Island in South Australia
St Peter Island (originally in Dutch: Eyland St. Pierre ) is an island in the Nuyts Archipelago on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia near Ceduna . It is the second largest island in South Australia and about 13 km (8.1 mi) long.[ 1] It was one of the first parts of South Australia to be discovered and named by Europeans, along with St Francis Island , mapped by François Thijssen in 't Gulden Zeepaert in 1627.
Seal hunting took place on the island in the 1820s and 1830s.[ 2] Archaeological investigations have also located whale vertebra at the site.
The historic St Peter Island Whaling Sites are listed on the South Australian Heritage Register as a designated place of archaeological significance.[ 3]
Protected area status
Statutory reserves
The island is part of the Nuyts Archipelago Conservation Park while the waters surrounding its shores are in the Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park.[ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
Non-statutory arrangements
Important Bird Area
The island is part of the Nuyts Archipelago Important Bird Area (IBA), so identified by BirdLife International because it supports over 1% of the world populations of short-tailed shearwaters , white-faced storm-petrels and pied oystercatchers .[ 7] The island lies across the Yatala Channel from the separate Tourville and Murat Bays Important Bird Area , just west of Ceduna on the mainland.[ 8]
See also
Notes