Houtman Abrolhos Islands

The Abrolhos are a group of one hundred and twenty-two low coral islands sixty kilometres off Geraldton, where the Leeuwin Current carries warm water south and allows coral reefs to grow further from the equator than almost anywhere. In 1629 the Dutch ship Batavia struck a reef here; while the commander sailed for help, a mutiny took hold among the survivors and around a hundred and twenty-five men, women and children were murdered on the islands, one of the darkest episodes in the European history of Australia. The wreck site and stone structures built by survivors remain. The islands are a national park with rock lobster fishing camps, and visits are by flight or charter only.

History

Aboriginal people visited the islands in the Holocene, as a flaked stone tool found on Beacon Island shows, and the first Europeans known to see them were the Dutch East India Company ships Dordrecht and Amsterdam in 1619, their discovery credited to Frederick de Houtman, who warned the company that the shoal was very dangerous; the name comes from the Portuguese abrolhos, thorns. The Dutch ship Batavia was wrecked here in 1629, followed by the massacre of more than a hundred survivors by mutineers, and the Zeewijk in 1727 (Wikipedia, Houtman Abrolhos).

The landscape

• The Batavia sites - the wreck location and stone structures from 1629.
• The coral reefs - high-latitude reefs supported by the Leeuwin Current.
• The fishing camps - seasonal rock lobster huts on several islands.
• The seabird colonies - large breeding populations across the low islands.

When to go

March to November for the calmest seas; the lobster season shapes activity on the islands. Day flights from Geraldton run year-round in fair weather. Sea conditions cancel charters frequently.

Good to know

There is no accommodation and camping is not permitted, so visits are day trips by air or multi-day liveaboard charters, both expensive. Landing is restricted on many islands to protect seabird colonies. The Batavia history is grim and presented plainly.

Nearby

Geraldton is the departure point on the mainland.

Key facts