Walcott Inlet

The Isdell River mouth where it enters Walcott Inlet

Walcott Inlet is an estuary located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It flows into Collier Bay, in the Indian Ocean, via a narrow gap known as Yule Entrance.

The inlet was named on 19 June 1865 by Trevarton Charles Sholl after Stephen Walcott, Commissioner of the Government Emigration Board, while on an exploratory expedition from the short-lived Camden Harbor settlement (in Camden Sound).[1][2]

The inlet is 66 km (41 mi) in length, with a width of 9 km (5.6 mi) and covering an area of 257 km2 (99 sq mi). It is tide-dominated, and in nearly pristine condition with a catchment area of 12,732 square kilometres (4,916 sq mi).[3] The entry to the inlet, known as Yule Entrance,[4] is 9 km (5.6 mi) in length and as little as 450 m (1,480 ft) wide. The mean tidal range at the mouth is 6.52 m (21.4 ft),[5] but can reach 11 metres (36 ft), leading to turbulence, strong tidal flows and whirlpools.[4]

Three large rivers flow into the eastern end of the inlet: Charnley River, Calder River and Isdell River, via Yule Entrance. The Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary and Wilinggin Indigenous Protected Area are located near the inlet.[6]

The name of Yule Entrance is likely derived from Presbyterian missionary Dr John Sandison Yule,[7] who proposed a mission station at Walcott Inlet following a visit in 1910. A party led by lay missionaries Robert and Frances Wilson spent eight days in August 1911 investigating suitable sites before abandoning the project, due to lack of permanent fresh water.[8][9][10]

  1. ^ "Explorations in the Camden Harbour District". The Inquirer & Commercial News. 26 September 1865. p. 3. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Perth Gazette and W.A. Times". The Perth Gazette and West Australian Times. 15 September 1865. p. 3. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Ozcoasts – Australian online coastal information". Australian Government. 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  4. ^ a b Australian Heritage Council (2010–2011). "West Kimberley Place Report" (PDF). p. 22,26. On the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment website here. Date assumed per last date mentioned in publication (2010), and author as per website.
  5. ^ Baker, A. Clive (1991). Tidal Power. London: P. Peregrinus. p. 203. ISBN 0863411894.
  6. ^ "Indigenous Protected Areas". Kimberley Land Council. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  7. ^ "The phantom vessel". The West Australian. Vol. XXVI, no. 7, 584. Western Australia. 19 July 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 1 January 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "The Walcott Inlet Mission". The Outback Battler. Adelaide. 1 January 1912. p. 8. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  9. ^ State Solicitor's Office (Western Australia) (November 2005). "Guide to Institutions Attended by Aboriginal People in Western Australia" (PDF). Find & Connect. pp. 113, 136. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Port George IV Mission". Find & Connect. Find & Connect Web Resource Project. 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2024.