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Possession Island (Queensland)

Island of the Torres Strait Islands near Australia

Summary

Island of the Torres Strait Islands near Australia

Field	Value
name	Possession Island
native_name
sobriquet
image_name	Punsand QLD 4876, Australia - panoramio.jpg
location	Northern Australia
coordinates
area_km2	5.5
length_km
width_km
coastline_km
highest_mount
country	Australia
country_admin_divisions_title	State
country_admin_divisions	Queensland
country_admin_divisions_title_1	Shire
country_admin_divisions_1	Shire of Torres

Captain Cook raises the Union Flag on Possession Island, 22 August 1770

Possession Island (Kalaw Lagaw Ya: Bedanug or Bedhan Lag) is a small island in the Torres Strait Islands group off the coast of far northern Queensland, Australia. It is inhabited by a group of Torres Strait Islanders, the Kaurareg, though the Ankamuti were also indigenous to the island. It is within the coastal and off-shore locality of Punsand in the Shire of Torres.

Possession Island is included in Possession Island National Park, an area of 5.10 km2 which includes Eborac Island. The park was established as a Protected Area in 1977 and managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

History

James Cook's claim of possession

In 1770, the British navigator Lieutenant James Cook sailed northward along the east coast of Australia in the Endeavour, anchoring for a week at Botany Bay. Three months later, at Possession Island in Queensland, he claimed possession of the entire east coast he had explored for Britain. In his journal, Cook wrote: "I now once more hoisted English Coulers and in the Name of His Majesty King George the Third took possession of the whole Eastern Coast... by the name New South Wales, together with all the Bays, Harbours Rivers and Islands situate upon the said coast".

In 2001, the Kaurareg people successfully claimed native title rights over the island (and other nearby islands).

Commemorations of Cook

In 1857, artist John Gilfillan exhibited in Melbourne an idyllic tableau painting commemorating the annexation titled Captain Cook taking possession of the Australian continent on behalf of the British crown 1770. In 1925, a memorial to Captain Cook was erected on the north-west coast of the island ().

References

"Local History page".
{{Cite QPN. 27370. Possession Island. island in the Shire of Torres
(16 April 2020). "About - Possession Island National Park". Department of Environment and Science, Queensland.
Cook, James. "Journal of HMS Endeavour, 1769–1771". National Library of Australia, Manuscripts Collection, MS 1, 22 August 1770.
{{cite AustLII. FCA. 657. 2001. Federal Court]].
"nla.obj-135699884". Canberra.
(8 January 1925). "POSSESSION ISLAND.". [[Daily Standard (Brisbane).
"Landing of Captain James Cook on Possession Island".
"Possession Island Monument".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

islands-of-queensland

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