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Situated in the Indian Ocean, west of Shark Bay in the Shark Bay World Heritage Region, Dirk Hartog Island is the far western boundary of Western Australia. Dirk Hartog Island is the largest and most historically significant island in Western Australia.
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| Dirk Hartog Island History | |
Dirk Hartog Island was named after Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog, who landed there in 1616, seeking fresh water. Dirk Hartog landed 154 years before Captain Cook stepped ashore at Botany Bay.Dirk Hartog commemorated his landing by placing an inscribed pewter plate on the island, at a place known as Inscription Point. The Dirk Hartog Plate was removed in 1697 by his countryman Willem de Vlamingh and replaced with another plate. The original Dirk Hartog Plate was returned to Holland. The Vlamingh Plate is now housed n the Maritime Museum in Fremantle and a replica Dirk Hartog Plate is located on the island. Dirk Hartog Island was, for many years, Dirk Hartog Island Station ran under the stewardship of the Wardle family. Tom Wardle, later to become Sir Thomas Wardle, owned a prosperous Western Australian grocery chain in the 1960s and 1970s. Sir Tom Wardle became a very popular Lord Mayor of Perth and endowed an auditorium in the Perth Concert Hall, The Wardle Room.In recent times the Government of Western Australia has taken ownership of the majority of Dirk Hartog Island back, to become part of the Shark Bay National Park.
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No commercial flights or boats visit Dirk Hartog Island on a regular basis; but fishing off the island is regarded as one of the top ten fishing grounds in Australia.
Central Dirk Hartog Island North West WA - Western Australia
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Western Australia - Map of Dirk Hartog Island Australia
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