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, northeast 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/island groups. Cato Island is the highest point in the Territory.

History and status

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. The Coral Sea Islands became an Australian external territory in 1969 by the Coral Sea Islands Act and extended in 1997 to include Elizabeth Reef and Middleton Reef nearly 800 km further south.
The two latter reefs are much closer to Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, than to the southernmost island of the rest of the territory, Cato Island. The islands, cays and reefs of the Great Barrier Reef are not part of the territory, belonging to Queensland instead. The outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef is the boundary between Queensland and the Coral Sea Islands Territory.
The territory is a possession or external territory of Australia, administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities. Previously it was administered by the Attorney-General's Department and the Department of Transport and Regional Services). Defence is the responsibility of Australia, and the territory is visited regularly by the Royal Australian Navy.
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.
The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island has jurisdiction over the islands, however, the laws of the Australian Capital Territory apply. The territory's FIPS 10-4 code is CR, whereas ISO 3166 includes it in Australia.
In 2004, the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands was declared as a sovereign state as a symbolic political protest by a group of gay rights activists based in Australia in response to the Australian government's refusal to recognise same-sex marriages. The Kingdom was dissolved on 17 November 2017 following results of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey indicated a majority of Australians supported same-sex marriage.

Geography

There are about 30 separate reefs and atolls, twelve being wholly submerged or drying only during low tide, and 18 others with 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, and 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, a contiguous area of depths less than 1000 m.
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.

    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 and a camp site on the Island called Heaven is the home of the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands.

    Extreme South

and Middleton Reefs, together with reefs around Lord Howe Island 150 km to the south, are regarded as the southernmost coral reefs in the world. Their location, where tropical and temperate ocean currents meet, contributes to an unusually diverse assemblage of marine species. These mostly submerged atolls which dry only during low tide were added to the territory only in 1989. They are located on the Lord Howe Rise. Already on 23 December 1987, they were protected as the Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Marine National Nature Reserve, which has an area of 1880 km2.
  1. Middleton Reef, atoll about 8.9 by 6.3 km, area 37 km2 including lagoon, one islet: The Sound, 100 by 70 m, highest point close to the Northern end 1.5 m. At low tides much of the reef flat is exposed.
  2. Elizabeth Reef, atoll about 8.2 by 5.5 km, area 51 km2 including lagoon, one islet: Elizabeth island, no vegetation, 600 m by 400 m, highest point 0.8 m. At low tides much of the reef flat is exposed.

    Overview of islets and cays

Man-made structures

Automatic, unmanned weather stations are located on the following reefs or atolls:
Lighthouses are located on following reefs or islands:
Willis Island, the only inhabited island, has a number of structures.