Cobourg Peninsula

The Cobourg Peninsula reaches into the Arafura Sea northeast of Darwin, protected as Garig Gunak Barlu National Park and jointly managed with its traditional owners, with a marine park covering the surrounding waters. It was the site of Victoria Settlement at Port Essington, a British outpost founded in 1838 and abandoned in 1849 after fever, isolation and a cyclone defeated it; chimneys, a hospital and graves remain in the bush, reached by boat. The peninsula holds dugongs, six species of marine turtle, crocodiles and wild banteng cattle descended from the settlement's stock. Access requires a permit through Arnhem Land, and the number of vehicles allowed in at one time is capped.

History

The peninsula has been the country of the Iwaidja and the associated Marrgu, Garig and Wurrugu peoples for at least 40,000 years. The Dutch sailed its coast in 1636 and Abel Tasman surveyed it in 1644, Makassan trepangers from Sulawesi came every year through the 1700s, and in 1818 Phillip Parker King named the Cobourg Peninsula, Port Essington and Croker Island. Britain tried to plant outposts on this coast, Fort Dundas on Melville Island in 1824 and Fort Wellington at Raffles Bay in 1828, both soon abandoned, and in 1838 Victoria Settlement at Port Essington, which lasted eleven years until 1849; in 1874 John Lewis took up a grazing lease and formed the Cobourg Cattle Company (Wikipedia, Cobourg Peninsula).

What's there

• Victoria Settlement - the ruins of the 1838 British outpost at Port Essington.
• The marine life - dugongs, turtles and abundant fish in the marine park.
• The banteng - wild Asian cattle descended from settlement livestock.
• The empty coast - beaches and mangroves with almost no development.

When to go

May to October; the wet season closes the access track entirely. Permits must be arranged in advance and vehicle numbers are capped, so planning ahead is necessary. Fishing is a major draw in the dry.

What to expect

Access is a long four-wheel drive through Arnhem Land on permit, or an expensive flight. Estuarine crocodiles make swimming impossible anywhere. Facilities are a campground and a small lodge. Supplies must be carried in.

Nearby

Arnhem Land surrounds the access route; Darwin lies southwest.

Key facts