South West Island is an island in the

Sir Edward Pellew Group The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands is situated in the south-west corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the coast of the Northern Territory, Australia. History They were named in 1802 by Matthew Flinders in honour of Sir Edward Pellew, ...

in the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

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. Its area is . All of its population, numbering 10, lives in South West Island (also called Wathanka or Wathunga), a family outstation on the north coast. The Sir Edward Pellew Group are the traditional lands of the

Yanyuwa people The Yanyuwa people, also spelt Yanuwa, Yanyula and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. who live in the coastal region inclusive of and opposite to the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands in the southern ...

, most of whom now live in

Borroloola Borroloola ( local Aboriginal languages: ''Burrulula'') is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located on the McArthur River, about 50 km upstream from the Gulf of Carpentaria. Location Borroloola lies on the traditional c ...

. It is home to the

canefield rat The dusky field rat (''Rattus sordidus''), also known as the canefield rat, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. In Australia it is found in northern Queensland and along the e ...

, which are few in number and considered a

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

in this area, although plentiful in north-eastern Australia.

References

Islands of the Northern Territory Gulf of Carpentaria {{NorthernTerritory-geo-stub