The Cobourg Peninsula is located east of Darwin in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is deeply indented with coves and bays, covers a land area of about , and is virtually uninhabited with a population ranging from about 20 to 30 in five family outstations, but without any notable settlement or village. It is separated from

Croker Island Croker Island is an island in the Arafura Sea off the coast of the Northern Territory, Australia, northeast of Darwin. It was the site of the Croker Island Mission between 1940 and 1968. Indigenous peoples At the earliest time of European co ...

in the east by Bowen Strait, which is wide in the south and up to in the north, and long. In the west, it is separated from Melville Island by

Dundas Strait Dundas Strait is a sea passage in the Northern Territory of Australia located between Melville Island and the Cobourg Peninsula. It connects the Timor Sea to the Van Diemen Gulf Van Diemen Gulf is a gulf in the Northern Territory of Austr ...

. From Cape Don, the western point of the peninsula, to Soldier Point in the east of Melville Island, the distance is . In the north is the

Arafura Sea The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea. Geography The Arafura Sea is ...

, and in the south the

Van Diemen Gulf Van Diemen Gulf is a gulf in the Northern Territory of Australia. It connects to the Timor Sea in the north via Dundas Strait. Most of its area is also gazetted as a locality with the name Van Diemen Gulf. History The gulf was named after th ...

. The highest elevation is Mount Roe in the south with an altitude of .

Development

All of Cobourg Peninsula is part of

Garig Gunak Barlu National Park Garig Gunak Barlu is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia on the Cobourg Peninsula and some adjoining waters about north-east of the territory capital of Darwin. It was established by joining the former Gurig 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 The banteng (''Bos javanicus''; ), also known as tembadau, is a species of cattle found in Southeast Asia. The head-and-body length is between . Wild banteng are typically larger and heavier than their domesticated counterparts, but are otherw ...

( 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 Fort Wellington National Historic Site is a historic Fortification, military fortification located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River, St. Lawrence River at Prescott, Ontario. The military fortification was used by the British Army, a ...

Raffles Bay Raffles Bay is a bay on the northern coast of the Cobourg Peninsula of the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. It was named in 1818 by explorer Phillip Parker King after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. It is a ...

(1827-1829) and Fort Victoria at

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 ...

(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 Cape Don Light is an active lighthouse located on Cape Don, at the tip of the Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory, Australia, in Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, marking the entrance to the Dundas Strait. It is Australia's northernmost tr ...

(lighthouse) * Cape Don Airport (

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

Code YCPD) (grass airfield 1800 m, opened 8 Nov 1989) *Araru Point (Araru) (family outstation) *Ardbinae (Adbanae, Trepang Bay) (family outstation) *

(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 Minjilang, formerly Mission Bay, is the Aboriginal community located on Croker Island, some east northeast of Northern Territory's capital of Darwin. It is the only settlement of any size on Croker Island, which lies a few kilometres off the ...

close east.

References

Ramsar sites in Australia Arnhem Land tropical savanna {{NorthernTerritory-geo-stub

Development

Settlement

See also

References