Cleft Island (Victoria)

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Cleft Island
Nickname: Skull Rock
Cleft Island is located in South Gippsland Shire
Cleft Island
Cleft Island
Geography
LocationBass Strait
Coordinates39°9′27″S 146°17′42″E / 39.15750°S 146.29500°E / -39.15750; 146.29500Coordinates: 39°9′27″S 146°17′42″E / 39.15750°S 146.29500°E / -39.15750; 146.29500
Length300 m (1000 ft)
Width200 m (700 ft)
Administration
Australia
StateVictoria

Cleft Island, also known as Skull Rock, is a small, rugged, granite island in the Anser group of islands to the south-west of Wilsons Promontory, Victoria, Australia.

The island is within Wilsons Promontory National Park. The surrounding waters to the mean high-water mark are within Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park.[1] It is part of the Wilsons Promontory Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for breeding seabirds.[2]

It is partially hollowed out by ancient waves, creating a cave 130m wide and 60m tall.[3]

Only 9 people have ventured into the cavern, finding "old cannon balls left by passing ships practicing their aim"[citation needed]. Adventurers had to land on the top of the rock by helicopter, then they shimmied down ropes to gain entrance to the cave. The Australian defence force have been blamed for the other holes in the rock, being used for target practice in the past[citation needed].

References[]

  1. ^ Parks Victoria (2006), Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park and Wilsons Promontory Marine Park Management Plan (PDF), p. 1, ISBN 0731183460, archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2012, retrieved 24 July 2017
  2. ^ "Important Bird Areas factsheet: Corner Inlet". BirdLife International. 2017.
  3. ^ "Neil Oliver shares new Coast stories and goes places few others have ever ventured". 11 January 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
Cleft Island (Skull Rock) - Cavity

[1]


  1. ^ 3) Traveller, Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 22 June 2021.
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