Yampi Sound

Yampi Sound is a part of the Indian Ocean off the coast of northwestern Australia, located between King Sound and Collier Bay. The islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago, which enclose the sound, contain important iron ore deposits. The sound was visited in March 1838 by Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of HMS Beagle, who named Yampee Point, Yampee being the local Indigenous peoples word for fresh water.[1]

Map of Yampi Sound

The traditional owners of the areas around the sound are the Umiida peoples.[2]

Yampi Sound contains many islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago the largest being Koolan Island. Others include: Cockatoo Island, Conilurus Island, Irvine Island, Bathurst Island, Gibbings Island, Hidden Island, and the Baylis Islands.

High grade iron ore has been mined from Koolan and Cockatoo islands since 1951. A small copper mine also operated at Coppermine Creek on the mainland side of the sound, which in the period 1915-1916 produced ore containing 23.06 tons of copper, worth £1504[3] (A$155,000 in 2019 currency).[4]

During World War II, several raids were launched against the Japanese forces in Borneo and Java using Catalina Flying Boats by the Royal Australian Air Force from Cockatoo Island in Yampi Sound.[5]

The Australian Defence Force has maintained a training facility at Yampi Sound since the 1970s.[6]

References
  1. Stokes, J Lort (1846). Discoveries in Australia, Volume 1. With An Account Of The Coasts And Rivers Explored And Surveyed During The Voyage Of H.M.S. Beagle, In The Years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43. London: T. and W. Boone. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  2. "AusAnthrop Australian Aboriginal tribal database". 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  3. Sofoulis, J.; Gellatly, D.C.; Derrick, G.M.; Parbridge, R.A.; Morgan, C.M. (1971). The Geology of the Yampi 1:250,000 Sheet Area Se/51-3 Western Australia (PDF). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics. p. 130.
  4. "Pre-Decimal Inflation Calculator". Reserve Bank of Australia. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  5. "Kimberley Society Talks 1995". 1995. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  6. "Yampi Sound Training Area". Australian defence facilities. Nautilus Institute. Retrieved 23 December 2010.


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