Bootie Island is a small island in the

Shire of Cook The Shire of Cook (The Shire) is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Shire covers most of the eastern and central parts of Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland. It covers an area ...

in Far North

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. It is part of the

Cockburn Islands The Cockburn Islands are an island group located in Coronation Gulf, south of Victoria Island, west of the Kent Peninsula, in the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. Other island groups in the vicinity include the Breakwater Islands, Cheere Isl ...

Group.

Geography

Bootie Island is northeast of

Cape Grenville Cape Grenville (), is a small, east-facing promontory along the Queensland, Australia coast of Cape York Peninsula. It lies between Shelburne Bay to the north and Temple Bay to the south. The nearest significant settlement is Weipa, along the ...

in the

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef from damaging activities. It is a vast multiple-use Marine Park which supports a wide range of uses, including commercial marine tourism, fishing, ports an ...

. It is around 2 hectares or 0.02 square km in size. The island is north of Manley Islet and Buchen Rock within the Cockburn Reef, adjacent to Pollard Channel and the Sir Charles Hardy Islands.

History

The island is believed to be named after John Bootie, a midshipman on the

HMS Endeavour HMS ''Endeavour'' was a British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James Cook commanded to Australia and New Zealand on his First voyage of James Cook, first voyage of discovery from 1768 to 1771. She was launched in 1764 as the Coll ...

, who died at sea 4 February 1771 on the first voyage of exploration by James Cook to the eastern coast of Australia. The island has been the site of a number of shipwrecks: * Amelia Breillart. ''

Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

, 162 tons''. Struck the north edge or Cockburn Reef, Queensland, 15 August 1861 but broke free, continued her voyage but next day leaked so badly she was abandoned. * Florinda / Flounda. ''

Schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

, 105 tons. Built Melbourne 1873''. Forced on to a reef at the north-eastern end of Cockburn Island, Queensland, by adverse winds, sank, 9 June 1887 * Pioneer. ''Brig, 148 tons. Built 1850''. Wrecked on the north-west point of Cockburn Reef, Qld, 30 May 1851. Crew rescued by barque Waverly and taken on to

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

. She had been chartered to search

Port Essington Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It was the site of an early attempt at British settlement, but now exists only as a remote ...

and

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

for the long missing Dr.

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...

. * Richard Bell. ''Brig''. Ashore on Cockburn Reef, off the

coast, 1833 * Undaunted. ''Ship, 1245 tons''. Wrecked after striking a reef near Cockburn Island, Queensland, 4 September 1863. Crew and cargo rescued by barque ''Cornwallis'' * William. ''Brig, 219 tons. Reg. Cape Town 22/1837, reg Sydney 21/1837, 19/1838, 29/1838. Lbd 84 x 21.5 x 17 ft. Master Henry Kreuger''. From Sydney, wrecked on Cockburn Island reef, off

, Qld, 8 September 1838. She was in company with the ship Trusty, which assisted in attempting to get her off, with no success. The William was abandoned, the crew taken aboard Trusty.

References

{{Reflist Islands on the Great Barrier Reef Shipwrecks in the Coral Sea Shipwrecks of Queensland Uninhabited islands of Australia Islands of Far North Queensland