scribbled angelfish and the fully protected potato cod. cod. potato protected fully the and angelfish scribbled creation of Dirk Hartog Island National Park in November 2009. November in Park National Island Hartog Dirk of creation vessel to reduce the risk of rats reaching the island. the reaching rats of risk the reduce to vessel and Malgana people still regularly visit and fish its waters. waters. its fish and visit regularly still people Malgana and species. Reef fish include coral trout, blue-lined emperor, emperor, blue-lined trout, coral include fish Reef species. In 2008 major destocking efforts began in preparation for the the for preparation in began efforts destocking major 2008 In installing and checking rodent bait stations on board your your board on stations bait rodent checking and installing • There is evidence of past Aboriginal occupation of Wirruwana Wirruwana of occupation Aboriginal past of evidence is There also staghorns and massive pocillopora and pink pocillopora pocillopora pink and pocillopora massive and staghorns also about 200m from shore. While cabbage corals dominate, there are are there dominate, corals cabbage While shore. from 200m about hefty toll on the island’s small mammal population. population. mammal small island’s the on toll hefty and gearbox guard plates are free of seeds of free are plates guard gearbox and while Shark Bay is called Gutharraguda, meaning ‘two bays’. bays’. ‘two meaning Gutharraguda, called is Bay Shark while Boats can access the beach in this bay with coral communities communities coral with bay this in beach the access can Boats island’s vegetation and, combined with feral cats, exacted a a exacted cats, feral with combined and, vegetation island’s s underside, radiator, tyres, sump sump tyres, radiator, underside, s vehicle’ your sure making • Island is part of Malgana country and is known as Wirruwana, Wirruwana, as known is and country Malgana of part is Island Dirk Hartog Island. Intense grazing and trampling denuded the the denuded trampling and grazing Intense Island. Hartog Dirk language groups: Malgana, Nhanda and Yingkarta. Dirk Hartog Hartog Dirk Yingkarta. and Nhanda Malgana, groups: language going onto the barge the onto going in the early 1900s. At one stage there were 20,000 sheep on on sheep 20,000 were there stage one At 1900s. early the in Shark Bay is the traditional country of three Aboriginal Aboriginal three of country traditional the is Bay Shark brushing vegetation and soil from your vehicle before before vehicle your from soil and vegetation brushing • Louisa Bay Louisa while goats were probably brought over by lighthouse keepers keepers lighthouse by over brought probably were goats while Wirruwana small animals small Sheep were introduced to Dirk Hartog Island in the 1860s 1860s the in Island Hartog Dirk to introduced were Sheep the area. Look for the stone remains of the jetty and storehouse. and jetty the of remains stone the for Look area. the , snails or other other or snails , ants soil, of free is food fresh sure making • royalties from ships mining guano from the many small islands in in islands small many the from guano mining ships from royalties little was left of Shark Bay’s pearl beds by the 1930s. 1930s. the by beds pearl Bay’s Shark of left was little futures. containers rather than cardboard than rather containers An army garrison was set up at Quoin Bluff South in 1851 to collect collect to 1851 in South Bluff Quoin at up set was garrison army An quickly stripped bare. Pearling also began around 1850 and and 1850 around began also Pearling bare. stripped quickly as part of an ecological restoration project to secure their their secure to project restoration ecological an of part as transporting food in clean, sealed plastic or metal metal or plastic sealed clean, in food transporting • in 1850, but the industry was short-lived as the islands were were islands the as short-lived was industry the but 1850, in on the island are now locally extinct, they will be reintroduced reintroduced be will they extinct, locally now are island the on hitchhikers Guano (seabird droppings) was mined from Shark Bay’s islands islands Bay’s Shark from mined was droppings) (seabird Guano While many of the 13 native mammal species originally found found originally species mammal native 13 the of many While gear are free of soil, seeds, lizards, insects, spiders or other other or spiders insects, lizards, seeds, soil, of free are gear Settlement and industries followed these voyages of discovery. discovery. of voyages these followed industries and Settlement Quoin Bluff South Bluff Quoin Land. , clothes, packs and camping camping and packs clothes, , footwear your sure making • that were used into the 1960s. the into used were that former employers. Boats can access the beach here. beach the access can Boats employers. former ctenotus, a skink found only on the island and nearby Edel Edel nearby and island the on only found skink a ctenotus, not taking any animals or plants to the island the to plants or animals any taking not • Mangles Denham surveyed the area in 1858, producing charts charts producing 1858, in area the surveyed Denham Mangles labour, bought their own boats and started competing with their their with competing started and boats own their bought labour, the threatened western spiny-tailed skink and the Shark Bay Bay Shark the and skink spiny-tailed western threatened the Baudin in 1801–03 and Louis de Freycinet in 1818, while Henry Henry while 1818, in Freycinet de Louis and 1801–03 in Baudin and Chinese pearlers after the Chinese, who were imported as cheap cheap as imported were who Chinese, the after pearlers Chinese and When visiting, please help the ecological restoration project by: project restoration ecological the help please visiting, When Among the 48 reptile species living on Dirk Hartog Island are are Island Hartog Dirk on living species reptile 48 the Among Voyages of scientific discovery were conducted by Nicolas Nicolas by conducted were discovery scientific of Voyages In 1887 this was the scene of a confrontation between European European between confrontation a of scene the was this 1887 In (mala) and banded hare-wallaby. banded and (mala) fieldwren. fieldwren. never enacted. never species will also be brought to the island—rufous hare-wallaby hare-wallaby island—rufous the to brought be also will species southern emu-wren and the Dirk Hartog Island rufous rufous Island Hartog Dirk the and emu-wren southern the western half of New Holland for France, but his claim was was claim his but France, for Holland New of half western the desert mouse, Shark Bay mouse and heath mouse. Two other other Two mouse. heath and mouse Bay Shark mouse, desert Island black-and-white fairy-wren, the Dirk Hartog Island Island Hartog Dirk the fairy-wren, black-and-white Island Notch Point Notch In 1772 St Alouarn landed on Dirk Hartog Island and claimed claimed and Island Hartog Dirk on landed Alouarn St 1772 In chuditch, brush-tailed mulgara, dibbler, greater stick-nest rat, rat, stick-nest greater dibbler, mulgara, brush-tailed chuditch, island and home to three threatened birds—the Dirk Hartog Hartog Dirk birds—the threatened three to home and island enjoy along the island’s eastern coast. From south to north: to south From coast. eastern island’s the along enjoy mammals—the boodie, woylie, western barred bandicoot, bandicoot, barred western woylie, boodie, mammals—the At 63,000ha, Dirk Hartog Island is Western Australia’s largest largest Australia’s Western is Island Hartog Dirk 63,000ha, At in 1699. 1699. in Whether boating or four-wheel driving, there are many places to to places many are there driving, four-wheel or boating Whether removed, the project will then return 10 small native native small 10 return then will project the removed, species from Dirk Hartog Island collected by William Dampier Dampier William by collected Island Hartog Dirk from species important in the world. world. the in important After the feral cats and the remaining goats have been been have goats remaining the and cats feral the After Eastern sites Eastern The first scientific collection of Australian plants began with with began plants Australian of collection scientific first The beaches of Turtle Bay, the rookery is one of the five most most five the of one is rookery the Bay, Turtle of beaches this website. this strong signs of recovery. recovery. of signs strong breeding colony. With more than 3000 turtles nesting on the the on nesting turtles 3000 than more With colony. breeding Willem de Vlamingh. Vlamingh. de Willem barge service and lodge accommodation are also booked through through booked also are accommodation lodge and service barge have been removed and the island’s vegetation is showing showing is vegetation island’s the and removed been have Each year the island hosts Australia’s largest loggerhead turtle turtle loggerhead largest Australia’s hosts island the year Each European in Western Australia. He was followed in 1697 by by 1697 in followed was He Australia. Western in European apac.littlehotelier.com/properties/Dirk-Hartog-Island. The commercial commercial The apac.littlehotelier.com/properties/Dirk-Hartog-Island. in 1616. Since 2007, more than 10,000 goats and 5000 sheep sheep 5000 and goats 10,000 than more 2007, Since 1616. in In 1616 Dirk Hartog made the first recorded landing by a a by landing recorded first the made Hartog Dirk 1616 In history and future, and Shark Bay’s World Heritage status. status. Heritage World Bay’s Shark and future, and history page web bookings Lodge’s Island would have seen it it seen have would Recent history Recent Dirk Hartog Island is an important part of Australia’s Australia’s of part important an is Island Hartog Dirk Western barred bandicoot.