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Thevenard Island is located approximately 22 kilometres (14 mi) off the coast from Onslow in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Contents
Map of Thevenard Island, Western Australia, Australia
Description
The island is the largest of a group of ten islands called the Mackerel Islands. Only two islands in the group, Thevenard and Direction Islands, have accommodation for tourists. The Mackerel Islands airstrip, complete with a 1,000-metre (3,281 ft) paved runway, is found on Thevenard.
The island is approximately 6 kilometres (4 mi) in length and occupies a total area of 550 hectares (1,359 acres). It is surrounded by limestone reefs and platforms, with diverse coral assemblages on the northern side. Areas of deep sandy soil are found on the island supporting Acacia and Triodia shrubland and coastal heath scrub.
Fauna
Classified as a C class nature reserve, the island is visited by green turtles and flatback sea turtles who lay their eggs on the beaches. The waters off-shore are also home to dugong and several species of dolphins including; common, bottlenose, spinner and humpback dolphins. The endangered Thevenard Island short-tailed mouse is endemic to the island, with an estimated 2,000 individuals remaining. The mouse population is in decline as a result of loss of habitat and competition from the house mouse, which was introduced to the island in 1985.
History
The island was visited by indigenous Australians before and after its separation from the mainland, approximately 8,000 years ago.
WAPET discovered the Saladin oil field, the North West Shelf just off the island in 1985. The company was granted a 25 hectares (62 acres) lease to build production facilities on the island; the first oil was produced from the project in 1989. Other fields were brought online between 1991 and 1998 using facilities both off-shore and on Thevernard itself.
The MV Boa Force was shipwrecked off the island when the anchor handling tug supply vessel struck a wellhead in 1994. All eleven crew were rescued; Boa Force was later raised and subsequently scuttled in deep water.
Production from off-shore oil fields including Saladin ceased in 2014. The new owners, Chevron Corporation, tried to sell the facilities on Thevernard without success. The decision was made in 2015 to decommission the site, with the removal of all plant, road and footing expected to take two years.