Wedding Cake Island is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

located approximately east of

Coogee Beach Coogee Beach may refer to: *Coogee, New South Wales, beach in Sydney, NSW, Australia *Coogee, Western Australia Coogee is a southern coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Cockburn. History The suburb takes its ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia in the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) 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 Abe ...

. The island protects the beach from most swells. The island is also known as Lemo's Island.

Etymology

The most probable source of the name is the shape of the island - it resembles a wedding cake, particularly when the white water breaks over the island, giving the appearance of 'icing'. Another theory is that bird droppings on the island gave the appearance of icing on a cake.

Activities

The island is a good

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

spot and also is the site of

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...

day commemorations by the local surf community. Every year in commemoration of ANZAC day, surfers load up their surfboards and backpacks with cartons of beer and drink, and paddle out on their boards from Coogee Beach to Wedding Cake Island. A sporting event held in November and April annually, organised by the

Coogee Surf Life Saving Club The Coogee Surf Life Saving Club is a foundation member of the surf lifesaving movement in Australia. It was founded in 1907 by a group of concerned locals and has a proud history of no lives being lost whilst its members have patrolled. Coogee S ...

, is an swim from Coogee Beach which circumnavigates the Wedding Cake Island.

Midnight Oil song

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...

recorded a namesake track for the EP ''

Bird Noises ''Bird Noises'' is the first extended play by Australian rock group, Midnight Oil, which was released on 24 November 1980 under the band's own independent label, Powderworks Records / Sprint Music. It was produced by Leszek Karski and manufactu ...

'', released in 1980. It was also covered by the Australian surf group

The Atlantics The Atlantics are an Australian surf rock band founded in 1961. Initially, the band line-up consisted of drummer Peter Hood, bassist Bosco Bosanac, Theo Penglis on lead and rhythm guitar, and guitarist Eddy Matzenik. Matzenik was replaced by ...

on the album Delightful Rain in 2006. The Atlantics often include it as part of their live set, with Midnight Oil's blessing. Now, Australian instrumental surf rock band, The Break (which includes Midnight Oil members: drummer

Rob Hirst Robert George Hirst (born 3 September 1955) is an Australian musician from Camden, New South Wales. He is a founding member of rock band Midnight Oil on drums, percussion and backing vocals (sometimes lead vocals) from the 1970s until the band t ...

and guitarists

Jim Moginie James Moginie (born 18 May 1956) is an Australian musician. He is best known for his work with Midnight Oil, of which he is a founding member, guitarist, keyboardist and leading songwriter. Career In addition to Midnight Oil, Moginie has work ...

and Martin Rotsey,

Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2004 ...

bassist

Brian Ritchie Brian Ritchie (born November 21, 1960) is the bass guitarist for the alternative rock band Violent Femmes. Ritchie was born and raised in the United States and is currently a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia, with his full-time residence i ...

and Hunters and Collectors trumpet player, Jack Howard) play the song regularly in their shows, being an inaugural part of Midnight Oil's history of wanting to do instrumental surf rock music.

References

Surf music Islands of Sydney Coogee, New South Wales Islands of the Tasman Sea {{Sydney-geo-stub

Etymology

Activities

Midnight Oil song

See also

References