Wilson Inlet
Encyclopedia
Wilson Inlet is an inlet
located in the Great Southern
region of Western Australia
.
The inlet receives water from the two main rivers: the Denmark River
and the Hay River
and some smaller rivers and streams such as the Sleeman River, Little River and Cuppup Creek. It is located 2 kilometres (1 mi) South East of the town of Denmark
.
The inlet is a wave
dominated estuary with an opening mouth that has a width of 100 metres (328 ft) with a bar blocking it from late January to August. The inlet is separated into two basins, the Eastern and Western basin.
The estuary is situated on a narrow coastal plain between granite
hills to the north and the west and the coastal dunes to the south. The area of the inlet is 48 square kilometres (19 sq mi) and has an average depth of 1.8 metres (6 ft) and its deepest point is 5 metres (16 ft). The inlet is 14 kilometres (9 mi) long from East to West and has a width of 4 kilometres (2 mi)
The inlet has a total catchment area of 2263 square kilometres (874 sq mi) covering parts of the Shire of Plantagenet, the Shire of Denmark
and the City of Albany
.
The inlet discharges through Nullaki Point at the Eastern end of Ocean Beach
and into Ratcliffe Bay and finally into the Southern Ocean
when the sandbar is open. The Wilson Inlet bar was last breached by the Water Corporation
in July 2008.
The low lying land adjacent to the inlet consists of swamp
s with lakes to the East. The silt
beds in the area indicate that it was of recent estuarine
origin.
The majority of the catchment is contained within the Albany-Fraser geological province with the original granite overlaid with sands and laterite deposited in the Quaternary period.
being flood
ed.
The original human inhabitants of the inlet and surrounds were Indigenous Australian people, the Noongar
. Many Aboriginal artefacts have been found in the area including fish trap
s, corroboree
sites, ochre
excavation site and campsites.
The Noongar
name for the Inlet is Koorabup which means Place of the Black Swan.
The area was discovered by Thomas Wilson
in his 1892 expedition from Albany
. The Inlet was named after Wilson by Governor Stirling
.
The first Europeans
to settle in the catchment area were Randall and Young families in the 1890s followed by timber mills be constructed in 1895. Land clearing began in the 1920s and by 1982 46% of the catchment was privately owned.
In total 44% of the cathment has been cleared and 38% remains as forest
and national park
s.
a rush
which forms a single species near the mouth of the inlet.
Melaleuca cuticularis
, a salt tolerant paperbark also fringes the inlet and follows the channels and is present in the tidal parts of the rivers.
The salt marsh is predominantly made up of Juncus kraussi
, Sarcocornia quinqueflora
, and Samolus repens
.
s are produced using the longline cultivation technique and Belon Oyster
s are also cultivated using a similar technique.
An earlier operation had attempted to commercially produce blue mussel
s in he 1970s, but the small scale raft culture was destroyed by Cyclone Alby
just prior to harvest.
Wilson Inlet is a key nursery for many juvenile
fish species especially Pink Snapper
which migrate from the Inlet to mature in the greater oceanic breeding stock. As a result of this the size of Pink Snapper that could be removed from the inlet was raised from 28 centimetres (11 in) to 41 centimetres (16 in) in July 2007.
Recreational fishing is popular within the inlet, that many species of fish inhabit including Cobbler, King George Whiting
, Tailor
, Mullet
, Salmon Trout
and Flathead
. Other fish found in the estuary include Sandy Sprat, Yellow Eye Mullet, Sea Mullet and Blue Mackerel.
Many waterbird species inhabit the inlet and its surrounds including the Silver Gull
, Australian Pelican
, Black Swan
, Little Black Cormorant
, Grey Teal
, Blue-billed Duck
, Red-necked Avocet
and the Australasian Shoveler.
Inlet
An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a sound, bay, lagoon or marsh. In sea coasts an inlet usually refers to the actual connection between a bay and the ocean and is often called an...
located in the Great Southern
Great Southern
Great Southern can refer to any of the following:*Great Southern Television, based in Auckland and Sydney.*Great Southern , a region in Western Australia.*Great Southern , the backing band for American rock guitarist Dickey Betts....
region of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
The inlet receives water from the two main rivers: the Denmark River
Denmark River
The Denmark River is located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.The river rises near Pardelup and meanders in a southerly direction until it flows through Denmark into Wilson Inlet ....
and the Hay River
Hay River (Western Australia)
The Hay River is a river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.The river is part of the Denmark catchment along with the Denmark River and the Sleeman-Cuppup River...
and some smaller rivers and streams such as the Sleeman River, Little River and Cuppup Creek. It is located 2 kilometres (1 mi) South East of the town of Denmark
Denmark, Western Australia
Denmark is a town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, south-south-east of the state capital of Perth. At the 2006 census, Denmark had a population of 2,732.-History:...
.
The inlet is a wave
Wave
In physics, a wave is a disturbance that travels through space and time, accompanied by the transfer of energy.Waves travel and the wave motion transfers energy from one point to another, often with no permanent displacement of the particles of the medium—that is, with little or no associated mass...
dominated estuary with an opening mouth that has a width of 100 metres (328 ft) with a bar blocking it from late January to August. The inlet is separated into two basins, the Eastern and Western basin.
The estuary is situated on a narrow coastal plain between granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
hills to the north and the west and the coastal dunes to the south. The area of the inlet is 48 square kilometres (19 sq mi) and has an average depth of 1.8 metres (6 ft) and its deepest point is 5 metres (16 ft). The inlet is 14 kilometres (9 mi) long from East to West and has a width of 4 kilometres (2 mi)
The inlet has a total catchment area of 2263 square kilometres (874 sq mi) covering parts of the Shire of Plantagenet, the Shire of Denmark
Shire of Denmark
The Shire of Denmark is a Local Government Area in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, about west of Albany and about south-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of Denmark....
and the City of Albany
City of Albany
The City of Albany is a Local Government Area in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, about SSE of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It covers an area of , including the Greater Albany metropolitan area and the Port of Albany, as well as the surrounding agricultural district and...
.
Ocean Beach, Western Australia
Ocean Beach is a tourist attraction located about South of the town of Denmark in Western Australia.The beach is part of Ratcliffe Bay and is surrounded to the East by the Nullaki Peninsula and a smaller granite headland, Wilson Head, to the East...
and into Ratcliffe Bay and finally into the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
when the sandbar is open. The Wilson Inlet bar was last breached by the Water Corporation
Water Corporation
-Overview:The Water Corporation is the principal supplier of water, wastewater and drainage services throughout the state of Western Australia...
in July 2008.
The low lying land adjacent to the inlet consists of swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
s with lakes to the East. The silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
beds in the area indicate that it was of recent estuarine
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
origin.
The majority of the catchment is contained within the Albany-Fraser geological province with the original granite overlaid with sands and laterite deposited in the Quaternary period.
History
The inlet was formed 6000-8000 years ago when rising sea levels lead to an ancient river valleyRiver Valley
River Valley is the name of an urban planning area within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.The River Valley Planning Area is defined by the region bounded by Orchard Boulevard, Devonshire Road and Eber Road to the north, Oxley Rise and Mohamed Sultan Road to the east, Martin...
being flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ed.
The original human inhabitants of the inlet and surrounds were Indigenous Australian people, the Noongar
Noongar
The Noongar are an indigenous Australian people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast...
. Many Aboriginal artefacts have been found in the area including fish trap
Fish trap
A fish trap is a trap used for fishing. Fish traps may have the form of a fishing weir or a lobster trap. A typical trap might consist of a frame of thick steel wire in the shape of a heart, with chicken wire stretched around it. The mesh wraps around the frame and then tapers into the inside of...
s, corroboree
Corroboree
A corroboree is a ceremonial meeting of Australian Aborigines. The word was coined by the European settlers of Australia in imitation of the Aboriginal word caribberie. At a corroboree Aborigines interact with the Dreamtime through dance, music and costume. Many ceremonies act out events from the...
sites, ochre
Ochre
Ochre is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues...
excavation site and campsites.
The Noongar
Noongar
The Noongar are an indigenous Australian people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast...
name for the Inlet is Koorabup which means Place of the Black Swan.
The area was discovered by Thomas Wilson
Thomas Braidwood Wilson
Thomas Braidwood Wilson FRGS was an Australian surgeon and explorer. He was born in Uphall, West Lothian, Scotland, the son of James, and Catherine Boak.-Sea Voyages:...
in his 1892 expedition from Albany
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
. The Inlet was named after Wilson by Governor Stirling
James Stirling (Australian governor)
Admiral Sir James Stirling RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. His enthusiasm and persistence persuaded the British Government to establish the Swan River Colony and he became the first Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Western Australia...
.
The first Europeans
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
to settle in the catchment area were Randall and Young families in the 1890s followed by timber mills be constructed in 1895. Land clearing began in the 1920s and by 1982 46% of the catchment was privately owned.
In total 44% of the cathment has been cleared and 38% remains as forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
and national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s.
Flora
The inlet is fringed with Juncus kraussiJuncus kraussi
Juncus kraussi commonly known as Salt Marsh Rush Sea Rush, Matting Rush or Dune Slack Rush is of the monocot family Juncaceae and genus Juncus...
a rush
Juncaceae
Juncaceae, the rush family, are a monocotyledonous family of flowering plants. There are eight genera and about 400 species. Members of the Juncaceae are slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous plants, and they may superficially resemble grasses. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range...
which forms a single species near the mouth of the inlet.
Melaleuca cuticularis
Melaleuca cuticularis
Melaleuca cuticularis, or Saltwater Paperbark is a native tree of Western Australia.- Description :M. cuticularis is a tree that typically grows to a height of - and is fairly dense....
, a salt tolerant paperbark also fringes the inlet and follows the channels and is present in the tidal parts of the rivers.
The salt marsh is predominantly made up of Juncus kraussi
Juncus kraussi
Juncus kraussi commonly known as Salt Marsh Rush Sea Rush, Matting Rush or Dune Slack Rush is of the monocot family Juncaceae and genus Juncus...
, Sarcocornia quinqueflora
Sarcocornia quinqueflora
Sarcocornia quinqueflora, commonly known as Beaded Samphire, Bead weed or Beaded Glasswort, is a species of succulent halophytic coastal shrub...
, and Samolus repens
Samolus repens
Samolus repens is a species of water pimpernel native to Australia, New Zealand and adjacent Pacific islands, and South America , where it is common in temperate and subtropic coastlines. This species has small white or occasionally pink flowers with a flowering period from September through to...
.
Fauna
The inlet is home to a mussel and oyster farm that as established in 2002. The farm operates on a 12 hectares (30 acre) lease on the South side of the inlet and completed their first harvest in 2005/2006. Blue musselBlue mussel
The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae. In spite of its specific name edulis, it is not the sole edible Mytilus species.-Distribution:...
s are produced using the longline cultivation technique and Belon Oyster
Belon oyster
Ostrea edulis is a species of oyster native to Europe and commonly known as the European flat oyster, Colchester native oyster, mud oyster, or edible oyster . When mature O. edulis adults range from across...
s are also cultivated using a similar technique.
An earlier operation had attempted to commercially produce blue mussel
Blue mussel
The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae. In spite of its specific name edulis, it is not the sole edible Mytilus species.-Distribution:...
s in he 1970s, but the small scale raft culture was destroyed by Cyclone Alby
Cyclone Alby
Severe Tropical Cyclone Alby was regarded as the most devastating tropical cyclone to impact southwestern Western Australia on record. Forming out of an area of low pressure on 27 March, Alby steadily developed as it tracked southwestward, parallel to Western Australia...
just prior to harvest.
Wilson Inlet is a key nursery for many juvenile
Juvenile (organism)
A juvenile is an individual organism that has not yet reached its adult form, sexual maturity or size. Juveniles sometimes look very different from the adult form, particularly in terms of their colour...
fish species especially Pink Snapper
Australasian snapper
The Australasian snapper or Pagrus auratus is a species of porgie found in coastal waters of New Zealand and Australia. Although it is almost universally known in these countries as snapper it does not belong to the Lutjanidae family...
which migrate from the Inlet to mature in the greater oceanic breeding stock. As a result of this the size of Pink Snapper that could be removed from the inlet was raised from 28 centimetres (11 in) to 41 centimetres (16 in) in July 2007.
Recreational fishing is popular within the inlet, that many species of fish inhabit including Cobbler, King George Whiting
King George whiting
The King George whiting, Sillaginodes punctatus , is a coastal marine fish of the smelt-whitings family Sillaginidae. The King George whiting is endemic to Australia, inhabiting the south coast of the country from Jurien Bay, Western Australia to Botany Bay, New South Wales in the east...
, Tailor
Bluefish
The bluefish , called tailor in Australia, is a species of popular marine gamefish found in all climates. It is the sole species of the Pomatomidae family....
, Mullet
Flathead mullet
The flathead mullet, Mugil cephalus, is a mullet of the genus Mugil, found in coastal tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically 30 to 75 centimeters...
, Salmon Trout
Australian salmon
Australian Salmon, , are medium-sized perciform marine fish of the small family Arripidae . Four species are recognized, all within the genus Arripis...
and Flathead
Flathead (fish)
A flathead is one of a number of small to medium fish species with notably flat heads, distributed in membership across various genera of the family Platycephalidae. Many species are found in the Indo-Pacific, especially most parts of Australia where they are popular sport and table fish...
. Other fish found in the estuary include Sandy Sprat, Yellow Eye Mullet, Sea Mullet and Blue Mackerel.
Many waterbird species inhabit the inlet and its surrounds including the Silver Gull
Silver Gull
The Silver Gull also known simply as "seagull" in Australia, is the most common gull seen in Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly coastal areas. The South African Hartlaub's Gull and the New Zealand Red-billed Gull The Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus...
, Australian Pelican
Australian Pelican
The Australian Pelican is a large water bird, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant to New Zealand.-Taxonomy:...
, Black Swan
Black Swan
The Black Swan is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic...
, Little Black Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
The Little Black Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It is common in smaller rivers and lakes throughout most areas of Australia and northern New Zealand. It is around sixty centimetres long, and is all black with blue-green eyes.-References: Database entry includes...
, Grey Teal
Grey Teal
The Grey Teal, Anas gracilis is a dabbling duck found in open wetlands in New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands....
, Blue-billed Duck
Blue-billed Duck
The Blue-billed Duck is a small Australian stiff-tailed duck, with both the male and female growing to a length of 40 cm . The male has a slate-blue bill which changes to bright-blue during the breeding season, hence the duck’s common name . The male has deep chestnut plumage during breeding...
, Red-necked Avocet
Red-necked Avocet
The Red-necked Avocet is a water bird found throughout Australia, except for the northern parts of the Northern Territory....
and the Australasian Shoveler.