Mount Adolphus Island, also called ''Muri'' or ''Mori'' in the native language, is an

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

of the

Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their total land ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

that is located at the very tip of

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

on the northern side of the

Adolphus Channel The Adolphus Channel is a channel located in the Torres Strait, situated northeast of Cape York, in Queensland, Australia. Geography The channel runs north of the Albany Island, one of the islands of the Manar group of the Torres Strait Isl ...

, across from

Albany Island Albany Island or Pabaju is an island off the north-eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula in the Adolphus Channel and part of the Manar Group of islands of Queensland, Australia. It is within the locality of Somerset in the Shire of Torres. G ...

and about northeast of Bamaga in the far north region of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia.

Geography

Mount Adolphus Island is long, and wide at its widest point. It measures in area. It is located from the Australian mainland. The island's highest elevation is the flat-topped Mount Adolphus at the height of

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the Vertical position, vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric h ...

. Blackwood Bay indents the west shore of the island.

History

Djagaraga (also known as Yadhaigana, Dyagaraga and Yagulleone) is of the languages from the tip of Cape York. The language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council. Traditionally the language was spoken on Eastern Cape York particularly the localities of

and Mount Adolphus Island.

Shipwrecks

*''Aliquis'', a ship captained by Gill and sailed from

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

, was lost near Mount Adolphus Island, Torres Strait, in May 1839. There were no deaths. The crew were picked up by the ship ''Argyle'', also bound Sydney to India. *RMS ''

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of the ...

'', a steel steamship of that was built at Dumbarton, Scotland in 1881. Owned by the British, India Steam Navigation Company and captained by Alfred Sanders, the ship was bound from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It foundered when she struck a needle of uncharted coral in Mount Adolphus Channel, on 28 February 1890. 133 lives were lost and there were 158 survivors. A submerged rock had ripped through six water-tight compartments of the hull, from the bows to the engine room. Stokers were killed instantly as water rushed onto the boilers causing them to explode. Lower-deck portholes burst under the water pressure and the sea flooded in swamping passengers asleep in their bunks. For half a minute the ship hung at a 45-degree angle, then she slid slowly beneath the surface. Within less than five minutes of striking the rock she was gone.

References

{{Torres Strait , state=autocollapse Torres Strait Islands Islands of Far North Queensland

Geography

History

Shipwrecks

See also

References