__NOTOC__ Vernon Islands is a locality in the

Northern Territory of Australia The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

located over land and water in the Clarence Strait including the

Vernon Islands Vernon Islands, also known as the Potinga Islands, is an island, island group in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the Clarence Strait (Northern Territory), Clarence Strait about north-east of the territory capital of Darwin City ...

and which is located about north-east of the territory capital of Darwin. The locality is bounded as follows: # The southern boundary and part of the eastern boundary is formed by the coastline of the mainland from Gunn Point in the west to Cape Hotham in the east, # The eastern boundary across the strait is a line from Cape Hotham running towards Muranapi Point on Melville Island, # The northern boundary is a contour located south of the coastline of Melville Island and # The western boundary is a line from Red Cliffe on Melville Island that runs towards Lee Point on the mainland and which intersects with a line running west from Gunn Point thereby enclosing a portion of the waters of the

Beagle Gulf Beagle Gulf is a Bay, gulf in the Northern Territory of Australia which opens on its west side to the Timor Sea. The gulf is bounded to the south by the mainland and to the north by Bathurst Island (Northern Territory), Bathurst and Melville Isl ...

. The locality’s name is derived from the Vernon Islands, the island group which is located within the boundary of the locality and which is the only land within the locality. The official source advises that the island group was named in 1818 by Royal Navy officer,

Phillip Parker King Phillip Parker King (13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian and Patagonian coasts. Early life and education King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Anna Josepha King ''née'' Coo ...

, after most probably

Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt (10 October 1757 – 5 November 1847) was a Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Carlisle from 1791 to 1807 and then the Archbishop of York until his death. He was the third son of the George Venables ...

who was the Archbishop of York at the time. Its boundaries and name were gazetted on 4 April 2007. Human activity within the locality involves the passage of coastal shipping between Beagle Gulf and

Van Diemen Gulf Van Diemen Gulf is a gulf in the Northern Territory of Australia. It connects to the Timor Sea in the north via Dundas Strait. Most of its area is also gazetted as a locality with the name Van Diemen Gulf. History The gulf was named after th ...

, recreational fishing and diving and cultural activities carried out by the Tiwi, Larrakia and Wulna peoples. The Vernon Islands and Knight Reef, a reef to the north-east of the island group, have been gazetted as a protected area since 1974 and which has been known as the Vernon Islands Conservation Reserve since 1979. The locality includes Henry Ellis Reef which lies within the triangle formed by the southern extremity of East Vernon Island, western extremity of North West Vernon Island and the north-east extremity of South West Vernon Island. It was named for the barque ''Henry Ellis'', Captain Thomas Phillips, which ran aground there in June 1864. North Vernon Island later named "North West Vernon Island" The

2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th Census in Australia, national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was count ...

which was conducted in August 2016 reports that Vernon Islands had no people living within its boundaries. Vernon Islands is located within the federal division of Lingiari, the territory electoral division of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

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