Wedge Island is a 400-metre (1,300 ft) long wedge shaped island north of
Lancelin and south of
Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
on the
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
n coast. The island is located just south of “the point” and approximately 15km south-east of an
informal settlement
Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the inform ...
known as Grey village with which it often shares a name. Both are within the
Shire of Dandaragan
The Shire of Dandaragan is a local government area located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about north of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is the town of Jurien Bay.
History
T ...
.
Geography
The island occupies an area and is situated from the mainland. The island has a maximum elevation of .
[
It lies within the Turquoise Coast islands nature reserve group, a chain of 40 islands spread over a distance of from north to south.]
History
Wedge Island was named after government surveyor Charles Wedge
Charles Wedge (1810–1895) was a surveyor and explorer of the North-West regions of Western Australia.
Wedge was born in Cambridgeshire, England; he was the eldest son of Edward Davy Wedge and a nephew of John Helder Wedge. In 1824, he emigra ...
, in 1875 by Staff-Commander William Edwin Archdeacon R.N., who was in charge of the Admiralty survey of the coast of Western Australia.
The settlement is now home to approximately 350 beach shack
A shack (or, in some areas, shanty) is a type of small shelter or dwelling, often primitive or rudimentary in design and construction.
Unlike huts, shacks are constructed by hand using available materials; however, whereas huts are usually ru ...
s on unvested land that are used by crayfish
Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...
ermen and holiday-goers. A new sealed road, Indian Ocean Drive
Indian Ocean Drive is a coastal highway in the Australian state of Western Australia which services the coastal communities along the Indian Ocean immediately north of the state capital Perth, linking the northern suburb of Yanchep with the Br ...
was opened in September 2010 which provides 2WD access to Wedge. There are claims that this has changed the local environment. The road, intended to promote tourism is well known for a number of serious vehicle crashes since it opened.
Wedge is often quiet during the cooler months but during major public holidays such as Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
, New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
and Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...
there are people in nearly every shack. Camping
Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...
in the area is now officially prohibited. However it has been estimated that 14,000 individuals may use the shacks at Wedge and Grey. There are no shops nor running water, and generators are common without mains electricity
Mains electricity or utility power, power grid, domestic power, and wall power, or in some parts of Canada as hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to h ...
. Activities include four wheel driving, sand boarding
Sandboarding is a boardsport and extreme sport similar to snowboarding that involves riding across or down a sand dune while standing on a board, either with both feet strapped in or while standing loose, without bindings. Sandboarding can als ...
, surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
and kitesurfing
Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...
, fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
and snorkeling
Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a ...
. Motorbike riding has been banned in the area surrounding Wedge Island after many accidents resulted in people needing to be air lifted to get medical attention. The ranger now hands out fines to those caught using unlicensed vehicles in the vicinity, or leaving rubbish there.
A man was fatally stabbed during a beach party on the northern side of Wedge in December 2013, after a brawl broke out. The New Year's Eve party involved more than 600 people.Donna Faragher
Donna Evelyn Mary Faragher (née Taylor; born 12 September 1975) is an Australian politician who has been a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia since 2005, representing East Metropolitan Region. She became a mi ...
announced that she would not be seeking an end to the leases at Wedge and Grey until compromise options were considered by government.
In April 2011, a WA Legislative Council Standing Committee found that coastal shacks should be removed to protect the environment from "unplanned growth". The shack leases were due to expire on 30 June 2011 but the Wedge community won a one-year renewal for all occupied facilities.
Wedge and Grey are in an area subject to summer bushfires and visitors in beach shacks are sometimes asked to relocate.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Slideshow of images of Wedge Island from the BBC World Service
Geoscience Gazetteer of Australia
Wedge Island Community page
Wedge Island Information Page
Wedge and Grey Master Plan 2000
Environment and Public Affairs Committee : Inquiry into Shack Sites in WA
Turquoise Coast (Western Australia)
Nature reserves in Western Australia