Cull Island

Cull Island
View of Esperance Bay from Esperance. The large island at left is Cull Island.
Cull Island is located in Western Australia
Cull Island
Cull Island
Location in Western Australia
Geography
LocationOff the south coast of Western Australia
Coordinates33°55′22″S 121°54′07″E / 33.92278°S 121.90194°E / -33.92278; 121.90194
ArchipelagoRecherche Archipelago
Area68 ha (170 acres)
Administration
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited

Cull Island, also known as Culls Island[1] and Gull Island,[2] is an island off the south coast of Western Australia in the Recherche Archipelago. It is located about 6.5 kilometres (4 mi) southeast of Esperance and occupies an area of 68 hectares (168 acres).[3][4]

Cull Island is uninhabited but is home to a group of wild goats which roam the island.[5] It also has a colony of little penguins and is one of the main nesting grounds for the Cape Barren goose.[6][7]

An unmanned lighthouse is located in the centre of the island on a white hut about 3 metres (10 ft) high. It was installed with an acetylene-powered light in 1965 but was converted to an automatic solar-powered flashing light in 1984.[2]

On 5 January 2020, Gary Johnson a local Esperance diver was killed by a great white shark while diving at Cull Island.[8]

  1. ^ "The Point". Coolgardie Pioneer. Western Australia. 17 April 1897. p. 39. Retrieved 6 January 2020 – via Trove.
  2. ^ a b "Cull Is (Gull Is)". Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  3. ^ "A FINE PANORAMA ON THE SOUTH COAST". The West Australian. Western Australia. 30 June 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 6 January 2020 – via Trove.
  4. ^ "Two Blue-Fin Tuna Caught At Esperance". The West Australian. Western Australia. 31 December 1953. p. 7. Retrieved 6 January 2020 – via Trove.
  5. ^ Recherche Archipelago
  6. ^ "Record: 2535f142-3b5c-456b-b2dd-4c8e74954d8b | Occurrence record | Atlas of Living Australia". biocache.ala.org.au. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Management Plan for Esperance Coastal Reserves Issues". 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  8. ^ Diver dies after shark attack at Cull Island, Western Australia