Pocklington Reef: Difference between revisions
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Illegal drugs worth $30 million were hidden in a wreck on the reef in 1978. Stored in watertight bags, the cannabis had been left by a trawler from Thailand.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Canberra_Times ''Canberra Times'', 17 June 1978, p.1]</ref> |
Illegal drugs worth $30 million were hidden in a wreck on the reef in 1978. Stored in watertight bags, the cannabis had been left by a trawler from Thailand.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Canberra_Times ''Canberra Times'', 17 June 1978, p.1]</ref> |
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A Taiwanese fishing vessel was detected illegally fishing off the reef in October 1979 within PNG’s 200-mile fishing zone. The skipper was fined 1000 kina and vessel’s fishing gear was seized.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/250493559?searchTerm=“%20Pocklington%20Reef” ''Papua New Guinea Post-Courier'', 23 October 1979, p.3]</ref> |
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== Marine protected area == |
== Marine protected area == |
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Revision as of 00:54, 20 April 2021
 ISS image of Pocklington Reef | |
  Pocklington Reef | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Solomon Sea |
| Coordinates | 10°48′44″S 155°44′18″E / 10.81222°S 155.73833°E [1] |
| Type | Reef |
| Archipelago | Louisiade Archipelago |
| Adjacent to | Solomon Sea |
| Total islands | 2 inhabited on Bentley Group |
| Major islands |
|
| Area | 0.01 km2 (0.0039 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1 m (3 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Province | Milne Bay |
| District | Samarai-Murua District |
| LLG | Yaleyamba Rural Local Level Government Area |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 (2014) |
| Pop. density | 0/km2 (0/sq mi) |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone | |
| ISO code | PG-MBA |
| Official website | www |
Pocklington Reef is a coral reef and a mostly submerged atoll in the far southeast of Papua New Guinea.
It is 162.4 km from the closest island, Loa Boloba, which is a tiny coral islet within the fringing reef near Cape Deliverance, the south east point of Rossel Island (Yela) in the Louisiade Archipelago, and belongs to Milne Bay province, Samarai-Murua District, Yaleyamba Rural Local Level Government Area.
Pocklington Reef sits on top of Pocklington Ridge, which extends north-east from Rossel Island. The reef is 32 km long and up to 4 km wide. Its longer axis is north-east-south-west. The rim of the reef encloses a deep lagoon. The northern rim reaches closer to the surface, and several above water rocks with heights between 0.9 and 3 metres high lie along its length. There is a small spit of sand about the size of a football field (less than one hectare) at the north-east end.
Before Papua New Guinea achieved sovereignty in 1975 it was decided Pocklington Reef should be part of the new nation.[2]
History
The reef was discovered and named by the captain of the Sydney whaler Pocklington in 1825.[3]
A number of vessels have been wrecked on the atoll.[4] The brig Reindeer (324 tons) was on the way from Melbourne to China for a cargo of tea when she was wrecked here in September 1855.[5] Among the crewmen aboard was Walter Powell.
The Earl of Hardwick (280 tons) was on the way from Newcastle, New South Wales, with a cargo of coal to Hong Kong in 1862 when it was wrecked on 10 June.[6][7]
The Genevieve (1,000 tons) was a relatively new vessel built at Quebec in 1870 and sailing from Melbourne to Manilla when she came to grief in September 1874.[8]
HMS Renard surveyed the reef in 1880 and noted there was no anchorage around its perimeter.[9]
On 28 April 1962, Panamanian SS Dona Ourania[10] grounded on Pocklington Reef.[11]
The Japanese ship Amigi Maru (2,249 tons) ran aground during a cyclone in May 1972.[12] It could not be saved and had to be abandoned.[13]
In April 1974 the soviet vessel Fedor Litke spent a week at a sandbank on the reef. An Australian naval vessel visited the site soon after and it was reported a concealed electronic monitoring device was found there.[14]
Illegal drugs worth $30 million were hidden in a wreck on the reef in 1978. Stored in watertight bags, the cannabis had been left by a trawler from Thailand.[15]
A Taiwanese fishing vessel was detected illegally fishing off the reef in October 1979 within PNG’s 200-mile fishing zone. The skipper was fined 1000 kina and vessel’s fishing gear was seized.[16]
Marine protected area
Pocklington Reef Marine Park is a proposed marine protected area.[1]
References
- ^ a b Pocklington Reef Wood, L. J. (2007). MPA Global: A database of the world's marine protected areas. Sea Around Us Project, UNEP-WCMC & WWF. www.mpaglobal.org
- ^ Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, 18 September 1974, p.2
- ^ Nicholson, Ian (1981). Gazetteer of Sydney shipping, 1788-1840 (First ed.). Canberra: Roebuck. p. 144. ISBN 0909434182.
- ^ Catalog of Nautical Charts.
- ^ Morning Bulletin, 30 May 1903, p.6
- ^ Loney, Jack (1980). Australian shipwrecks, Vol 2: 1851-1871 (First ed.). Sydney: Reed. p. 133. ISBN 0589501003.
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald, 28 November 1862, p.4
- ^ Northern Argus (Rockhampton, Queensland), 22 September 1874, p.2
- ^ Pacific Islands pilot, with supplements and Admiralty notices to mariners. London: Admiralty Hydrographic Department. 1885. p. 54.
- ^ Dona Ourania Wear Built Ships
- ^ Gerald Forsberg Salvage from the Sea Publisher: Routledge and Kegan Paul, Jan 1, 1977
- ^ Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, 30 May 1972, p.4
- ^ Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, 1 June 1972, p.1
- ^ Canberra Times, 23 April 1975, p.1
- ^ Canberra Times, 17 June 1978, p.1
- ^ Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, 23 October 1979, p.3
External links
- Satellite image at the Wayback Machine (archived December 23, 2010)
- Maritime boundaries
- Papua New Guinea Act
Islands of Papua New Guinea | |
|---|---|
| Bismarck Archipelago | |
| Louisiade Archipelago | |
| North Solomon Islands | |
 | This article about an island in Papua New Guinea is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |