Carnac Island
An A Class nature reserve about 10 km south-west of Fremantle, the 19 hectare Carnac Island is a wildlife spotter's paradise.
The island is home to Australian Sea Lions, Bottlenose Dolphins and a large range of marine bird life. It also supports a large colony of the vulnerable Fairy Tern, as well as small numbers of other nesting seabirds. However there is a down side - it is particularly noted for the abundance of snakes, particularly Tiger snakes - over 400 live there. For this reason, very few people venture there. The origins of the Tiger snake colony has attracted significant debate and research into how that species has adapted to a harsh island habitat.
Perth-based environmental consultant Mitch Ladyman described the island as being "like a McDonald's drive thru for tiger snakes" because the island is a nesting ground for seagulls, providing the snakes with a continuous source of food for a population of snakes which have no natural predators on the island. The 19 hectare island is densely populated with up to three of the venomous snakes in every 25 square metres, but mystery surrounds how they got there in the first place. One theory is that a snake showman and spruiker, Lindsay Rocky Vane, released 40 tiger snakes on Carnac Island in 1929, after his wife (1928) and then his business partner William Melrose (1929) were both bitten and died.
Another is to do with rising sea levels marooning the snakes out on the island and the third theory involves snakes swimming from nearby Garden Island. They could have been there for decades or they could have been there for thousands of years. That they do not get a mention in the historical records pertaining to the Aboriginal prison and quarantine station (1852 - 1902) indicate their arrival was probably more recent.
There are no obvious signs warning visitors about the presence of the snakes but visitors are advised not to wander onto the island further than the beach. Visitors are also required to stay at least five metres away from the sea lions. The only access is by boat and is limited to day use only. There is a small visitor exclusion zone on the beach at Carnac Island to allow sea-lions a sanctuary area where they can escape from people if they choose. Despite looking docile, Australian sea-lions are large, wild animals that can sometimes become aggressive if they feel threatened. Please stay well clear of them.
Carnac Island has no permanent fresh water, providing a challenge for the animals that live there.
In 1803, French explorer Louis de Freycinet, captain of the Casuarina, named the island ile Pelee (Bald Island). It was also known as ile Levilian and later ile Berthelot. In 1827, James Stirling changed its name to Pulo Carnac Island in honour of John Rivett Carnac, Second Lieutenant on his ship HMS Success. "Pulo" is Malay for "Island"; it is not known why Stirling included the term, and it was soon dropped.
When Stirling later returned as Lieutenant Governor with the first settlers of the colony in 1829, his ship the Parmelia ran aground on the sand bar that runs between Woodman Point and Carnac Island. Twenty-nine passengers spent five days on the island while the ship was retrieved.
The Aboriginal name for Carnac Island is thought to be Ngooloormayup. The Nature Reserve forms part of a registered Aboriginal site under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. Several Nyoongar dreaming stories are associated with local coastal environments, including offshore islands such as Carnac. In 1832 three Aborigines including Yagan, a tribal leader, were imprisoned on the island in the care of RM Lyon and a number of soldiers for allegedly killing one of the European settlers. Their confinement lasted only a few weeks as the prisoners escaped in a stolen government stores boat.
One of the first two whaling enterprises in Perth waters was established on Carnac Island in 1836-37. The whalers brought and transported Perth s first church to serve as a store. The whaling station closed a few years later after the loss of several lives, damage to boats and frequent theft of their supplies.
In 1884, the State Government gazetted Carnac Island as a quarantine station for the Port of Fremantle. Records indicate that the first persons to use Carnac Island for quarantine isolation were 226 civilians and military personnel from the vessel "Anna Robertson" suffering from Whooping Cough.
The first buildings on Carnac Island were erected until 1898, so all quarantined passengers and crew were housed in tents and in times of excessive numbers and the priority to separate particular diseases, extra accommodation was utilised on hulks such as the Tamerlane and Annie Lisle that were moored off the island. The Commonwealth acquired the island for defence purposes in 1916, but transferred it back to the State in 1961.
