The islands of the Buccaneer and Bonaparte Archipelagos
The Kimberley coast’s Buccaneer and Bonaparte Archipelagos comprise more than 2,633 charted islands, 248 of which are connected to the mainland by mangroves, mud or reefs at low tide. Only 352 of the islands are officially named although some of the unnamed islands lie within named island groups. The islands range in size; 20 of the Kimberley’s islands are larger than 1,000ha in size, and 343 are more than 20 hectares.
The great majority of islands are classified as unallocated crown land, although many are subject to native title claims. A number of islands near the former Kunmunya Mission are now included in Reserve 23079 “for the use and benefit of Aborgines”. Numerous other Kimberley islands are now included in listed reserves.
These remote and beautiful islands have acted as ecological arks, protecting flora and fauna from disease, predation, fire and overgrazing. Species that have diminished in numbers on the mainland, such as the Golden Backed Tree Rat (Mesembryomis macrurus) are flourishing on the coastal islands, and populations of sedentary fauna found on the islands may have been isolated to particular islands since the islands were separated from the mainland. A rough-scaled python on Bigge Island is considered one of the rarest snakes in the world, and there are populations of Golden-backed tree rats on several islands. Two species of terrestrial vertebrates are found only on Kimberley islands; the Buccaneer Burrowing Skink from King Hall Island and the Koolan Blind Snake from Koolan Island. The Kimberley’s islands are also free of feral herbivores such as donkeys, cattle and pigs.
Despite numerous recommendations for increased conservation status in a 1991 report “Nature Conservation Reserves in the Kimberley Western Australia” by Dr Andrew Burbidge, compiled from information available in 1987, few of the recommendations have been implemented, largely due to resistance from the mining and oil and gas industries and native title issues (see page 23 of the document below).
The Kimberley Islands Biological Survey of 22 islands by DEC, traditional owners, the Australian Museum and the WA Museum is now underway. Whilst knowledge of seabird breeding islands is generally quite good, and casual observations have concluded that Flatback and Green Turtles nest on nearly every Kimberley beach, recent research has already doubled the species lists for most of the islands. With limited surveys to date , there are no doubt many species yet to be discovered.