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| Van Diemen Gulf | |
|---|---|
 Map showing the layout of Van Diemen Gulf.Darwin is in lower left corner. | |
  Van Diemen Gulf | |
| Coordinates | 11°49′S131°57′E / 11.817°S 131.950°E /-11.817; 131.950 |
| Type | Gulf |
| Etymology | Anthony van Diemen.[1] |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Max. length | 75 nautical miles (139 km; 86 mi)[2] |
| Max. width | 45 nautical miles (83 km; 52 mi)[2] |
Van Diemen Gulf is a gulf in theNorthern Territory ofAustralia. It connects to theTimor Sea in the north viaDundas Strait. Most of its area is also gazetted as a locality with the nameVan Diemen Gulf.
The gulf was named after the Dutch colonial governor,Anthony van Diemen (1593–1645).[3]
Phillip Parker King and his crew in the 76-tonnecutterHMS Mermaid surveyed the coastline in early 1818, encountering localAboriginal people andproas sailed byMakassans, and passed by the Gulf on other voyages.[4]
The gulf connects to the Timor Sea in the north via Dundas Strait, and is also connected to theBeagle Gulf in the west by theClarence Strait. It is partially enclosed byMelville Island and theCobourg Peninsula, and measures about 140 kilometres (90 mi) by 80 kilometres (50 mi).[5]
Rivers draining into the Gulf include theSouth Alligator River, theEast Alligator River, theMary River,Wildman River and theAdelaide River. TheKakadu National Park adjoins its south-east coast.[6]
On 4 April 2007, most of the area occupied by the Van Diemen Gulf was gazetted as a locality with the name Van Diemen Gulf by theNorthern Territory Government, who also included it in the local government area of theWest Arnhem Region.[7][8][9]
This article was first published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, (MUP), 1967 [but has been] amended since the original publication.
List of Australian seas | |
|---|---|
| Ocean | |
| Sea | |
| Strait | |
| Gulf | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
