Possession Island (Queensland)

{{short description|Island of the Torres Strait Islands near Australia}}

{{Infobox islands

| name = Possession Island

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| image_name = Punsand QLD 4876, Australia - panoramio.jpg

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| location = Northern Australia

| coordinates = {{coord|10|43|36|S|142|23|49|E|type:landmark_region:AU|display=inline,title|format=dec}}

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| country = Australia

| country_admin_divisions_title = State

| country_admin_divisions = Queensland

| country_admin_divisions_title_1 = Shire

| country_admin_divisions_1 = Shire of Torres

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File:Captain Cook takes formal possession of New South Wales 1770.jpg

Possession Island (Kalaw Lagaw Ya: {{Lang|mwp|Bedanug}} or {{Lang|mwp|Bedhan Lag}}) is a small island in the Torres Strait Islands group off the coast of far northern Queensland, Australia. It is inhabited by a group of Torres Strait Islanders, the Kaurareg,{{cite web |url=https://www.torres.qld.gov.au/council/about-the-shire/history |title=Local History page |website=Torres Shire Council |access-date=4 February 2022 |archive-date=4 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204161857/https://www.torres.qld.gov.au/council/about-the-shire/history |url-status=live }} though the Ankamuti were also indigenous to the island.

Possession Island is included in Possession Island National Park, an area of {{convert|5.10|km2}} which includes Eborac Island. The park was established as a Protected Area in 1977 and managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.{{cite web |title=About - Possession Island National Park |publisher=Department of Environment and Science, Queensland |website=Parks and forests |date=16 April 2020 |url=https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/possession-island/about |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116124821/https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/possession-island/about |url-status=live }}

History

=James Cook's claim of possession=

In 1770, the British navigator Lieutenant James Cook sailed northward along the east coast of Australia in the Endeavour, anchoring for a week at Botany Bay. Three months later, at Possession Island in Queensland, he claimed possession of the entire east coast he had explored for Britain. In his journal, Cook wrote: "I now once more hoisted English Coulers and in the Name of His Majesty King George the Third took possession of the whole Eastern Coast... by the name New South Wales, together with all the Bays, Harbours Rivers and Islands situate upon the said coast".{{cite book |last=Cook |first=James |title=Journal of HMS Endeavour, 1769–1771 |publisher=National Library of Australia, Manuscripts Collection, MS 1, 22 August 1770}}

In 2001, the Kaurareg people successfully claimed native title rights over the island (and other nearby islands).{{cite AustLII|FCA|657|2001|litigants=Kaurareg People v State of Queensland|courtname=Federal Court}}.

Commemorations of Cook

In 1857, artist John Gilfillan exhibited in Melbourne an idyllic tableau painting commemorating the annexation titled Captain Cook taking possession of the Australian continent on behalf of the British crown 1770.{{cite book |title=nla.obj-135699884 |publisher=Canberra |location=National Library of Australia}} In 1925, a memorial to Captain Cook was erected on the north-west coast of the island ({{Coord|-10.71503|142.39298|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=James Cook monument}}).{{cite news |date=8 January 1925 |title=POSSESSION ISLAND. |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article179451773 |accessdate=30 November 2024 |newspaper=Daily Standard |location=Queensland, Australia |page=2 (SECOND EDITION-3 p.m.) |via=National Library of Australia |issue=3745}}{{Cite web |title=Landing of Captain James Cook on Possession Island |url=https://monumentaustralia.org.au/display/100194-landing-of-captain-james-cook-on-possession-island |access-date=2024-11-30 |website=Monument Australia}}{{Cite Google Maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Possession+Island+Monument/@-10.7145982,142.3929895,5244m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m12!1m5!3m4!2zMTDCsDQzJzM2LjAiUyAxNDLCsDIzJzQ5LjAiRQ!8m2!3d-10.726667!4d142.396944!3m5!1s0x69b00bb6788c7b8b:0x919878f0c2da7869!8m2!3d-10.7145982!4d142.3929895!16s%2Fg%2F11hz47b8kq?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTEyNC4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D|access-date=30 November 2024|title=Possession Island Monument}}

References

External links

[https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/tqqf2h/alma99183453210802061 Thursday Island and Possession Island photographs 1970], State Library of Queensland

Category:Islands of Queensland