Everything about Cape Leeuwin totally explained
Cape Leeuwin (— ) is the most south-westerly mainland point of the
Australian Continent, in the state of
Western Australia.
A few small islands and rocks, the
Saint Allouarn Islands, extend further to the south. The nearest settlement, north of the cape, is
Augusta.
In
Australia, the Cape is considered the point where the
Indian Ocean meets the
Southern Ocean; however, the
International Hydrographic Organization's definition places the northern limit of the Southern Ocean much farther south.
Use of name
Cape Leeuwin is often grouped with the next headland north,
Cape Naturaliste, to identify the geography and ecology of the region. One example is in the name
Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. Another is in the use of the phrases
Cape to Cape or
the Capes in tourist promotional materials.
The
Royal Australian Navy's Leeuwin class survey vessel HMAS Leeuwin is named after the cape.
History
The first ship known to have visited the area is the
Leeuwin, a Dutch galleon that charted some of the nearby coastline in 1622. Unfortunately the Leeuwin's log book has been lost, so very little is known of the voyage. However, the land discovered by the
Leeuwin is recorded in
Hessel Gerritsz' 1627
Caert van't Landt van d'Eendracht (
Chart of the Land of Eendracht), which appears to show the coast between present-day
Hamelin Bay and
Point D’Entrecasteaux. Cape Leeuwin itself can't be recognised, however.
The first known sighting of the cape was by
Bruni d'Entrecasteaux in 1791. D'Entrecasteaux thought the cape was an island, and accordingly named it
Isle St Allouarn ("Isle of St Allouarn"), in honour of
Francois de St Allouarn. Ten years later,
Matthew Flinders visited the area, concluding that the
Isle St Allouarn was in fact a cape: There are in fact a series of islands at the tip of Cape Leeuwin, and these retain the name
Saint Allouarn Islands. Flinders name was retained for the cape itself. Flinders didn't give an explicit etymology for the name, but he was aware that the coastline was known to the Dutch as "Leeuwin's Land", and it's presumed that the name is a reference to this.
Other explorers to sight the cape before the area was settled in 1830 include
Lighthouse
Located on headland of the cape is the Cape Leeuwin
Lighthouse and the buildings that were used by the lighthouse keepers. Opened with great ceremony by
John Forrest in 1895, the lighthouse has since been automated. The lighthouse, besides being a navigational aid, serves as an important
automatic weather station. The lighthouse's buildings and grounds are now vested in the local tourism body and the single (
1960s) and double (
1980s) communications towers that were north-west of the lighthouse, seen in older photographs of Cape Leeuwin, have been removed.
The nearest functioning lighthouse north of Cape Leeuwin is the much smaller Cape Hamelin lighthouse, just south of the
Hamelin Bay camping area.
National Park
The hillside to the north of the lighthouse, and the land nearby is now part of
Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. It has extensive heath vegetation and thick scrub which supports a very high number of plant species and also bird species that utilise this habitat.
The bay just east of Cape Leeuwin is
Flinders Bay, named after
Matthew Flinders, the circumnavigating explorer of the early
1800s.
Wrecks
Shipwrecks within sight of this location include the
SS Pericles an Iron Screw steamer built in
Belfast in
Northern Ireland, which sank after hitting an uncharted rock on a clear calm day in 1906. The wreck was found by
Tom Snider in 1957 at - 34º 25. 33'S 115º 08.24'E. He dived on the wreck to recover the lead that was being carried by the ship.
Some shipwrecks are identified as being within the vicinity of Augusta, Cape Leeuwin or Hamelin Bay that might not be within visual distance of the lighthouse.
International Lighthouse Day 2004
Was celebrated at Cape Leeuwin
http://www.lighthouse.net.au/lights/Bulletin/0410/Bulletin%20Oct%2004.htm#CapeLeeuwinFurther Information
Get more info on 'Cape Leeuwin'.
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