Wright Island (South Australia)

Wright
Wright Island, Encounter Bay, South Australia as seen from The Bluff. Granite Island is immediately behind Wright Island
Wright is located in South Australia
Wright
Wright
Geography
LocationEncounter Bay
Coordinates35°34′59″S 138°36′32″E / 35.583°S 138.609°E / -35.583; 138.609
Administration
Australia

Wright Island is a 1 hectare (2.5 acres) island in Encounter Bay, South Australia. It is located between the popular tourist destination Granite Island and the prominent rocky headland known as The Bluff. The island consists largely of granite boulders. It also features low vegetation and a sandy beach suitable for the landing of small boats. The island is uninhabited and can only be accessed from the water. It was named after William Wright, one of the headmen of the South Australia Company's whaling operations in the Victor Harbor area in the 1800s.[1] The island is managed by the City of Victor Harbor, the local government authority, as part of its parks and gardens asset.[2]

Eleven-year-old Janet Barker visited the island in 1954 and described it in a letter to Adelaide newspaper, The Mail:

One day a boy rowed us over to Wright Island where we saw lots of baby penguins.Their nests were lined with feathers but we could hardly see them because they were under rocks. On the beach there were two whale bones and there were shags all over the rocks. The boy told us the island was half a mile from Encounter Bay and on still nights he could hear the penguins squawking.[3]

  1. ^ Victor Harbor > History > European History Victor Harbor City Council, South Australia. Accessed 2014-02-11.
  2. ^ "City of Victor Harbor Reserves" (PDF). City of Victor Harbor. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  3. ^ Barker, Janet "These letters won awards - Great fun" The Mail, Adelaide, South Australia (1954-03-06). Retrieved 2014-02-11.