St Francis Island (originally in Dutch: ''Eyland St. François'') is an island on the south coast of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

near Ceduna. It is part of the

Nuyts Archipelago The Nuyts Archipelago is an island group located in South Australia in the Great Australian Bight to the south of the town of Ceduna on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula. It consisting of mostly granitic islands and reefs that prov ...

. It was one of the first parts of South Australia to be discovered and named by Europeans, along with St Peter Island, mapped by

François Thijssen François Thijssen or Frans Thijsz (died 13 October 1638?) was a Dutch-French explorer who explored the southern coast of Australia. He was the captain of the ship t Gulden Zeepaerdt'' (''The Golden Seahorse'') when sailing from Cape of Good Ho ...

't Gulden Zeepaert The ''t Gulden Zeepaert'', usually referred to as the ''Gulden Zeepaert'' (The Golden Seahorse) was a ship belonging to the Dutch East India Company (VOC). It sailed along the south coast of Australia from Cape Leeuwin in the south west of West ...

in 1627.

Flora & Fauna

The flora and fauna of St Francis Island in the 1900s included petrels, Australian sea lions and little penguins.

Protected area status

Statutory reserves

The island is part of the Nuyts Archipelago Wilderness Protection Area while the waters surrounding its shores are within the

Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park Nuyts may refer to: People * Pieter Nuyts (1598–1655), Dutch explorer and diplomat * Pieter Nuyts (writer) (1640–1709), Dutch poet and playwright Places * Nuyts Archipelago (disambiguation), places associated with the island group in South ...

Non-statutory arrangements

Important Bird Area

The island is part of the

Nuyts Archipelago Important Bird Area The Nuyts Archipelago is an island group located in South Australia in the Great Australian Bight to the south of the town of Ceduna on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula. It consisting of mostly granitic islands and reefs that provid ...

(IBA), so identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports over 1% of the world populations of

short-tailed shearwater The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (''Ardenna tenuirostris''; formerly ''Puffinus tenuirostris''), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in A ...

white-faced storm-petrel The white-faced storm petrel (''Pelagodroma marina''), also known as white-faced petrel is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Pelagodroma''. Description The white-faced ...

s and

pied oystercatcher The pied oystercatcher (''Haematopus longirostris'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. The similar South Island pied oystercatcher (''H. finschi'') occurs in New Zealand. ...

References