Coral Sea Islands


The Coral Sea Islands Territory is an external territory of Australia which comprises a group of small and mostly uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, north-east of Queensland, Australia. The only inhabited island is Willis Island. The territory covers, most of which is ocean, extending east and south from the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef and includes Heralds Beacon Island, Osprey Reef, the Willis Group and fifteen other reef and island groups. Cato Island is the highest point in the Territory.
File:Coral Garden.jpg|thumb|Acropora coral garden with giant clam. Raging Horn, Coral Sea Islands

History and status

Early history

The Coral Sea Islands were first charted in 1803. In the 1870s and 1880s, the islands were mined for guano but the absence of a reliable supply of fresh water prevented long-term habitation.
Jurisdiction over offshore islands in the Coral Sea was historically unclear. In 1900, letters patent issued by the British government included within the boundary of the colony of New South Wales all islands in the Coral Sea west of the 154th meridian east that were not otherwise part of the Colony of Queensland or British New Guinea. There was little activity in the islands, but a wireless station was erected by the Australian federal government on Willis Island in 1922. Minutes prepared by the Department of Defence and Department of External Affairs suggested that the Coral Sea Islands had been made British possessions by virtue of James Cook's proclamation of sovereignty in 1770, but "that there were certain islets and reefs in the Coral Sea that were British possessions but not part of the Commonwealth, and some were shown not to be in the possession of any nation".
In the 1950s, the Australian government began a review of its maritime boundaries in line with the evolving definitions of continental shelf later formalised in Convention on the Continental Shelf. The federal cabinet resolved to assert federal jurisdiction over the Coral Sea islands in 1957, but action was delayed by continued uncertainty over whether islands were already part of the states of New South Wales and Queensland, or attached to the British Solomon Islands, and therefore needed those jurisdictions' approval. In 1967, following discussions with state governments over the proposed sea and submerged lands legislation, Attorney-General Nigel Bowen proposed that the federal government should unilaterally annex the islands, "on the basis that they have already become Commonwealth
territory as a result of the Commonwealth’s own previous and sufficient exercise of authority in relation to them".
In August 1968, the Australian government requested and received confirmation from the United Kingdom that it did not claim "any right or interest" over specified islands in the Coral Sea between the 154th and 158th meridian east and that it recognised Australian sovereignty over those islands. This resolved any jurisdictional issues over the "outer" Coral Sea islands.

Federal territory

The Coral Sea Islands Act 1969 was passed by the Parliament of Australia and received royal assent on 2 September 1969, coming into force on 30 September 1969. The act established the specific islands as a separate Australian external territory under the name "Coral Sea Islands Territory" and provided for the federal government to enact ordinances in line with other territories. The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island was given jurisdiction over the islands, while the laws of the Australian Capital Territory were applied to the territory by an "application of laws" ordinance in 1973.
The Coral Sea Islands is the only Australian external territory not created by transfer from the United Kingdom or by the mandate of the United Nations. Defence is the responsibility of Australia, and the territory is visited regularly by the Royal Australian Navy. The territory's FIPS 10-4 code is CR, whereas ISO 3166 includes it in Australia.
In 1997, the Coral Sea Islands Act 1969 was amended to include Elizabeth Reef and Middleton Reef within the territory. These reefs are nearly to the south of the other islands, much closer to the island of Lord Howe Island which is part of New South Wales. They had been excluded from the initial act as the Attorney-General's Department considered they could "not reasonably be regarded as being included in the International Law Commission's definition of the continental shelf", although some sources had previously considered them as part of New South Wales. In 1986, the government had received advice that the reefs should be considered "territory otherwise acquired by the Commonwealth" under section 122 of the constitution and in 1987 declared them to be a marine national nature reserve under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975.
In June 2004, a symbolic political protest run by gay rights activists based in Australia declared the Coral Sea Islands to be a sovereign micronation. On 17 November 2017, the same group declared the kingdom to be "dissolved", following the results of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.

Administration and activities

The territory is administered from Canberra. Previously, it was administered by the Attorney-General's Department and the Department of Transport and Regional Services.
Australia maintains automatic weather stations on many of the isles and reefs, and claims a exclusive fishing zone. There is no economic activity, and only a staff of three or four people to run the meteorological station on Willis Island, established in 1921. In November 2011, the Australian government announced that a protected area was planned in the Coral Sea.

Geography

The territory incorporates about 30 separate reefs and atolls, twelve being wholly submerged or drying only during low tide. The 18 atolls and reefs with land above the high water mark contain a total of about 51 islets and cays, some of which are vegetated. The atolls exhibit a wide range of size, from a few kilometres in diameter to perhaps the second largest atoll in the world by total area : Lihou Reef, with a lagoon size of and an area of, which compares to a combined land area of the 18 individual islets of only. The islands are all very low.
The Willis Islets are important nesting areas for birds and turtles, but contain negligible natural resources. They comprise less than of land. There is no port or harbour, only offshore anchorage.
Most of the atolls fall into two groups, while Mellish Reef to the east, Middleton Reef and Elizabeth Reef to the south are grouped separately:

Northwestern Group

  1. Osprey Reef
  2. Shark Reef
  3. Bougainville Reef
  4. East Holmes Reef
  5. West Holmes Reef
  6. Flora Reef
  7. Diane Bank
  8. North Moore Reef
  9. South Moore Reef
  10. Willis Islets
  11. Magdelaine Cays & Coringa Islets, 2 islets of the Magdelaine Cays in the North: North West Islet and South East Cay ; 2 islets of the Coringa Islets 50 to 60 km further Southwest: Southwest Islet or Coringa Islet, and Chilcott Islet
  12. Herald Cays, Northeast Cay
  13. Herald Cays, Southwest Cay
  14. Lihou Reef and Cays
  15. Diamond Islets & Tregosse Reefs
  16. North Flinders Reef
  17. South Flinders Reef
  18. Herald's Surprise
  19. Dart Reef
  20. Malay Reef
  21. Abington Reef
  22. Marion Reef
The atolls of the Northwestern Group, except Osprey Reef and Shark Reef in the north, and Marion Reef in the south, are located on the Coral Sea Plateau, a contiguous area of depths less than 1000 m.
  • Flinders Reefs, Herald's Surprise and Dart Reef form a cluster of reefs of 66 by 26 km.
  • Magdelaine Cays, Coringa Islets and Herald Cays are part of the 8856 km2 Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve, created on 16 August 1982 and located around 400 km east of Cairns and 220 to 320 km from the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. The 6 islets of the nature reserve have areas from 0.16 to 0.37 km2, for a total of 1.24 km2.
  • Lihou Reef was declared a Nature Reserve on 16 August 1982, with an area of 8440 km2.
The Nature Reserves were created to protect wildlife in the respective areas of the territory; together they form the Coral Sea Reserves Ramsar Site.

Mellish Reef

  1. Mellish Reef, being about 300 km to the east of the Northwestern Group, thus the most distant from the Australian continent of all the reefs and atolls of the Coral Sea Islands Territory, is not considered to be part of any group. It has the outline of a boomerang-shaped platform around 10 km in length and 3 km across, area 25 km2. The surrounding reefs, which enclose a narrow lagoon, are completely submerged at high tide. Near the centre of the lagoon is the only permanent land of the reef – Heralds-Beacon Islet. The island is a small cay measuring 600 m by 120 m, area 57,000 m2, only rising a few ms above the high-water mark. The reef was discovered and named by Captain Alexander Bristow in the whaling ship on 5 April 1812. The wrecked on the reef on 16 August 1856. erected the first beacon on the cay, using wreckage from Duroc.

    Southeasterly Group

  2. Frederick Reefs: The reefs form a semi-enclosed lagoon, known as Anchorage Sound, with an opening on the North side. The complex measures about 10 by 4 km, with an area of 30 km2. On the southern side of the reef lies Observatory Cay, the only permanently dry land, although there are a few of others cays that can be awash at high tide.
  3. Kenn Reefs, submerged atoll of about 15 by 8 km, area 40 km2, islet Observatory Cay in the Southeast, 2 m high
  4. Saumarez Reefs, southernmost reefs to be located on the Coral Sea Shelf; three main reefs and numerous smaller reefs that form a large crescent-shaped formation open to the northwest, about 27 by 14 km, area less than 300 km2. There are two sand cays: North East Cay and South West Cay.
  5. Wreck Reefs: atoll 25 by 5 km, area 75 km2, open on the North. Islets found on the reefs include Bird Islet, West Islet and Porpoise Cay.
  6. Cato Reef: Cato bank 21 by 13 km, area 200 km2 of depths less than 17 m; Cato Reef encircles an area of 3.3 by 1.8 km, area 5 km2 including lagoon; Cato Island, in the West of the lagoon, 650 by 300 m, area 0.15 km2, 6 m high. Close to the Southeast corner of Cato bank is Hutchison Rock, with 1 m depth over. Cato Island is the highest point in the Territory.