Pental Island is an island and rural locality in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Australia, bordering
Swan Hill, Victoria in the north. The island is bounded by the
Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...
in the north and the
Little Murray River in the south; the Little Murray diverging from the Murray at
Fish Point and converging at Swan Hill. Pental Island is also a parish of the
County of Tatchera and the boundaries of the three entities are identical. At the , Pental Island had a population of 135, down from 380 ten years earlier. The indigenous
Wemba Wemba
The Wemba-Wemba are an Aboriginal Australian people in north-Western Victoria and south-western New South Wales, Australia, including in the Mallee and the Riverina regions. They are also known as the Wamba-Wamba.
Language
Wemba-Wemba bears ...
name for the island is ''Pakaruk''.
Two bridges allow access to the island from within Victoria, on Pental Island Road at Swan Hill in the west, and on Fish Point Road at Fish Point in the east. There are no crossings to the island over the Murray from
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
Boundary dispute
Pental Island is one of two areas (the other is
Beveridge Island) which were the subject of border disputes between the states of Victoria and New South Wales. When the Murray was opened for navigation the question arose as to whether all navigable channels were part of New South Wales, as claimed by that state, or whether the Little Murray River was a continuation of the
Loddon River
The Loddon River, an inland river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Loddon Mallee regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The headwater ...
enclosing Pental Island as claimed by Victoria. The dispute was raised in 1871 and was resolved in favour of Victoria by the Judicial Committee, with no detailed reasons given.
References
External links
County of Tatchera Cadastral map showing county and parish boundaries, categories of lands holdings and reserves., 1880s. National Library of Australia
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Towns in Victoria (Australia)
Towns in Mallee
Rural City of Swan Hill
Islands of Victoria (Australia)
Murray River
Territorial disputes of Australia
Borders of Victoria (Australia)
Borders of New South Wales
River islands of Australia