Watami/Green Island is an island in Oyster Harbour located approximately northeast of Albany in

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 ...

. The island has a total area of and was designated as a Class 1A Nature Reserve in 1988. The nearest point on the mainland, Bayonet Head, is located approximately northwest of the island.

History

Green Island was named by

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...

, who also named Oyster Harbour when he visited the area in 1791. It is one of only four permanent pelican breeding grounds in Western Australia, the others being Mandurah, Shark Bay and Rockingham. The breeding pelicans can be seen from the Kalgan Queen Riverboat, as the Island itself is a reserve. When the colony in Albany was first settled in 1826, Green Island was planted for vegetables. By 1830 it supported a vegetable garden, and a hut was erected on the island for the gardener to live in. In 1827 a group of sealers took 5 Aborigines to Green Island to catch birds. The sealers rowed away, leaving the Aborigines behind, then returned the next day bringing water. The Aborigines attempted to take the boat, and the sealers fired on them killing one Aboriginal man. The remaining Aborigines were removed to

Michaelmas Island Michaelmas Island is an island located in King George Sound near Albany, Western Australia. The island is a nature reserve (declared in 1983) and managed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife; its reserve number is 30049. The island is also ...

and left there making "great lamentations". In 1991 the government department Fisheries Western Australia granted a fish farm license to the company Ocean Foods who have leases north and northeast of Green Island where blue mussels are farmed.

Fauna

The island is noted as an important breeding ground for small numbers of the Australian pelican. It was estimated in 1993 that 7 active nests were located on the island. Image:Green Island Oyster Harbour 2.jpg, Green Island from Bayonet Head Image:Green Island Oyster Harbour 3.jpg, Green Island in Oyster Harbour from the lookout at Bayonet Head

References

{{reflist Protected areas of Western Australia Islands of the Great Southern (Western Australia)