Success Bank is a sandbank to the north of

Cockburn Sound Cockburn Sound (Nyungar Aboriginal Australian name: Derbal Nara) is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Western Australia. It extends from the south of the mouth of the Swan River at Fremantle for about 25 km to Point Peron ne ...

, off

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

within the limits of the

Fremantle Outer Harbour The Fremantle Outer Harbour is the part of Fremantle Harbour located in the Cockburn Sound, at the City of Kwinana, Western Australia. Fremantle Harbour consists of the Inner Harbour, which is situated on the mouth of the Swan River; and the Oute ...

. The bank lies to the west of Owen Anchorage. It is about deep and is just to the south of the main shipping channel of

Gage Roads Gage Roads is an area in the outer harbour area of Fremantle Harbour in the Indian Ocean offshore from Fremantle, Western Australia. It incorporates a deep water sea channel as part of its function. Gage Roads serves as a shipping lane and ...

. Success Bank was named by

Captain James Stirling Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

after his ship , which was used for a preliminary exploration of the Swan River region in 1827. On 28 November 1829, ''Success'' revisited Western Australia and ran aground on Carnac Reef, a shoal further to the south, causing extensive damage.

Description

The sandbank extends about from the coast in a west and north-west direction, and is up to wide. It covers an area of . Two approximately man-made shipping channels, built for the

Fremantle Port Authority Fremantle Port Authority, also known by its registered business name Fremantle Ports, is the responsible authority created under the Western Australian Port Authorities Act 1999. Harbour administration In August 1829 the Fremantle Harbour Master ...

to carry cargo and other deep water ships to and from Gage Roads through to Cockburn Sound, divide the sandbar. The name is Success Channel. Success Bank is covered extensively with the seagrasses ''

Posidonia ''Posidonia'' is a genus of flowering plants. It contains nine species of marine plants ("seagrass"), found in the seas of the Mediterranean and around the south coast of Australia. The APG system (1998) and APG II system (2003) accept this gen ...

'' and ''

Amphibolis griffithii ''Amphibolis griffithii'' is a seagrass found in waters along the southwestern coasts of Western Australia, extending to Encounter Bay in South Australia . Description A common marine herb, the rhizomatous plant forms meadows which stabilise sa ...

''.

Parmelia Bank Parmelia Bank is a sandbank to the north of Cockburn Sound, off Fremantle, Western Australia within the limits of the Fremantle Outer Harbour. The Parmelia Bank is named after the barque ''Parmelia'', which grounded on the sandbank in 1829. Pa ...

is a slightly smaller bank and runs approximately parallel to Success Bank, about further south extending from

Woodman Point Woodman Point is a headland on the west coast of Western Australia. It is located in the Perth suburb of Coogee, south-south-west of the city centre and south of Fremantle. It extends westward into the Indian Ocean. The coastal waters immed ...

, almost to

Carnac Island Carnac Island (Noongar: ''Ngoorloormayup'') is a , A Class, island nature reserve about south-west of Fremantle and north of Garden Island in Western Australia. History Carnac Island is aeolianite limestone remnant of Pleistocene dunes. It ...

Origin

The Success and Parmelia Banks were formed during the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

, more than 10,000 years ago, through the deposition of sediment which had been eroded from the Rottnest Shelf and the Garden Island Ridge. Success Bank was formed in the lee of Mewstone Rocks while Parmelia Bank was formed in lee of Carnac Island.

References

{{reflist, 30em Fremantle Harbour Shoals of Australia