Nickol Bay is a bay between the

Burrup Peninsula The Burrup Peninsula, previously known as Dampier Island, is a former island of the Dampier Archipelago that is now connected to the mainland via a causeway. The peninsula and islands together are also known as Murujuga. The peninsula is locate ...

and Dixon Island, on the

Pilbara coast The Pilbara Coast is the coastline of Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is often referred to as the North West Coast of Western Australia. It is a complex array of river mouths, ports, peninsulas, and islands. Geography North West Cap ...

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 ...

. Once alternatively spelled "Nicol Bay", it was named by

John Septimus Roe John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, a member of Western Australia's legislative and executive councils for nearly 40 years, but also a participant in ...

for a sailor who was lost overboard during an expedition. F. T. Gregory visited the bay a number of times in 1861. When the tiny ''

Forlorn Hope A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the breach of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defended ...

'' sailed around the Bay in June 1865, they landed several times but found no signs of European habitation, yet two years later a settlement named Roebourne had been established and the district's virtues for rearing sheep were being extolled widely.

References

{{coord, 20, 36, S, 116, 54, E, display=title, region:AU_type:waterbody_source:GNS-enwiki Pilbara Coast Bays of Western Australia