70-539: The Walsh River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland , Australia. The headwaters of the river rise in the locality of Watsonville on the Atherton Tableland approximately 9.6 kilometres (6 mi) north of Herberton and then flow in a westerly direction then turning north past Mount Masterton and then veering west again near Tabacum. It crosses and then runs parallel to
140-460: A complex mosaic of intact tropical rainforests, tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannahs, shrublands, heath lands , wetlands, wild rivers and mangrove swamps. The savannah woodlands consist typically of a tall dense grass layer and varying densities of trees, predominantly eucalypt of which the most common is Darwin stringybark ( Eucalyptus tetrodonta ). These various habitats are home to about 3300 species of flowering plants and almost
210-668: A concrete slab on a concrete footing with a bronze commemorative plaque on its eastern face. In 2011 the Angkamuthi Seven Rivers, the McDonnell Atampaya and the Gudang / Yadhaigana groups made an application for native title determination over the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council and Cook Shire areas, covering an area of approximately 685,642 hectares (1,694,260 acres). The determination
280-839: A disproportionately high biodiversity including flora of Gondwanan and New Guinean origin, the rainforests are of high conservation significance. The largest contiguous rainforest area on the peninsula occurs in the McIllwraith Range- Iron Range area. The Gondwanan flora of this area includes Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae conifers and Arthrochilus , Corybas , and Calochilus orchids. In all, this rainforest contains at least 1000 different plants, including 100 rare or threatened species, and 16% of Australia's orchid species. On poor, dry soils tropical heathlands can be found. Northeast Cape York Peninsula supports Australia's largest areas of this highly diverse ecosystem. The extensive wetlands on Cape York Peninsula are "among
350-489: A large percentage (~60%) are Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders . The administrative and commercial centre for much of Cape York Peninsula is Cooktown , located in its far southeastern corner while the peninsula's largest settlement is the mining town Weipa on the Gulf of Carpentaria. The remainder is extremely sparsely populated, with about half the population living in very small settlements and cattle ranches. Along
420-405: A low-lying land link. Another link existed between Arnhem Land and New Guinea, at times enclosing an enormous freshwater lake (Lake Carpentaria) in the centre of what is now the Gulf of Carpentaria. Australia and New Guinea remained connected in this way until the shallow Torres Strait was last flooded around 8,000 years ago. Today the peninsula has a population of only about 18,000, of which
490-531: A multitude of Australian Aboriginal sign languages . Some of these languages are being acquired by children or are spoken by all generations in remote communities. Most Wik languages are being quickly absorbed by Wik-Mungkan , which seems to be the only aboriginal language on the peninsula that is developing very quickly, as it is the second language of the Wikalkan , Wik-Ngathana , and Wikngenchera . Djagaraga (also known as Yadhaigana, Dyagaraga and Yagulleone)
560-686: A native title claim that was lodged seven years prior. The landmark ruling was delivered by Justice Debra Mortimer of the Federal Court of Australia , sitting at the Supreme Court of Queensland in Cairns . In December 2022 the Federal Court recognised the native title claims for the Kaurareg , Kulkulgal , Kemer Kemer Meriam , Ankamuthi , and Gudang / Yadhaykenu peoples. Cape York Peninsula supports
630-710: A rescue party to the other two who had been unable to continue. The tip of the peninsula (Cape York) was finally reached by Europeans in 1864 when the brothers Francis Lascelles (Frank) and Alexander William Jardine , along with eight companions, drove a mob of cattle from Rockhampton to the new settlement of Somerset (on Cape York) where the Jardines' father was commander. En route they lost most of their horses, many of their stores and fought pitched battles with Aboriginal people, finally arriving in March 1865. The first known contact between European and Aboriginal people occurred on
700-597: A result, from its geological history, "the flora and fauna of Cape York Peninsula are a complex mixture of Gondwanan relics, Australian isolationists and Asian or New Guinean invaders" (p. 41). Birds of the peninsula include buff-breasted buttonquail ( Turnix olivii ), golden-shouldered parrot ( Psephotus chrysopterygius ), lovely fairywren ( Malurus amabilis ), white-streaked honeyeater ( Trichodere cockerelli ), and yellow-spotted honeyeater ( Meliphaga notata ) while some such as pied oystercatcher are found in other parts of Australia but have important populations on
770-525: A station at Cape York and to support a civil establishment there. On 27 August 1862, Bowen left Brisbane on HMS Pioneer to select an eligible site for the proposed settlement. The chosen site, opposite Albany Island , was named Somerset, in honour of the First Lord of the Admiralty , Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset . Tenders were called for the construction of government buildings in March 1863,
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#1732852075169840-596: A town survey was undertaken in July 1864 and the Town Reserve of Somerset was established on 8 July 1864. The first Somerset land sale was held in Brisbane on 4 April 1865 and a second sale took place on 2 May 1866. Land parcels sold at these auctions were about one acre (0.405 a) in size. In February 1864, John Jardine (1807–74) was appointed Somerset's first Police Magistrate and Commissioner of Crown Lands and in July 1864 he
910-403: Is 10.1 kilometres (6.3 mi) south-east of the town of Bamaga to the west of the locality of Somerset. There are relatively few roads in the locality: There is very limited land use within the locality. The locality has many coastal features, some on the mainland and others on the islands. The northern coast of the locality is comprised on headlands and beaches, while the southern coast
980-524: Is an Australian Aboriginal language from the tip of Cape York. The language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council . Traditionally the language was spoken on Eastern Cape York particularly in the localities of Albany Island and Mount Adolphus Island . Linngithigh (also known as Winda Winda and Linginiti) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by
1050-662: Is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Western Cape York in the Weipa area taking in Albatross Bay and Mission River . The language region includes areas within the local government boundaries of Weipa Town Council and Cook Shire . Uradhi (also known as Anggamudi, Ankamuti, Atampaya, Bawtjathi, and Lotiga) is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Western Cape York Peninsula. The traditional language region includes north of Mapoon and Duyfken Point and east of
1120-613: Is an Australian Aboriginal language. Its traditional language region is in Western Cape York within the local government areas of Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama and Shire of Cook , in the catchments of the Coleman River and Mitchell River . Following the removal of Aboriginal people from their traditional lands, it is also spoken in Pormpuraaw and Kowanyama . Kuuku Ya'u (also known as Gugu Yau, Yao, Ya'o, Koko Ya'o and Koka-yao)
1190-507: Is an Australian Aboriginal language. The traditional language area of Kuuku Ya'u includes landscape within the local government boundaries of the Cook Shire : Eastern Cape York, Uu'ungun south to Claudie River and hinterland. Kuuk Thaayorre (also known as Koko-Daiyuri, Kuku Yak, Thayorre, and used as a generic name for several related languages/dialects) is an Australian Aboriginal Language spoken on Western Cape York Peninsula, particularly in
1260-469: Is apparent today (classified in USDA soil taxonomy as orthents ). It is because of this extraordinary soil poverty that the region is so thinly settled: the soils are so unworkable and unresponsive to fertilisers that attempts to grow commercial crops have usually failed. The climate on Cape York Peninsula is tropical savanna in the south, with a heavy monsoon season from November to April, during which time
1330-558: Is bordered by water on three sides (north, east and west). There is no clear demarcation to the south, although the official boundary in the Cape York Peninsula Heritage Act 2007 of Queensland runs along at about 16°S latitude. At the peninsula's widest point, it is 430 km (270 mi) from the Bloomfield River in the southeast, across to the west coast just south of the aboriginal community of Kowanyama . It
1400-591: Is currently poised to protect 13 of Cape York Peninsula's wild rivers under the Wild Rivers Act 2005. The peninsula is formed from the northern part of the Great Dividing Range, folded during the Carboniferous period some 300 million years ago, when Australia collided with what is now parts of South America and New Zealand. The range has experienced significant erosion since. Around 40 million years ago,
1470-497: Is high, ranging from over 2,000 mm (79 in) in the Iron Range and north of Weipa to about 700 mm (28 in) at the southern border. Almost all this rain falls between November and April, and only on the eastern slopes of the Iron Range is the median rainfall between June and September above 5 mm (0.2 in). Between January and March, however, the median monthly rainfall ranges from about 170 mm (7 in) in
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#17328520751691540-438: Is marshland without many features. On the mainland (clockwise from north): Albany Passage ( 10°44′21″S 142°36′00″E / 10.7391°S 142.6°E / -10.7391; 142.6 ( Albany Passage ) ) separates the mainland from Albany Island ( 10°43′47″S 142°36′19″E / 10.7298°S 142.6053°E / -10.7298; 142.6053 ( Albany Island ) ). The island has
1610-645: Is part of the much larger Mitchell River catchment that has a total area of 71,670 square kilometres (27,672 sq mi), Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland , Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia. The land is mostly flat and about half of the area is used for grazing cattle . The relatively undisturbed eucalyptus -wooded savannahs , tropical rainforests and other types of habitat are now recognised and preserved for their global environmental significance. Although much of
1680-525: Is some 660 km (410 mi) from the southern border of Cook Shire, to the tip of Cape York. At the tip of the peninsula lies Cape York, the northernmost point on the Australian mainland. It was named by Lieutenant James Cook on 21 August 1770 in honour of Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany , a brother of King George III of the United Kingdom , who had died three years earlier: The point of
1750-579: The Duyfken was the first European to land in Australia, reaching the Cape York Peninsula. In February 1606, Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon landed near the site of what is now Weipa , on the western shore of Cape York Peninsula. This was the first recorded landing of a European in Australia, and it also marked the first reported contact between European and Aboriginal Australian people. Edmund Kennedy
1820-753: The Indo-Australian tectonic plate began to split apart from the ancient supercontinent Gondwana . As it collided with the Pacific Plate on its northward journey, the high mountain ranges of central New Guinea emerged around 5 million years ago. In the lee of this collision zone, the ancient rock formations of what is now Cape York Peninsula remained largely undisturbed. Throughout the Pleistocene epoch Australia and New Guinea were alternately land-linked and separated by water. During periods of glaciation and resulting low sea levels, Cape York Peninsula provided
1890-572: The McIlwraith Range on the eastern side around Coen . The backbone of Cape York Peninsula is the peninsula ridge, part of Australia's Great Dividing Range . This mountain range is made up of ancient (1.5 billion-year-old) Precambrian and Palaeozoic rocks. To the east and west of the peninsula ridge lie the Carpentaria and Laura Basins, respectively, themselves made up of ancient Mesozoic sediments. There are several outstanding landforms on
1960-528: The Queensland Government , Archibald Meston estimated that in the 1870s the Indigenous population between Newcastle Bay ( 10°53′09″S 142°36′05″E / 10.8857°S 142.6014°E / -10.8857; 142.6014 ( Newcastle Bay ) ) and Cape York was around 3000. At the time of writing his report, he believed that the population had fallen to around 300. This rapid decline
2030-579: The Shire of Torres and the Northern Peninsula Area Region , Queensland , Australia. In the 2021 census , Somerset had "no people or a very low population". Somerset is the northernmost locality on the Cape York Peninsula and also of the Queensland mainland with Cape York at the northernmost point. It is not the northernmost locality in Queensland, as there are numerous island localities to
2100-507: The dry season , those rivers are reduced to a series of waterholes and sandy beds. Yet, with the arrival of torrential rains in the wet season , they swell to mighty waterways, spreading across extensive floodplains and coastal wetlands and giving life to a vast array of freshwater and wetland species. On the Eastern slopes, the shorter, faster-flowing Jacky Jacky Creek, Olive, Pascoe, Lockhart, Stewart, Jeannie and Endeavour Rivers flow towards
2170-510: The 'York Peninsula' is adapted for pastoral occupation, whilst its success in taking the first stock overland, and forming a cattle station at Newcastle Bay, has ensured to the Settlement at Somerset a necessary and welcome supply of fresh meat...". The Jardine River was named after them by order of Governor Bowen . For their pioneering exploratory efforts the Jardine brothers were made Fellows of
Walsh River - Misplaced Pages Continue
2240-918: The Coral Sea, providing important freshwater and nutrients to the healthiest section of the Great Barrier Reef . On their way, those wild, undisturbed rivers are lined with dense rainforests, sand dunes or mangroves. The floodplains of the Laura Basin, which are protected in the Rinyirru and Jack River National Parks, are crossed by the Morehead, Hann, North Kennedy, Laura, Jack and Normanby Rivers. The Peninsula's river catchments are noted for their exceptional hydrological integrity. With little disturbance on both water flows and vegetation cover throughout entire catchments, Cape York Peninsula has been identified as one of
2310-608: The Linngithigh people. The Linngithigh language region includes landscape within the local government boundaries of the Cook Shire Council : Western Cape York, Winda Winda Creek, Mission River , and Archer River . Luthigh (also known as Lotiga, Tepiti and Uradhi, see also Uradhi related languages) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Luthigh people. The traditional language area for Luthigh includes landscape within
2380-704: The Main, which forms one side of the Passage before mentioned, and which is the Northern Promontory of this Country, I have named York Cape, in honour of his late Royal Highness, the Duke of York. The tropical landscapes are among the most stable in the world. Long undisturbed by tectonic activity, the peninsula is an extremely eroded, almost level low plain dominated by meandering rivers and vast floodplains , with some very low hills rising to 800 m (2,600 ft) elevation in
2450-675: The Mareeba-Dimbulah Road then under Mount White and past Fumar and Dimbulah and through the Featherstone Range. It then flows to the north west crossing the Burke Developmental Road and eventually discharges into the Mitchell River of which it is a tributary on the boundary of the localities of Gamboola and Wrotham . The drainage sub-basin occupies an area of 8,958 square kilometres (3,459 sq mi), and
2520-641: The Royal Geographical Society and awarded the Society's Murchison Award in 1886. Frank Jardine was appointed as a Magistrate in December 1867 and as Police Magistrate and Inspector of Police at Somerset in April 1868. In 1869 he held the positions of District Registrar for Somerset, Police Magistrate, Clerk of Petty Sessions, Inspector of Police and Postmaster. He married Samoan woman, Sana Sofala, in 1873 and
2590-543: The Tip. With its separation from New South Wales on 10 December 1859, the new colony of Queensland acquired over 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) of coastline extending as far north as Cape York Peninsula . The colony's first parliament passed a resolution in 1860 favouring direct connection with England via the Torres Strait . In December 1861, Sir George Ferguson Bowen (1821–99), Governor of Queensland (1859–67), described
2660-631: The adventurous, but rewarding, drive to the tip of Cape York, the northernmost point of mainland Australia. Some of the world's most extensive and ancient Aboriginal rock painting galleries surround the town of Laura, some of which are available for public viewing. There is also a new interpretive centre from which information on the rock art and local culture is available and tours can be arranged. Over 30 Aboriginal languages are spoken on Cape York Peninsula, including Linngithigh , Umpila , Wik Mungkan , Wik-Me'nh , Wik-Ngathan , Kugu Nganhcara , Guugu Yalandji , Guugu Yimithirr , Kuuk Thaayorre and
2730-521: The area around Pormpuraaw ( Edward River ). The Thaayorre language region includes the landscape within Pormpuraaw Community Council and the Cook Shire Council . Kugu Yi'anh is a language of Cape York. The traditional language area of Kugu Yi'anh includes areas within Cape York. Kugu Nganhcara (also known as Wik, Wiknantjara, Wik Nganychara, Wik Ngencherr) is a traditional language of
2800-419: The area which includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Cook Shire . Kugu Muminh (also known as Kuku-Muminh) is one of the traditional languages which includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Cook Shire . Kunjen (also known as Koko Wanggara, Ngundjan and Olkola) is a language of Western Cape York. The Kunjen language region includes the landscape within
2870-658: The coast strip to the north of Port Musgrave (Angkamuthi country) incorporating the mouth of the Ducie River , the lower reaches of the Dulhunty River and the upper reaches of the Skardon River in the north. Following the displacement of Indigenous people by British settlement, it was also spoken in the Northern Peninsula Area Region including the communities of New Mapoon , Injinoo and Cowal Creek . Yir Yiront (also known as Yiront, Jirjoront, Yir-yiront, and Kokomindjan)
Walsh River - Misplaced Pages Continue
2940-463: The couple had four children: Alice Maule Lascelles, Hew Cholmondeley (Chum), Bootle Arthur Lascelles (Bertie) and Elizabeth Sana Hamilton. Frank Jardine's tenure as a government officer in Somerset was not without controversy. The local Indigenous population was dispossessed and there was hostility between them and the Jardine family, both during Frank and Alick Jardine's expedition to Somerset, and during
3010-414: The entire area of Cape York Peninsula (99.6%) still retains its native vegetation and is little fragmented. Although abundant and fully functioning on the peninsula, tropical savannahs are now rare and highly degraded in other parts of the world. Cape York Peninsula also contains one of the highest rates of endemism in Australia, with more than 260 endemic plant species found so far. Therefore, parts of
3080-535: The few places where tropical water cycles remain essentially intact. Cape York Peninsula contributes as much as a quarter of Australia's surface runoff . Indeed, with only about 2.7 percent of Australia's land area, it produces more run-off than all of Australia south of the Tropic of Capricorn . Tapping those heavy tropical rainfalls, the peninsula's rivers are also of particular importance for replenishing central Australia's Great Artesian Basin . The Queensland Government
3150-544: The following coastal features (clockwise from north): Although not within the locality, the Adolphus Channel separates the mainland from Mount Adolphus Island , also known as Mori ( 10°38′12″S 142°39′06″E / 10.6368°S 142.6516°E / -10.6368; 142.6516 ( Mount Adolphus Island (Mori) ) ). Somerset has the following mountains: Several Indigenous groups occupied this region prior to European contact. In an 1896 report to
3220-405: The forest becomes almost uninhabitable, and a dry season from May to October. The temperature is warm to hot, with a cooler climate in higher areas. The mean annual temperatures range from 18 °C (64 °F) at higher elevations to 27 °C (81 °F) on the lowlands in the drier southwest. Temperatures over 40 °C (104 °F) and below 5 °C (41 °F) are rare. Annual rainfall
3290-798: The largest, richest and most diverse in Australia". 19 wetlands of national significance have been identified, mostly on the large floodplains and in coastal areas. Important wetlands include the Apudthama Complex , Rinyirru systems and the estuaries of the great rivers of the western plains. Many of these wetlands come into existence only during the wet season and support rare or uncommon plant communities. The peninsula's coastal areas and river estuaries are lined with mangrove forests of kwila and other trees. Australia's largest mangrove forest can be found at Newcastle Bay. The peninsula harbours an extraordinary biodiversity , with more than 700 vertebrate land animal species of which 40 are endemic. As
3360-495: The local government boundaries of Kowanyama Community Council and Cook Shire Council . The Cape York Land Council, established in 1990 as a land council , has fought for native title rights, and has won such rights over 45% per cent of the region by around 2018. On 25 November 2021, 2,188 km (845 sq mi) of land on the eastern side of the peninsula were handed back to the Kuuku Ya'u and Uutaalnganu peoples, in
3430-508: The local government boundaries of the Cook Shire : Eastern Cape York, Ducie River , Northern Peninsula , New Mapoon , Injinoo , and Cowal Creek . Teppathiggi (also known Tepithiki and Teyepathiggi) is an Australian Aboriginal language of Western Cape York, Middle Dulcie River, Lower Batavia River, Ducie River , and Mapoon . The language region includes areas within the local government boundaries of Cook Shire Council . Thaynakwith (also known as Awngthim, Tainikuit and Winduwinda)
3500-435: The mainland are at Bamaga and Seisia . A completely sealed inland road links Cairns and the Atherton Tableland to Lakeland and Cooktown. The road north of Lakeland Downs to the tip of the peninsula is sometimes cut after heavy rains during the wet season (roughly December to May). The peninsula is a popular tourist destination in the dry season for camping, hiking, bird watching and fishing enthusiasts. Many people make
3570-480: The most degraded, treacherous and bloodthirsty beings in existence by the present Police Magistrate, and those whose only idea is to shoot them down whenever they were seen". Gudang (Gootung) is one of the languages of the tip of Cape York. The Gudang language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council, particularly the localities of Somerset, Albany Passage and Newcastle Bay extending north to
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#17328520751693640-532: The necessity for a station in the far north of Queensland. From a naval and military point of view, a post at or near Cape York would be valuable, due to the establishment of a French colony and naval station in New Caledonia . Bowen informed Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle , Secretary of State for the Colonies , that the government of Queensland would be willing to undertake the formation and management of
3710-419: The north in the Torres Strait . The Great Dividing Range commences just south of Cape York and extends through to Victoria . The Northern Peninsula Airport is in the south of the locality ( 10°56′41″S 142°27′11″E / 10.9447°S 142.4530°E / -10.9447; 142.4530 ( Bamaga Airfield ) ). It is operated by the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council . It
3780-421: The peninsula developmental road, there are small service centres at Lakeland , Laura and Coen . About 30 km (19 mi) offshore north of the tip of Cape York, there is a sizeable service centre on nearby Thursday Island . Aboriginal communities are at Hopevale , Pormpuraaw, Kowanyama, Aurukun, Lockhart River , Napranum, Mapoon, Injinoo , New Mapoon and Umagico . Torres Strait Islander communities on
3850-524: The peninsula have been noted for their exceptionally high wilderness quality. The flora of the peninsula includes original Gondwanan species, plants that have emerged since the breakup of Gondwana and species from Indomalaya and from across the Torres Strait in New Guinea with the most variety being found in the rainforest areas. Most of the Cape York Peninsula is drier than nearby New Guinea which limits
3920-414: The peninsula remains pristine, with a diverse repertoire of endemic flora and fauna , some of its wildlife may be threatened by industry and overgrazing as well as introduced species and weeds. The northernmost point of the peninsula is Cape York . The land has been occupied by a number of Aboriginal Australian peoples for tens of thousands of years. In 1606, Dutch sailor Willem Janszoon on board
3990-408: The peninsula. The peninsula is also home to the eastern brown snake , one of the world's most venomous snakes. Mammals include the rodent Cape York melomys , related to the extinct Bramble Cay melomys , which was found only on Bramble Cay in the Torres Strait and confirmed extinct in 2016. Somerset, Queensland Download coordinates as: Somerset is a coastal locality split between
4060-486: The peninsula: the large expanses of undisturbed dunefields at the eastern coast around Shelburne Bay and Cape Bedford-Cape Flattery, the huge piles of black granite boulders at Kalkajaka National Park and Cape Melville , and the limestone karsts around Palmerston in the peninsula's far south. The soils are remarkably infertile even compared to other areas of Australia, being almost entirely laterised and in most cases so old and weathered that very little development
4130-458: The police residence until his death there in March 1919. During this time, Jardine continued to maintain a beef cattle herd; was engaged in the pearling industry; and created a coconut/copra plantation at Somerset. Due to Somerset's isolated location the Jardine family provided assistance and hospitality to travellers and seafarers, for example, Jardine aided the survivors of the shipwreck of RMS Quetta in 1890. The pearl diving industry
4200-507: The present town of Cardwell in May 1848, and it turned out to be one of the great disasters of Australian exploration. Of the thirteen men who set out, only three survived. The others died of fever or starvation, or were speared by hostile Aboriginal people. Kennedy died of spear wounds almost within sight of his destination in December 1848. The only survivor to complete the journey was Jackey Jackey , an Aboriginal man from New South Wales . He led
4270-455: The rainforest plants of that island from migrating across to Australia. Tropical rainforests cover an area of 748,000 ha (1,850,000 acres), or 5.6 percent of the total land area of Cape York Peninsula. Rainforests depend on some level of rainfall throughout the long dry season, climatic conditions that are mostly found on the eastern slopes of the peninsula's coastal ranges. Being almost exclusively untouched, old-growth forests and supporting
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#17328520751694340-450: The south to over 500 mm (20 in) in the north and on the Iron Range. The Peninsula Ridge forms the drainage divide between the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Coral Sea. To the west, a series of large, winding river systems including the Mitchell , Staaten , Coleman, Holroyd, Archer, Watson, Wenlock, Ducie and Jardine catchments empty their waters into the Gulf of Carpentaria. During
4410-519: The west coast of the peninsula in 1606, but it was not settled by Europeans until the 19th century when fishing communities, then stations and later mining towns were established. European settlement led to the displacement of Aboriginal communities and the arrival of Torres Strait Islanders on the mainland. The west coast borders the Gulf of Carpentaria and the east coast borders the Coral Sea . The peninsula
4480-414: The years of the settlement. Jardine was also suspended for a time from his duties as Police Magistrate whilst being investigated in relation to using his position to obtain a pearl diving licence. Somerset became redundant as a port once a safer shipping route to the Torres Strait was found and a settlement on Thursday Island was built from 1876. Frank Jardine continued to live at Somerset, maintaining
4550-634: Was appointed District Registrar for the District of North Cook. An early sketch of Somerset by Jardine shows the Government Residence, Police Magistrate's House and Customs House on the southern side of Somerset Bay, and Marines' Barracks and the Medical Superintendent's House on the northern side. Henry Simpson succeeded Jardine as Police Magistrate in 1866. The Marines were withdrawn in 1867 and replaced with Native Police . John Jardine
4620-557: Was caused by a number of factors, including introduced disease, exclusions from traditional hunting grounds and frontier violence . Reverend Frederick Charles Jagg, a missionary at Somerset appointed by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel , gave an indication of the relationship between European and Indigenous peoples when he reported in 1867 that "The aborigines have been described as
4690-476: Was handed down on 30 October 2014. In the 2011 census , Somerset had "no people or a very low population". In the 2016 census , Somerset had "no people or a very low population". In the 2021 census , Somerset had "no people or a very low population". There is an historical ruin of Somerset homestead, a station established by John Jardine (father of Frank Jardine ) in 1863 and is 35 km north of Bamaga on Cape York in Queensland , Australia . It
4760-504: Was important to the Queensland economy, and came to be dominated by Japanese divers after 1891. Kobori Itchimatsu came from the village of Nishi Mukai in Wakayama prefecture , an area that provided 80 per cent of the 7,000 Japanese who left their country to become pearl divers. The Kennedy Memorial Monument was unveiled on 13 December 1948 in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Edmund Besley Court Kennedy's unsuccessful exploration of Cape York Peninsula. The monument comprises
4830-484: Was the father of Francis (Frank) Lascelles Jardine (1841-1919) and Alexander (Alick) William Jardine (1843-1920) who, between May 1864 and March 1865, undertook an overland expedition from Rockhampton to Cape York which was described at the time as, geographically: "solving the question of the course of the northern rivers emptying into the Gulf of Carpentaria of which nothing was known but their outlets. It has also made known...how much ... or rather, how little, of
4900-413: Was the first European explorer to attempt an overland expedition of Cape York Peninsula. He had been second-in-command to Thomas Livingstone Mitchell in 1846 when the Barcoo River was encountered. The aim was to establish a route to the tip of the peninsula, where Sydney businessmen were attempting development of a port for trade with the East Indies . The expedition set out from Rockingham Bay near
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