53-537: The Chesterfield Islands ( îles Chesterfield in French) are a French archipelago of New Caledonia located in the Coral Sea , 550 km (300 nmi) northwest of Grande Terre , the main island of New Caledonia. The archipelago is 120 km long and 70 km broad, made up of 11 uninhabited islets and many reefs. The land area of the islands is less than 10 km. During periods of lowered sea level during
106-572: A deep-sea sounding taken on the passage between Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope showed a depth of 7,706 fathoms (14,093 m). The ship then began its main survey by visiting Lord Howe Island , the Isle of Pines ( New Caledonia ) and Aneityum ( Vanuatu ) (19 February 1853 to 1 January 1854); New Zealand and Raoul Island , (2 January 1854 to 2 September 1854); Fiji , (3 September 1854 to 24 November 1854); and Norfolk Island (June 1855). After
159-568: A few hundred tons elsewhere, and 40% to 62% phosphate (Chevron, 1880), which was extracted between 1879 and 1888 by Higginson, Desmazures et Cie of Nouméa (Godard, nd), leaving Long Island stripped bare for a time (Anon., 1916). Apparently the islands were then abandoned until Commander Arzur in the French warship Dumont d’Urville surveyed the Chesterfield Reefs and erected a plaque in 1939. In September 1944, American forces installed
212-477: A mast‑head Lookout will enable a Ship to round to under the lee of the Reefs where she may caulk topsides, set up rigging, rate Chronometers, [and] obtain turtle, fish and seafowl eggs. On some of the more salient reefs, beacons were erected by Capt. Denham, and for the sake of castaways, cocoa‑nuts, shrubs, grasses & every description of seed likely to grow, were sown in the way to promote the superstructure; and it
265-705: A mile in circumference, twenty feet high, and the sea between them twenty fathoms deep. At four miles (7 km) northeast by north from them the water was twelve fathoms (72 feet) deep, and at the same time they saw a reef ten or fifteen miles (20–30 km) to the southeast, with deep water between it and the islets. A boat landed on the south-westernmost islet, and found it inhabited only by birds, but clothed with shrubs and wild grapes. By observation, these islands were found to lie in latitude 19 degrees 40 minutes, and longitude 158 degrees 6 minutes. The Avon Isles are described by Denham in 1859 as "densely covered with stunted trees and creeping plants and grass, and... crowded with
318-597: A second visit to Fiji, (25 June 1855 to 3 February 1856), the Herald was involved with the resettlement of the Pitcairn Islanders to Norfolk Island, (4 February 1856 to 26 June 1856). A third visit was then undertaken to Fiji, (27 June 1856 to 26 February 1857), followed by the survey of Port Jackson , New South Wales , (27 February 1857 to 20 December 1857); Bass Strait , King George Sound and Shark Bay (21 December 1857 to 29 June 1858). After three visits to
371-607: A steamer to tow a set of spiked cables spaced along an oak beam. The dredging method he introduced remained in use until 1890. On 28 February 1839, he elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society . According to Mountfield (1953), Denham's work during the 1830s and 1840s played a crucial role in establishing Liverpool as a major terminal port to meet the increasing demands of industrial trade in England Denham's time at Liverpool ended in discord, with Denham frustrated at
424-449: A temporary automatic meteorological station at the south end of Long Island, which was abandoned again at the end of World War II . The first biological survey was made of Long Island by Cohic during four hours ashore on 26 September 1957. It revealed, among other things, a variety of avian parasites including a widespread Ornithodoros tick belonging to a genus carrying arboviruses capable of causing illness in humans. This island and
477-576: Is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands , or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Archipelagos are sometimes defined by political boundaries. For example, while they are geopolitically divided, the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands geologically form part of a larger Gulf Archipelago. The word archipelago is derived from the Ancient Greek ἄρχι-( arkhi- , "chief") and πέλαγος ( pélagos , "sea") through
530-471: Is a loose collection of elongated reefs that enclose a deep, semi-sheltered, lagoon. The reefs on the west and northwest are known as the Chesterfield Reefs; those on the east and north being the Bampton Reefs. The Chesterfield Reefs form a structure measuring 120 km in length (northeast to southwest) and 70 km across (east to west). There are numerous cays occurring amongst the reefs of both
583-650: Is most desirable that these Refuge‑ spots should be held sacred for universal benefit and not ruthlessly destroyed by the Guano‑seeker. The area is a wintering ground for numerous humpback whales and smaller numbers of sperm whales . During the 19th century the Chesterfield Islands were visited by increasing numbers of whalers during the off season in New Zealand. L. Thiercelin reported that in July 1863
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#1732764837809636-415: Is not clear that they ever took much guano from the Chesterfield Islands unless it was obtained from Higginson, Desmazures et Cie, discussed below. When in 1877 Joshua William North also found guano on the Chesterfield Reefs, Alcide Jean Desmazures persuaded Governor Orly of New Caledonia to send the warship La Seudre to annex them. There were estimated to be about 185,000 cu m of guano on Long Island and
689-574: The Coral Sea in the 1790s. The Chesterfield Islands, sometimes referred to as the Chesterfield Reefs or Chesterfield Group , are the most important of a number of uninhabited coral sand cays . Some are awash and liable to shift with the wind while others are stabilized by the growth of grass, creepers and low trees. The reefs extend from 19˚ to 22˚S between 158 – 160˚E in the southern Coral Sea halfway between Australia and New Caledonia . The Chesterfield Reefs are now part of
742-636: The English Channel and Ireland . He was promoted to lieutenant in 1822. From October 1827, he was lieutenant-commander in HMS ; Linnet , surveying the coast of France. From September 1828 to March 1835, he surveyed the Bristol Channel and the ports of Liverpool and Milford. In the early 1830s, the expansion of the Port of Liverpool was being severely restricted by the silting of
795-520: The Pleistocene ice ages, an island of considerable size (Greater Chesterfield Island) occupied the location of the archipelago. Bellona Reef , 164 km south-southeast of Chesterfield, is geologically separated from the Chesterfield archipelago but commonly included. The reef complex is named after the whaling ship Chesterfield , commanded by Matthew Bowes Alt, which sailed through
848-474: The 20th century. Several sand cays lie on the reef southeast of the islet. The two Avon Isles 19°32′S 158°15′E / 19.533°S 158.250°E / -19.533; 158.250 ( Avon Isles ) , some 188 m in diameter and 5 m high to the top of the dense vegetation, are situated 21 n.m. north of Long Island. They were seen by Mr. Sumner, Master of the ship Avon , on 18 September 1823, and are described by him as being three-quarters of
901-469: The Anchorage Islets were also visited briefly during a survey of New Caledonian coral reefs in 1960 and 1962. An aerial magnetic survey was made of the Chesterfield area in 1966, and a seismic survey in 1972, which apparently have not been followed up yet. In November 1968 another automatic meteorological station was installed on Loop Islet where 10 plants were collected by A.E. Ferré. Since then
954-638: The Centre de Nouméa of the Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre Mer has arranged for periodic surveys and others when this installation is serviced. From 1982 to 1992 Terry Walker carried out methodical surveys of the Coral Sea islets with the intention of producing a seabird atlas. He visited the central islands of the Chesterfield Reefs in December 1990. An amateur radio DX-pedition (TX3X)
1007-776: The Chesterfield Islands, the closest being Mellish Reef with Herald's Beacon Islet at 17°25′S 155°52′E / 17.417°S 155.867°E / -17.417; 155.867 ( Herald's Beacon Islet ) , at a distance of 180 nm northwest of Bampton Island, belong to the Coral Sea Islands Territory . The Bampton and Chesterfield Reef Islands, with their surrounding waters, have been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because they support breeding colonies of several species of seabirds , including lesser frigatebirds , red-footed and brown boobies , brown and black noddies , and fairy terns . Booby Reef in
1060-460: The Chesterfield and Bampton Reefs. These include: Loop Islet, Renard Cay, Skeleton Cay, Bennett Island, Passage Islet, Veys Islet, Long Island, the Avon Isles, the Anchorage Islets and Bampton Island. Long Island 19°53′S 158°19′E / 19.883°S 158.317°E / -19.883; 158.317 ( Chesterfield Reefs – Long Island ) , 10 nm NW of Loop Islet, is
1113-436: The Coral Sea, (30 June 1858 to 23 May 1860), the Herald began the first leg of its homeward voyage, Sydney to Surabaya , (24 May 1860 to 20 November 1860), departing Surabaya on 21 November 1860 and arriving at Chatham on 1 June 1861. Between 10 May 1864 and 21 November 1866, Denham served as Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station . In 1866, he was knighted for his hydrographical services. In 1871, he retired from service with
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#17327648378091166-665: The Herald's surveying expeditions are still utilised today. At the time of Denham's voyages, the south-west Pacific was a mission field, a site of commercial activity, and a colonial outpost. The natural history specimens gathered by naturalists William Grant Milne and John MacGillivray on the expedition made substantial contributions to botanical and ornithological collections. The voyage began in England on 21 February 1852, arriving in Australia on 18 February 1853. On 30 October 1852,
1219-775: The Italian arcipelago . In antiquity , "Archipelago" (from Medieval Greek * ἀρχιπέλαγος and Latin archipelagus ) was the proper name for the Aegean Sea . Later, usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands (since the sea has a large number of islands). Archipelagos may be found isolated in large amounts of water or neighbouring a large land mass. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland, which form an archipelago. Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along island arcs generated by subduction zones or hotspots , but may also be
1272-533: The Southwest Pacific in the period 1852 to 1861. The voyage of HMS Herald earned him a lasting place in the history of maritime surveying. For a decade, the Herald surveyed and charted known land masses and suspected hazards in the south-west Pacific and substantial parts of the Australian coast, These efforts were instrumental in establishing safe shipping routes. Many of the charts produced by
1325-465: The best anchorage. Passage (Bonnet) Island reaches a vegetative height of 12 m Bampton Island 19°07′S 158°36′E / 19.117°S 158.600°E / -19.117; 158.600 ( Bampton Island ) , lies on Bampton Reefs 20 nm NW of Renard Island. It is 180 m long, 110 m across and 5 m high. It had trees when discovered in 1793, but has seldom been visited since then except by castaways. The reefs and islands west of
1378-594: The center of the eastern chain of reefs and islets comprising Chesterfield Reefs appears to have been discovered first by Lt. Henry Lidgbird Ball in HMS Supply on the way from Sydney to Batavia (modern day Jakarta ) in 1790. The reefs to the south were found next by Mathew Boyd in the convict ship Bellona on his way from Sydney to Canton (modern day Guangzhou ) in February or March 1793. The following June, William Wright Bampton became embayed for five days at
1431-539: The channels leading to the port. The Dock Trustees asked the Admiralty for help, and in 1833, Denham was assigned to survey the area. He carried out the most thorough survey of the Mersey and its approaches and analysed the volumes and patterns of flow and the quantities of solid material transported during tide. He argued that if the existing channels were becoming blocked, the tidal flow must be going somewhere else. He
1484-487: The establishment of a body with authority over the entire river estuary, rather than just the port. As a result, his appointment was terminated in 1839. Denham remained in the NW of England for several years, being appointed by the Admiralty to survey the coasts of Lancashire and Cumberland. He published many of the results of his work in a set of Sailing directions for the area, published in 1840. From 15 January 1842, Denham
1537-495: The islets only had two or three plants, including a bush 3–4 m high, and were frequented by turtles weighing 60 to 100 kg. Many eggs were being taken regularly by several English, two French and one American whaler. On another occasion there were no less than eight American whalers. A collection of birds said to have been made by Surgeon Jourde of the French whaler Général d’Hautpoul on the Brampton Shoals in July 1861
1590-423: The lack of resources available. This frustration reached its peak during the great storm of 1839. The storm caused lightships and buoys to be torn from their moorings, and Denham found himself unable to hire boats and crews to address the situation. Additionally, tension arose among some committee members who felt that Denham was exceeding his role by advocating changes in the management of port approaches, He proposed
1643-637: The lagoon is exposed to trade winds and to the southeastern oceanic swell. The lagoon is relatively deep with a mean depth of 51 m. The depth increases from south to north. Chesterfield Reefs complex consists of the Bellona Reef complex to the south (South, Middle and Northwest Bellona Reef) and the Bampton Reef complex. Captain Matthew Boyd of Bellona named the reefs for his ship. He had delivered convicts to New South Wales in 1793 and
Chesterfield Islands - Misplaced Pages Continue
1696-437: The largest of the Chesterfield Islands, and is 1400 to 1800 m long but no more than 100 m across and 9 m high. In May 1859 Henry Mangles Denham found Long Island was "a heap of 'foraminifera' densely covered with stunted bush‑trees with leaves as large as cabbage plants, spreading 12 feet (3.7 m) and reaching as high, upon trunks 9 inches (23 cm) diameter... The trees around the margin of this island were leafless, as if from
1749-432: The like species of birds." Renard Island North Bampton Reef 19°14′S 158°58′E / 19.233°S 158.967°E / -19.233; 158.967 ( Bampton Reefs – Renard Island ) , Approximately 6 m (20 ft) tall sand islet lies 45 nmi (83 km) northeast of the Avon Isles and is 273 m (896 ft) long, 180 m (590 ft) across and also 6 m (20 ft) high to
1802-613: The navy in 1809. He served on HMS Vulture between 1810 and 1814, initially under the command of Captain Martin White , engaged in survey work in the Channel Islands . He became a midshipman while serving on Vulture . He continued to work on the Channel Islands survey until 1817, again under White. In 1817, White took command of the survey vessel HMS Shamrock and Denham worked under him on surveys in
1855-478: The north end of Chesterfield Reefs in the Indiaman Shah Hormuzeer , together with Mathew Bowes Alt in the whaler Chesterfield . Bampton reported two islets with trees and "a number of birds of different species around the ships, several of them the same kind as at Norfolk Island ”. The reefs continued to present a hazard to shipping plying between Australia and Canton or India (where cargo
1908-590: The rank of vice admiral. The town of Denham, Western Australia , was named after him, as is the New Caledonian endemic tree Meryta Denham Island, British Columbia , was named after him by a fellow Royal Navy surveyor. In 1826, he married Isabella Cole, the daughter of the Reverend Joseph Cole of Carmarthen. Isabella passed away in 1865. Denham's son, Fleetwood James Denham, served under his father on Herald , tragically succumbing to
1961-465: The result of erosion , deposition , and land elevation . Depending on their geological origin, islands forming archipelagos can be referred to as oceanic islands , continental fragments , or continental islands . Oceanic islands are mainly of volcanic origin, and widely separated from any adjacent continent. The Hawaiian Islands and Galapagos Islands in the Pacific , and Mascarene Islands in
2014-411: The sea was breaking. Lamb defined the limits of the rocky ground as the parallels of 20°40' and 21°50' and the meridians of 158°15' and 159°30'. He also saw a sandy islet, surrounded by a chain of rocks, at 21°24½′ south and 158°30' east. The ship Minerva measured the water's depth as eight fathoms (48 ft), with the appearance of shallower water to the southwest; this last danger is in a line between
2067-526: The sea‑fowl." Although wooded in the 1850s, it was stripped during guano extraction in the 1870s and was said to be covered in grass with only two coconut trees and some ruins at the south end early in the 20th century. The vegetation was growing again by 1957 when the remaining ruins were confused with those of a temporary automatic meteorological station established in the same area by the Americans between 1944 and 1948. Terry Walker reported that by 1990 there
2120-670: The shelf. The islands of the Inside Passage off the coast of British Columbia and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago are examples. Artificial archipelagos have been created in various countries for different purposes. Palm Islands and The World Islands off Dubai were or are being created for leisure and tourism purposes. Marker Wadden in the Netherlands is being built as a conservation area for birds and other wildlife. The largest archipelago in
2173-432: The south Indian Ocean are examples. Continental fragments correspond to land masses that have separated from a continental mass due to tectonic displacement. The Farallon Islands off the coast of California are an example. Sets of islands formed close to the coast of a continent are considered continental archipelagos when they form part of the same continental shelf, when those islands are above-water extensions of
Chesterfield Islands - Misplaced Pages Continue
2226-579: The south end of the central islands of Chesterfield Reefs, is a small, flat, bushy islet 3 m high where a permanent automatic weather station was established by the Service Météorologique de Nouméa in October 1968. Terry Walker reported the presence of a grove of Casuarinas in 1990. Anchorage Islets are a group of islets five nautical miles (9 km) north of Loop Islet. The third from the north, about 400 m long and 12 m high, shelters
2279-513: The territory of New Caledonia while the islands farther west are part of the Australian Coral Sea Islands Territory. Chesterfield lagoon , located between 19˚00' and 20˚30' S and 158˚10' and 159˚E covers an area of approximately 3500 km. A barrier reef surrounds the lagoon, interrupted by wide passes except on its eastern side where it is open for over 20 nautical miles (37 km). The major part of
2332-417: The top of the bushes. Southeast Bampton Reef 19°08′S 158°40′E / 19.133°S 158.667°E / -19.133; 158.667 ( Southeast Bampton Reef ) Sand Cay 5 m (16 ft) elevation Loop Islet 19°59′S 158°28′E / 19.983°S 158.467°E / -19.983; 158.467 ( Loop Islet ) , which lies 85 nm farther north near
2385-514: The two shoals at about longitude 159°20' east, as described by James Horsburgh . Observatory Cay (Caye de l'Observatoire) 21°24′S 158°51′E / 21.400°S 158.850°E / -21.400; 158.850 ( Bellona Reefs – Observatory Cay ) , 800 m long and 2 m high, lies on the Middle Bellona Reefs at the southern end of the Chesterfield Reefs and 180 nm east of Kenn Reef. The Chesterfield Reefs
2438-506: The world by number of islands is the Archipelago Sea , which is part of Finland . There are approximately 40,000 islands, mostly uninhabited. The largest archipelagic state in the world by area, and by population, is Indonesia . Henry Mangles Denham Vice Admiral Sir Henry Mangles Denham (28 August 1800 – 3 July 1887) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station . Denham joined
2491-409: Was a ring of low Tournefortia trees growing around the margin, herbs, grass and shrubs in the interior, and still a few exotic species including coconuts. South of Long Island and Loop Islet there are three small low islets (Martin, Veys and Passage islets) up to 400 m across followed, after a narrow channel, by Passage or Bennett Island, which is 12 m high and was a whaling station in the first half of
2544-549: Was able to identify and chart a new channel and mark it with buoys. This led to a significant increase in the volume of shipping that the port could handle. He was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Liverpool in 1834, and in 1835,he became Resident Marine Surveyor to the port and in 1837, when shoaling became problematic on the outer part of the channel, he introduced an innovative system for dredging. This system involved using
2597-582: Was collected on the way home to Europe ). The southern reefs were surveyed by Captain Henry Mangles Denham in the Herald from 1858 to 1860. He made the natural history notes discussed below. The northern reefs were charted by Lieutenant G.E.Richards in HMS Renard in 1878 and the French the following year. Denham's conclusions are engraved on British Admiralty Chart 349: These Plans and
2650-608: Was commander (second in charge) in HMS Lucifer , commanded by Frederick William Beechey , surveying the coast of Ireland. On 30 July 1845, he was made commander of HMS Avon , surveying the west coast of Africa including the mouth of the Niger River . From 1848 to 1851 he was employed in conducting inquiries into accidents at sea. On 18 February 1852, Denham was appointed captain of HMS Herald . As captain of HMS Herald , he carried out major survey work around Australia , New Caledonia and other parts of
2703-460: Was conducted on one of the islands in October 2015. Unless otherwise noted, information in this section is from Coral Sea and Northern Great Barrier Reef Shipwrecks. 19°21′S 158°40′E / 19.350°S 158.667°E / -19.350; 158.667 Archipelago An archipelago ( / ˌ ɑːr k ə ˈ p ɛ l ə ɡ oʊ / AR -kə- PEL -ə-goh ), sometimes called an island group or island chain ,
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#17327648378092756-565: Was on his way to China to pick up a cargo at Canton to take back to Britain for the British East India Company when he passed the reefs in February–March 1793. Lieutenant John Lamb, R.N., Commander of the ship Baring , spent three days in the neighborhood of Booby and Bellona Shoals and reefs. Lamb took soundings between nineteen and forty-five fathoms (114–270 ft), and frequently passed shoals, upon which
2809-912: Was subsequently brought by Gerard Krefft (1862) to the Australian Museum , but clearly not all the specimens came from there. On 27 October 1862, the British Government granted an exclusive concession to exploit the guano on Lady Elliot Island , Wreck Reef, Swain Reefs , Raine Island , Bramble Cay, Brampton Shoal, and Pilgrim Island to the Anglo Australian Guano Company organized by the whaler Dr. William Crowther in Hobart , Tasmania . They were apparently most active on Bird Islet (Wreck Reef) and Lady Elliot and Raine Islands (Hutchinson, 1950), losing five ships at Bird Islet between 1861 and 1882 (Crowther 1939). It
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