The Dampier Peninsula is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

located north of Broome and

Roebuck Bay Roebuck Bay is a bay on the coast of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Its entrance is bounded in the north by the town of Broome, and in the south by Bush Point and Sandy Point. It is named after , the ship captained by William ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It is surrounded by the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

to the west and north, and

King Sound King Sound is a large gulf in northern Western Australia. It expands from the mouth of the Fitzroy River, one of Australia's largest watercourses, and opens to the Indian Ocean. It is about long, and averages about in width. The port town ...

to the east. It is named after the mariner and explorer

William Dampier William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651; died March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, privateer, navigator, and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnav ...

who visited it. The northernmost part of the peninsula is

Cape Leveque Cape Leveque is at the northernmost tip of the Dampier Peninsula in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Cape Leveque is (via the Cape Leveque Road) north of Broome, and is remote with few facilities. Nevertheless, the Cape's sandy bea ...

. It is sparsely inhabited, mostly by

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

peoples, some of whom have been granted

native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...

rights to some of their traditional lands. There are many coastal inlets, bays and other features, including Beagle Bay on its western side.

Aboriginal heritage

Traditional lands of Australian Aboriginal Tribes around Derby

The peninsula is home to a rich heritage of Aboriginal culture, with the communities of Beagle Bay, Bobieding,

Djarindjin Djarindjin is a medium-sized Aboriginal community located north of Broome in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, within the Shire of Broome. It is within the traditional lands of the Bardi and Jawi peoples. Location Djarindjin is l ...

, Ardyaloon (One Arm Point) and Ngardalargin, along with numerous other smaller communities, pearling camps, tourist resorts and Aboriginal outstations. The

traditional owner Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

s of the areas around the peninsula are the Bardi, Nyunyul and Jabirr Jabirr (Djaberadjabera) peoples.

Ecology

Many small trees, shrubs and animals live on and in the sea surrounding the peninsula, the most characteristic vegetation being

pindan Pindan is a name given to the red-soil country of the south-western Kimberley region of Western Australia. The term comes from a local language and applies both to the soil and to the vegetation community associated with it.Lowe (2003). History ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

within the interior sandplains. Mangroves are an important part within the peninsula, with 12 of Western Australia's 17 species present. Flying Fox colonies commonly roost in the trees during the day before foraging at dusk.https://library.dbca.wa.gov.au/static/FullTextFiles/016991.pdf page 31 and 39.

Transport

The peninsula is traversed from south to north by Cape Leveque Road. Between Broome and Beagle Bay this road is generally of poor condition and often closed during the wet season. Four-wheel drive is recommended. Between Beagle Bay and the northern towns the road is bitumened. Numerous tour operators run bus services on the peninsula. Air strips are situated at Cape Leveque, Bardi, Djarindjin (Lombadina), Beagle Bay and some of the smaller communities and pearl farms.

Tourism

There are several tourist accommodation facilities such as Kooljamon (Cape Leveque) and Middle Lagoon (Middle Lagoon).

References

External links

Shire of Broome

Broome Visitor Centre
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