no-go zones.
How far is Barrow Island from the mainland of Australia?
The Barrow Island oil field lies beneath Barrow Island, located around 60 kilometres off the northwest coast of Western Australia, about 88 kilometres north of Onslow in the Carnarvon Basin.
What is the population of Barrow Island?
Ashburton, Western Australia Barrow Island has a recorded population of 1965 residents and is within the Australian Western Standard Time zone Australia/Perth.
What animals live on Barrow Island?
Barrow Island hosts 43 species of terrestrial reptiles comprising dragons (three species), legless lizards (five species), geckos (five species), skinks (19 species), blind snakes (three species), monitors (three species), venomous and non-venomous snakes (five species) and one frog species.
How has Barrow Island been studied?
The potential of Barrow Island as an oil reservoir was recognised in 1954 and extensive geological and seismic surveys commenced after the area was reopened in 1963, post atomic testing in the Montebellos. The first well was drilled in May 1964 and oil was produced soon after.
What does Barrow Island look like?
Barrow Island is characterized by its aridity and by its grass- and bush-covered sand hills, which rise steeply to heights of 270 feet (80 m). Once a turtle fishery, the island became the site of Western Australia’s first commercial oil field in 1967 and is today one of Australia’s richest oil fields.
What animals are on Barrow Island?
Are there snakes on Barrow Island?
What animals and plants can be found on Barrow Island?
Barrow Island hosts many mammal species that are now absent or rarely seen across other parts of Australia. The diversity of mammals includes large marsupials (wallabies, burrowing bettongs, bandicoots, possums), small carnivorous marsupials, native rats and mice, and microbats.
How big is Barrow Island in Australia?
/ -20.798; 115.406 Barrow Island is a 202 km 2 (78 sq mi) island 50 kilometres (31 mi) northwest off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia. The island is the second largest in Western Australia after Dirk Hartog Island.
Why is Barrow Island so important?
Due to its isolation from mainland Australia and protection afforded under its statutory status, Barrow Island is one of the most important conservation reserves in Western Australia. It is an “A-class” reserve, the highest level of conservation protection available for Crown land in Australia.
Can you visit Barrow Island by private boat?
However, you may visit the surrounding waters by private boat. The 4100 hectare park, on the western side of Barrow Island, contains Biggada Reef, one of only two significant fringing reefs in the Montebello/Barrow Island reserve system.
What is Barrow Island Marine Park?
Barrow Island Marine Park is a significant breeding and nesting area for threatened sea turtles and its waters support important coral reefs and a diversity of tropical marine animals. Barrow Island is a working oilfield and there is no public access to this important nature reserve.