Bathurst Island (Northern Territory)
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Bathurst Island (2,600 km²[1], ) is one of the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory off the northern coast of Australia along with Melville Island. The island was named after Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, who, like Viscount Melville, is also commemorated by a Canadian island). From 1910 to 1938 the island was the site of the Roman Catholic mission of Francis Xavier Gsell, known as the "Bishop with 150 wives" for his practice of "buying" girls betrothed to older men and making possible their marriages to men of similar age.
The largest settlement on Bathurst is Nguiu, in the south-east, with a population of around 1450.[2] Located on the south east corner of Bathurst Island, Nguiu is approximately 70 km north of Darwin.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Size change. Encyclopedia Britannica entry on Bathurst island supporting size.
- ^ Nguiu. Tiwi Islands Local Government website.
