North_West_Cape Knowpia

North West Cape is a peninsula in the north-west of Western Australia. Cape Range runs down the spine of the peninsula and Ningaloo Reef runs along the western edge. It is in the Gascoyne region and includes the town of Exmouth.

History edit

In 1618, Dutch East India Company captain Lenaert Jacobszoon and supercargo Willem Janszoon of the Mauritius landed in the area.^[1] Phillip Parker King later visited in 1818 and named it North West Cape as well as naming Exmouth Gulf after senior naval officer Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth. Later, pearl luggers visited the area from Broome.^[1] During World War II a military operation codenamed Operation Potshot was done in the area.^[2] The first oil flow in Australia was discovered there in 1953 at Rough Range, by exploration company WAPET.

Exmouth Gulf Station takes up much of the eastern side of the peninsula backing onto Exmouth Gulf.

References edit

^ ^a ^b "Exmouth and NW Cape: History". Exmouth Visitor Centre. Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
^ Dunn, Peter (19 January 2020). "US Navy Submarine Base at Exmouth Gulf". Australia@War. Retrieved 17 October 2022.