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The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a body of water located between
Bruny Island Bruny Island is a coastal island of Tasmania, Australia, located at the mouths of the Derwent River and Huon River estuaries on Storm Bay on the Tasman Sea, south of Hobart. The island is separated from the mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux C ...
and the south-east of the mainland of
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, Australia. The channel is the
mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...
for the estuaries of the Derwent and the Huon Rivers and empties into the
Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...
of the
South Pacific Ocean South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
. It was sighted by
Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch sea explorer, seafarer and exploration, explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first European to reach New ...
in 1642 and surveyed in 1792 by
Bruni d'Entrecasteaux Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux (; 8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Isle de France (Mauritius), governor of Isle de Fran ...
. Towns on the D'Entrecasteaux Channel include Snug,
Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
,
Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...
, Woodbridge,
Flowerpot A flowerpot, planter, planterette or plant pot is a container in which flowers and other plants are cultivated and displayed. Historically, and still to a significant extent today, they are made from plain terracotta with no ceramic glaze, wit ...
, Middleton and Gordon.


History

The area has always been of great significance to the Nuenonne band of the South East tribe of Tasmanian Indigenous peoples. According to '' The Mercury'' newspaper, the channel "..... was discovered on 20 April 1792 by the celebrated French "Vice-Admiral
Bruni D'Entrecasteaux Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux (; 8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Isle de France (Mauritius), governor of Isle de Fran ...
, who, in the ships ''Recherche'' and ''Esperance'', was searching for ill-fated ''La Perouse''. Visiting Van Diemen's Land for the first time, he was attempting to find an anchorage in Adventure Bay, when, being himself ill in bed, the ships' navigators entered the channel to the west of Bruny Island, instead of going to the eastward of it. Thus, the discovery of the great channel was due to an accident. This is Labillardiere's account of the matter. A wrong bearing taken of the Mewstone accounts for the French navigator's error." Whaling stations operated on the shores of the channel in the first half of the 19th century.


Geography and environment

The D'Entrecasteaux Channel region sheltered by Bruny Island is increasingly affected by foreshore erosion, in some areas sandbagging aims to reduce the effects.''Flora Fox'',
Flora Fox, News and Information about Southern Tasmania
2011
The channel is a breeding ground for
scallops Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve molluscs in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related famili ...
. Prior to 1969, fishing dredges were used to collect scallops from the seafloor. Damage caused by the dredging has led to collection by scuba divers. The D'Entrecasteaux Channel has become a popular location for keen photographers to capture images of the aurora australis with its numerous southern-facing water views and beaches, although light pollution from the numerous salmon farms is now starting to impact on this visual beauty from many locations.


Gallery

Kettering - Easter Sunrise 109.jpg, D'Entrecasteaux Channel from . D'Entrecasteaux Channel 20th December 2015.jpg, Aurora Australis over D'Entrecasteaux Channel near .


See also

* Protected areas of Tasmania


References


External links

* * * * {{Authority control Bodies of water of Tasmania Bruny Island Channels of Australia Whaling stations in Australia