Wessel Islands
The Wessel Islands are a group of islands belonging to the Northern Territory of Australia. They extend in a more or less straight line from Buckingham Bay and the Napier Peninsula of Arnhem Land, and Elcho Island, to the northeast. Marchinbar Island is the largest of the group. Other islands include Elcho Island, Rimbija Island (the most outlying island), Guluwuru Island, Raragala Island, Stevens Island, Burgunngura Island, Djeergaree Island, Yargara Island, Drysdale Island, Jirrgari Island, Graham Island, Alger Island, Abbott Island, and Howard Island.
Bumaga Island and Warnawi Island, both part of the Wessel Islands group, are also part of the Cunningham Islands.
History
In 1979, former Australian soldier Maurie Isenberg sent coins he had found while stationed on the islands in 1944 to be authenticated [1]. Most were found to have come from the Dutch East India Company, while five coins were determined to be from the Kilwa Sultanate in Tanzania [2]. These last coins are historically significant as they are over 1,000 years old, indicating that the continent may have been part of a trading network a few hundred years before it was visited by Captain James Cook.
References
- ^ "COINS COULD REWRITE AUST HISTORY". AAP. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "Ancient African Coins Found In Australia Could Rewrite History; Team Seeks 1,000-Year-Old Evidence". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
External links
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