Woody Island (Western Australia)
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| Woody Island Nature Reserve | |
|---|---|
 Skinny Dip Bay on Woody Island Nature Reserve in August 2012 | |
  Woody Island Nature Reserve | |
| Location | Western Australia |
| Nearest city | Esperance |
| Coordinates | 33°57′43.45″S 122°00′43.74″E / 33.9620694°S 122.0121500°E |
| Area | 2.4 km2 (0.93 sq mi) |
| Visitors | 16000 (in 2003-04)[1] |
| Governing body | Department of Parks and Wildlife |
Woody Island is an island off the south coast in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.
The island located 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the town of Esperance. The island is part of the Recherche Archipelago and is listed as a nature reserve.[2] It is about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) in length with a total area of 240 hectares (593 acres).[3]
History
The island was being used by settlers to graze sheep and collect wood since before 1896 with goods being transported to Esperance for sale.[4]
Sheep continued to be grazed on the island until 1954 when the Recherche Archipelago was declared a Nature Reserve.[5]
Woody Island is the only island of the archipelago that is open to visitors, it is accessible by daily island cruises and has accommodation available.[6] Tour operator, Dan MacKenzie, was granted permission to land passengers on the island in 1973. The MacKenzie family built the jetty on the island that was used for visitors to disembark from tourist boats. Since then a new jetty has been constructed to accommodate larger boats, with the older jetty still visible on the opposite side of the cove.[7]
A license to operate overnight tourism on Woody Island was granted to the MacKenzies in 1985.[5]
A A$500,000 visitor centre was opened on the island in 1999.[5]
Over 16,000 tourists visit the island each year.[5]
