Ashmore and Cartier Islands
External territory of Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands is an uninhabited Australian external territory consisting of four low-lying islands in two separate reefs (Ashmore and Cartier), as well as the 12-nautical-mile (22 km; 14 mi) territorial sea generated by the islands. The territory is located in the Timor Sea on the edge of the Sahul Shelf, about 320 km (200 mi) off the northwest coast of Australia and 144 km (90 mi) south of the Indonesian island of Rote.
Flag of Australia, used for the Ashmore and Cartier Islands[1] | |
.svg) Location of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Indian Ocean |
| Coordinates | 12°15′30″S 123°02′30″E |
| Total islands | 4 |
| Administration | |
Australia | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 (March 2026) |
History
Early history
The Ashmore and Cartier Islands have been visited by fishermen from Indonesia since the early 1700s.[2][3] Ashmore Reef was discovered by Europeans in 1811 after Captain Samuel Ashmore sighted the islands aboard the ship Hibernia, while Cartier Island and the neighbouring Hibernia Reef were discovered by Captain Nash in 1799 or 1800 aboard the ship Cartier.[4][2][5][6] The area may also have been visited during this period by Dutch and Portuguese vessels. In the early 19th century, the islands were typically recorded as the Ashmore Shoal.[4]
Deposits of guano on the Ashmore Islands were mined by American whalers from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, but had run out by 1891.[4][1] The islands were visited by HMS Barracouta in 1876, and two years later the government of the British colony of Western Australia chartered a ship and authorised its captain to lay claim to the islands. The annexation was initially repudiated by the Colonial Office as an overreach of the colonial government's authority, but in 1878 Britain took possession of the territory.[7][5] At around the same time, the Netherlands and the United States laid claim to the islands, but eventually abandoned their claims.[7][8] In October 1878, American whaling captain Amasa T. Webber claimed Ashmore Island for the United States under the Guano Islands Act and purported to rename it the Caller Group after his vessel, the Sadie F. Caller. The U.S. Department of State rejected his claim two months later. Webber subsequently formed the Melbourne Guano Company with a group of Australian investors and obtained a licence to exploit its guano reserves.[9][5]
In December 1905, HMS Cambrian reasserted possession of the Ashmore Islands on behalf of the United Kingdom. The ship's commander, Captain Ernest Gaunt, went ashore accompanied by five officers and around 200 seamen, erecting the Union Jack on a flagpole and singing "God Save the King", while Cambrian returned a 21-gun salute.[10] Britain declared sovereignty over the Ashmore Islands and extended its claim to include Cartier Island in 1909.[7] In the 1920s, the islands were used as a base for poachers targeting the Western Australian pearling industry.[11]
Australian administration
In 1924 the Premier of Western Australia Philip Collier requested that the territory be brought under his state's jurisdiction in order to combat illegal fishing. James Henry Thomas, the British government's Secretary of State for the Colonies, proposed the same year that Australia begin managing the issuance of fishing licenses for the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.[12] Prime Minister Stanley Bruce informed the Western Australian state government in February 1925 that Britain was prepared to transfer the territory to Australia, and the Western Australian premier responded that his state would be willing to administer the islands.[13]
The Prime Minister's Department began consulting with the Attorney-General's Department on the most appropriate mechanism for transferring sovereignty of the islands. In 1927 the Solicitor-General Robert Garran informed the prime minister that Australia's boundaries could only be altered by the King or by an action under section 122 of the Australian Constitution.[14] The Australian government decided to request that the British government issue an order-in-council amending the nation's boundaries to extend to Ashmore and Cartier Islands.[15] The British agreed, but suggested that an action under section 122 of the constitution stating that the islands were under Australian authority would be a more suitable mechanism for the transfer.[15] In September 1929 Australia agreed and requested that the British government issue an order-in-council that would place the islands under Australia's authority once parliament had passed an Act to accept the territory.[16]
A British order-in-council dated 23 July 1931 stated that Ashmore and Cartier Islands would be placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia once Australia passed legislation to accept them.[17] The Commonwealth's resulting Ashmore and Cartier Islands Acceptance Act 1933 was passed on 15 December 1933, and on 10 May 1934 the islands formally became part of Australia.[18] The act authorised the Governor of Western Australia to make ordinances for the territory, which would remain under Commonwealth control.[17] Due to legal complications surrounding the administration of the islands by Western Australia, the state abandoned its attempts to take control of the islands in 1937. The federal government designated the islands as part of the Northern Territory, with the designation taking effect from 19 July 1938.[19]
During the Second World War the islands were visited by naval ships, and in the years that followed the territory was used for weapons testing. Navigational lights and weather monitoring stations were installed on the islands during the 1950s and 1960s.[19] The islands also continued to be regularly visited by Indonesian fishermen; a 1949 surveying visit reported that there were 23 prahu anchored at Ashmore Reef, in addition to drying racks for caught seafood.[20] A memorandum of understanding was signed with Indonesia in 1974 to allow traditional Indonesian fishermen access to parts of the territory.[19][2] In 1978, when the Northern Territory was granted self-government, administration of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands was retained by the Commonwealth.[21] The Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve was established in 1983, and was followed by the Cartier Island Marine Reserve in 2000.[2] The Commonwealth government ruled in 1985 that Northern Territory law would be applied in the territory.[22] Operations were also conducted in the 1980s to remove unexploded ordnance that had been left around Cartier Island during training exercises.[6] In September 2001, due to high rates of migrant arrivals on the islands, the Australian Government removed the Ashmore and Cartier Islands from the Australian migration zone.[2][1] Vessels carrying asylum seekers have been intercepted near the territory in the years since.[22]
Geography and climate
The Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands is located in the Timor Sea to the north-west of the Australian mainland on the edge of the Sahul Shelf.[4][22] The territory comprises Ashmore Reef, which includes West, Middle and East Islands, as well as Cartier Island. Ashmore Reef covers approximately 583 km2 (225.1 sq mi), while the Cartier Island Marine Reserve covers 167 km2 (64 sq mi).[23] The territory sits about 170 kilometres south of Rote Island, Indonesia, and 320 kilometres from the Australian mainland. It is surrounded by a territorial sea with a radius of 12 nautical miles.[23] The territory has a monsoon climate, with a rainy season between November and March and a dry season between May and September.[5] The average sea surface temperate sits at a low of around 24°C in July and August, and a high of around 30°C in the early months of the year.[24]
Ashmore Reef is an atoll approximately 26 kilometres in length and 14 kilometres in width, and contains three cays.[25] West, Middle and East Islands have a combined land area of approximately 1.12 square kilometres (0.43 sq mi) and sit approximately 2.5–3 metres above the high-tide line.[23][26][a] Cartier Reef is approximately 2.3 kilometres in length and 4.5 kilometres in width, with one cay named Cartier Island that sits about 1–2 metres above the water at high tide.[25][6] The island's land area has been reported at 0.4 hectares (0.99 acres) and 2.1 hectares (5.2 acres).[22][6] The four cays are made of coral and sand and are surrounded by coral reefs.[2][22] The Ashmore Islands have a small amount of grass cover and a few coconut trees on Middle and West Islands, while Cartier Island has no vegetation.[24][2][26] Ashmore Reef is called Pulau Pasir by Indonesians and Nusa Solokaek in the Rotenese language; both names have the meaning "sand island".[3]
Governance and economy
The territory is administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sports and the Arts, which is also responsible for the administration of the territories of Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, Jervis Bay Territory and Norfolk Island.[27] The territory receives visits from the Australian Defence Forces and the Australian Border Force with the aim of combatting illegal fishing.[2][22]
Oil extraction takes place at the Jabiru and Challis oil fields neighbouring the territory, which is administered by the Northern Territory's Department of Mines and Energy on behalf of the federal government.[2][22] As of 2018, there were six petroleum production licenses, sixteen exploration permits, and nine retention leases active in the Ashmore and Cartier Islands.[22]
Environment and protection
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The Ashmore Reef Marine Park and Cartier Island Marine Park are both classed as strict nature reserves, apart from a segment of the Ashmore Reef and part of West Island that is classified as a recreational use zone. Due to the reef's environmental significance and the risk of unexploded ordnance on Cartier Island, vessels are prohibited from accessing the sanctuary zones without prior approval.[28][29]
The Ashmore Islands are an important breeding site for seabirds, including crested terns, white-tailed tropicbirds, and greater frigatebirds. About 100,000 seabirds breed on the Ashmore Islands each year, particularly on East and Middle Islands.[2][28] Waders, including curlew sandpipers, bar-tailed godwits, and great knots, use the islands to gather food.[29] A series of bird surveys of Cartier Island between 2010 and 2014 recorded 34 bird species, and found that crested terns occasionally used the island for breeding.[6]
Approximately 833 species of fish are known to live in the Ashmore and Cartier Islands and neighbouring reefs.[30] The fish species found at Ashmore and Cartier reefs are similar to those found elsewhere in the Indo-West Pacific, and include some species that are generally found only in Indonesia. A 1986 survey found that the most common families of fish included Gobiidae, Pomacentridae, Labridae, Apogonidae, and Chaetodontidae.[31] The same survey also found 99 species of crustacean on the reefs, with Xanthoid crabs the most prevalent, and 433 species of molluscs.[32][33] The shark population at Ashmore Reef has grown significantly since 2004 due to stricter enforcement of a ban on shark fishing within the Marine Park.[34][35] An isolated population of dugongs is known to live in the vicinity of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands; in 2022 a dugong was observed at Ashmore Reef for the first time since 2005.[36]
178 species of echinoderms, including sea urchins, sea stars, and sea cucumbers, were found in the Ashmore and Cartier Islands in a 1986 survey.[37] The gathering of sea cucumbers by Indonesian fishermen in the region was traditionally common, but has reduced due a decline in the sea cucumber population.[38] A large number of green turtles nest on Cartier Island and the Ashmore Islands. Green turtles also feed on seagrasses like Thalassia hemprichii that are present on the Ashmore Islands.[6][39]
Contemporary issues
Fishing
Since 1974, traditional Indonesian fishermen have been permitted to access an area of Australian waters covering the Ashmore and Cartier Islands known as the MOU Box. They are also permitted to access West Island to visit grave sites and to seek shelter and fresh water.[2][28] About 85% of those accessing Ashmore Reef between 1988 and 2001 came from the Indonesian island of Rote, with most coming from the villages of Pepela and Oelaba.[40][41] Upon the establishment of the Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve in 1983, fishing on the reef and the surrounding waters with a depth of less than 50 metres was prohibited.[42] In 1988 Australia clarified that vessels with motors or engines were not considered "traditional fishermen" and were prohibited for fishing in the area, which excluded the increasing number of motorised prahu from the MOU Box.[43]
Indonesian fishermen traditionally primarily gathered sea cucumbers in the territory, but population decline due to overfishing has led many to instead begin fishing for sharks.[44] The islands are often used to replenish supplies of fresh water for longer journeys to the south.[3] The Australian Border Force has periodically deployed permanent patrol vessels to Ashmore Reef to enforce the ban on fishing in the Ashmore Reef Marine Park and to combat illegal fishing.[34]
Migration
The first asylum seekers arrived on Ashmore Reef in March 1995.[45] As Ashmore Reef is the closest point of Australian territory to Indonesia, it was a popular target for people smugglers transporting asylum seekers en route to Australia.[46] Once they had landed on Ashmore Island, asylum seekers could claim to have entered Australian migration zone and request to be processed as refugees. The use of Ashmore Island for this purpose created great notoriety during late 2001, when refugee arrivals became a major political issue in Australia. The Australian Government argued that as Australia was not the country of first asylum for these "boat people", Australia did not have a responsibility to accept them.[citation needed]
A number of measures were taken to discourage the use of the territory for this purpose, such as attempting to have the people smugglers arrested in Indonesia; the so-called Pacific Solution of processing them in third countries; the boarding and forced turnaround of the boats by Australian military forces; and finally excising the territory and many other small islands from the Australian migration zone.[47]
In October 2001, the Royal Australian Navy detained two Indonesian boats carrying asylum seekers for seven days in the Ashmore Island lagoon. These boats were later returned to Indonesian waters through the use of force and deception.[48]
