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Western Australia, Australia

Montebello Islands Marine Park and Conservation Park

Experience the beautiful Montebello Islands off Western Australia's North West coast

Montebello Islands Marine Park and Conservation Park
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Overview: The Montebello Islands Marine Park, about 20 kilometres north of Barrow Island and 120 kilometres west of Dampier, protects one of the most beautiful and important marine areas along the West Australian coast.

A rich variety of wildlife, natural land and seascapes and maritime heritage of the islands and marine park have great appeal to nature-based tourists.

The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) recommends visitors travel to the marine park with a licensed charter operator due to the remote location, provision of minimal facilities, and risk of cyclones between November and April.

The marine park is a multiple use marine conservation reserve with a number of management zones. You may not remove fish or other marine life from sanctuary zones, so please 'Know Your Zones' before you visit the park. Recreational fishing is welcome in recreation zones and general use zones.

Tips: Visitors must take adequate fuel, water, food, first aid communication equipment as no services or facilities are available. Visitors to the Montebello Islands may camp (except during turtle nesting season from October-April) on the beaches of North West, Primrose, Bluebell, Crocus, Hermite and Renewal islands, up to 100 metres inland of the high-water mark, and for periods no longer than five consecutive nights. Please select a site that looks as though it may have been used before. Take a portable fuel stove as open fires are not permitted on the islands.

* Know marine park boundaries.
* Fish for the Future. Observe size, bag and possession limits.
* Plan to take all rubbish home with you.
* Carry a satellite phone. The marine park is outside of mobile phone and mainland radio coverage areas.
* Wear stinger suits to protect yourself from the risk of stings from jellyfish and ensure you have plenty of vinegar (to douse stings) and that you are aware of general first aid procedures.

Like other island conservation reserves, the Montebello Islands provide an important refuge for native animals that are threatened or no longer found on mainland Australia. DEC has successfully eradicated feral cats and rats from the Montebello Islands in the 1990s. Visitors are asked to assist maintain the high level of quarantine on the islands. Ensure non-native plants and animals are not introduced by: keeping your boat pest free; keeping containers and food pest free; keeping pets off the island; and check that your clothes are not carrying seeds and soil.

Points of Interest

Landmark
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British Military Headquarters 1952, Hermite Island
The Montebello Islands achieved international notoriety when three British atomic weapons tests were carried out there in 1952 and 1956. The former military headquarters building is a highly visible landmark located high at the southern end of Hermite Island.

Constructed as the command post for Operation Hurricane in 1952, this building is the point from which the first explosion was detonated. It was also the only landsite occupied at the time of the explosion. A steel tower on the western side was used to house monitoring and photographic equipment to record the explosion. Made of steel and corrugated iron, the building is now quite dilapidated. Visitors are asked not to enter the building as it may be unstable.

Do not touch or disturb any materials as they may be radioactive.

Access to the headquarters is via a rough track, accessible from Claret Bay. A landing area, a relic from the military presence, has been cut into the bay's fringing rock.
Landmark
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DEC Research Facility, Hermite Island
This hut is a research facility owned by the Department of Conservation.

It was installed in June 1993 to support management and monitoring programs on the island conservation reserves.

The Montebello Renewal program commenced in 1994 to remove threats to native fauna and return original species to the island. The program was part of the statewide Western Shield fauna recovery program. Targeted pest species were black rats and feral cats, which were introduced from early pearling vessels. The last feral cat was removed in 1999 and in 2001 the islands were declared rat free. During the project, mala (rufous hare wallabies) were introduced to Trimouille Island and djoongari (Shark Bay mice) to North West Island. Monitoring shows both colonies are now thriving.

The Threatened Species Translocation and Reintroduction Program, which involves transferring animals from Barrow Island to the Montebello Island Conservation Reserves, is a component of the Gorgon Gas project's approval conditions. Ongoing projects are underway to translocate golden bandicoots, spectacled hare-wallabies, spinifex birds and black and white fairy wrens to Hermite Island.

Island visitors are asked not to use the Research Facility as it is regulary used by DEC and Department of Fisheries staff.
Landmark
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Thomas Haynes hut site
In 1882 Mr Thomas Haynes began diving for pearls on the North West Coast, including the Montebello Islands, from the schooner Telephone.

Along with his business partners Captain Edward Chippendall and Mr George Streeter, they went on to establish a business in Broome.

In 1902 Mr Haynes took up a pearling lease in the Montebellos and in 1906 constructed the first cultivated pearl farm on the islands.

His hut was located in Home Lagoon at approximately this location. Old concrete pads and stone wells now mark the spot which was possibly used by later pearling ventures.

This location is a popular camping beach.
Landmark
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Experimental Pearling Pool, Campbell Island
The inscription on this Pearling Pool reads "The Montebello Experimental Shell Pool, Constructed 1906, Continued 20 Sep. 1981 by R.P. Morgan and crew".

The original pool was constructed by Thomas Haynes, who along with his business partners Edward Chippedall and George Streeter were early pearlers at the islands.

Mr Haynes took out the first pearling lease on the Islands in 1902 and lived in a hut at Home Lagoon until it was destroyed by a cyclone in 1911.

As a pearling-era historical site, this pool is protected under the protected under the West Australian Maritime Archaeology Act of 1973.
Landmark
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Nuclear test site 3 - 1956, Alpha Island
On 19 June, 1956 a 98 kiloton device was detonated on Alpha Island. It was the largest atomic weapon tested on Australian soil.

Extensive testing and monitoring was carried out around the islands and debris from this is still visible.

CAUTION: As slightly elevated radiation levels still occur close to test sites, visitors are asked to limit visits to one hour per day. Do not disturb the soil in these areas and do not handle or remove any relics associated with the tests.
Landmark
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Nuclear test site 1 - 1952, Trimouille Island
On 3 October,1952 a 25 kiloton device was detonated in the hull of HMS Plym as part of Operation Hurricane. This explosion marked the start of British nuclear weapons testing in Australia.

The Plym was a 1,370-ton river class frigate, built during WWII, the vessel had served during Battle of the Atlantic. She was anchored in 12 metres of water in Main Bay, 400 metres off Trimouille Island. The explosion left a saucer-shaped crater on the sea floor, 6 metres deep and 300 metres across, that can still be seen today.

The approximate location of the Plym's propellor and shaft is 20°24'9.30"S 115°33'55.50"E. The ship's anchor and the crater are located slightly south.

Extensive testing and monitoring was carried out around the islands and debris from this, and later tests in 1956, is still visible.

CAUTION: As slightly elevated radiation levels still occur close to test sites, visitors are asked to limit visits to one hour per day. Do not disturb the soil in these areas and do not handle or remove any relics associated with the tests.
Landmark
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Nuclear test site 2 - 1956, Trimouille Island
On 15 May, 1956 a 15 kiloton device was detonated on the northern end of Trimouille Island. This was the first of two devices exploded by the British as part of Operation MOSAIC.

The bomb was detonated from a specially constructed tower. Today a concrete plinth marks the location of the explosion.

Extensive testing and monitoring was carried out around the islands and debris from this is still visible.

CAUTION: As slightly elevated radiation levels still occur close to test sites, visitors are asked to limit visits to one hour per day. Do not disturb the soil in these areas and do not handle or remove any relics associated with the tests.
Animals/Wildlife
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North West Island
North West Island is completely surrounded by the Northern Montebellos Sanctuary Zone. It is a great place to dive or snorkel but please remember that it is a no take area, so you must look but don't touch.
Landmark
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Wreck of the Trial, Tryal Rocks
The Montebello and Barrow Islands have a long history of European contact, which began with the wreck of the English East India Company vessel, the Trial on what are now known as Tryal Rocks in 1622. The 46 survivors from the wreck who landed on the Montebello Islands are the first Europeans recorded landing on the islands. The wreck is outside the marine reserves.

Pre 1900 shipwrecks are protected under the Maritime Archaeology Act 1973 (WA legislation) and the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 (Commonwealth legislation). The West Australian Maritime Museum has responsibility for managing these wrecks.
Pictures in this guide taken by: Cath Samson/ DEC, Cath Samson/DEC, Libby Hoskin/DEC, Ian Walker, Brett Lewis, Sophie Arnell/DEC, Andy Williams/DEC, Adam Williams/DEC, Marissa Speirs/DEC, Suzanne Long/DEC
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DEC
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The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) protects and conserves the State’s natural environment...

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