Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Description

A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders Bay to the east of the cape. The nearest settlement, north of the cape, is Augusta. South-east of Cape Leeuwin, the coast of Western Australia extends much further south. Cape Leeuwin is not the southernmost point of Western Australia, with that distinction belonging to West Cape Howe, which is to the southeast, near Albany. In Australia, the cape is considered where the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

meets the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

, but most other nations and bodies define the Southern Ocean as existing south of 60°S. Located on headland of the cape is the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse and the buildings that were used by the

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

-keepers. Cape Leeuwin is considered one of the three " great capes" of the world.

Use of name

Cape Leeuwin is often grouped with the next headland north, Cape Naturaliste, to identify the geography and ecology of the region. One example is in the name '' Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park''. Another is in the use of the phrases ''Cape to Cape'' or ''the Capes'' in tourist promotional materials. A shore base and a ship of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

have been named after the cape.

History

The Wardandi, an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

people, were the first peoples in the area. They called it . The English navigator Matthew Flinders named Cape Leeuwin after the first known ship to have visited the area, (), a Dutch vessel that charted some of the nearby coastlines in 1622. The log of ''Leeuwin'' has been lost, so very little is known of the voyage. However, the land found by ''Leeuwin'' was recorded on a 1627 map by Hessel Gerritsz: (), which appears to show the coast between present-day Hamelin Bay and Point D'Entrecasteaux. Cape Leeuwin itself cannot be recognised. Other European vessels passed by for the next two centuries, including the Dutch , commanded by François Thijssen, in 1627 and the French , under Louis Aleno de St Aloüarn, in 1772. The first known European sighting of the cape was by

Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux (; 8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Isle de France (Mauritius), governor of Isle de Fran ...

in 1791. d'Entrecasteaux thought the cape was an island, and named it ''St Allouarn Island'' (), in honour of Captain de St Aloüarn. Ten years later, Matthew Flinders began his survey of the South coast of New Holland from Cape Leeuwin in 1801 when he named it. Flinders landed in the bay to the east of Cape Leeuwin, today's Flinders Bay. Flinders was aware that the area had been known to the Dutch as ''Leeuwin's Land''. The St Alouarn Islands is a group of islands off the tip of Cape Leeuwin.

Historic Precinct

The lighthouse and adjacent buildings, and Cape Leeuwin water wheel are all within the historic precinct as reviewed by government management.

Climate

The climate of Cape Leeuwin is warm-summer Mediterranean (''Csb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

), with an average annual rainfall of around . Most rain falls between May and August, when around two days in three record measurable rainfall and around one in ten over . During the summer, the weather is warm, though there are usually

sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is a wind that blows in the afternoon from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass. By contrast, a land breeze or offshore breeze is a wind that blows in the night from a landmass toward or onto a large ...

s, and frequently sunny. The dry summers, coupled with strong winds, creates an environment where there is always a high risk of bush fires.

National park

The hillside to the west of the lighthouse, and the land nearby is now part of Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. It has extensive heath vegetation and thick scrub which supports a very high number of plant species and also bird species that utilise this habitat. The bay just east of Cape Leeuwin is Flinders Bay, named after Matthew Flinders, the circumnavigating explorer of the early 19th century.

Wrecks

Shipwrecks within sight of this location include , an iron-screw steamer built in Belfast in Northern Ireland, which sank after hitting an uncharted rock on a clear calm day in 1910. The wreck was found by Tom Snider in 1957 at . He dived on the wreck to recover the lead that was being carried by the ship. Some shipwrecks are identified as being within the vicinity of Augusta, Cape Leeuwin or Hamelin Bay that might not be within visual distance of the lighthouse.

In fiction

Cape Leeuwin is mentioned in the poem associated with the children's story ''

The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo "The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo" is a short story — one of the ''Just So'' stories by Rudyard Kipling. The story was first told aloud by the author to his daughter Josephine as part of their oral tradition. It was then written down and f ...

'' by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

. The poem is also the best way for outsiders to learn the cape's correct pronunciation; to rhyme with "flew in".

References

External links

*
- List of WA lighthouses - check link to Cape Leeuwin
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