Coburg Peninsula
Name
The peninsula was named after Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, later known as Leopold I of Belgium, by Phillip Parker King. The French spelling of the name has been retained over the years.
Development
All of Cobourg Peninsula is part of Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, which also encompasses a few nearshore islands. Mostly a tourist attraction, it is known for its pristine wilderness. It is home to a large variety of sea life and the world's largest herd of pure-strain banteng (wild cattle). It is also renowned for its Aboriginal culture. While it is only sparsely inhabited today, it was once the site of two failed attempts at founding a major trading port on its northern shores, Fort Wellington at Raffles Bay (1827-1829) and Fort Victoria at Port Essington (1838-1849), the ruins of which are still accessible today.
Settlement
There are no notable settlements or villages on Cobourg Peninsula, just a few family outstations and other establishments along or close to the north coast, from west to east:
- Cape Don Light (lighthouse)
- Cape Don Airport (ICAO Code YCPD) (grass airfield 1800 m, opened 8 Nov 1989)
- Araru Point (Araru) (family outstation)
- Ardbinae (Adbanae, Trepang Bay) (family outstation)
- Port Essington (Victoria Settlement) (former European settlement)
- Gumuragi (Gumeragi, Reef Point) (family outstation)
- Algarlalgari (Black Point) (ranger station)
- Ngardimardi (Smith Point) (camping area)
- Gul Gul (Danger Point) (abandoned family outstation, ruins)
- Meriah (Mariah, Raffles Bay) (family outstation)
- Irgul (Irgul Point) (family outstation)
The closest village is Minjilang on Croker Island close east.
See also
References
- ^ "Cobourg Peninsula". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Cobourg Peninsula". Northern Territory Place Names Register. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "DLGH - Bushtel | West Arnhem Shire". Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
11°22′S 132°18′E / 11.367°S 132.300°E