Sugarloaf Rock, Western Australia
Sugarloaf Rock, also known as Sugarloaf Rocks[1] and Sugar Loaf Rock,[2] is a large, natural granite island in the Indian Ocean just off the coast situated approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Cape Naturaliste[3] in the South West region of Western Australia.
It is separated from the mainland by a thin channel of treacherous water. The rock is one of the most photographed attractions and it has appeared on the cover of the Australian Geographic magazine.[4][5][6][7]
The rock derives its name from the distinctive conical shape reminiscent of an old-style sugarloaf.[8]
It is designated as a nature reserve and a nesting site for seabirds such as the red-tailed tropicbird.[8]
The Cape to Cape track passes by the lookout to the rock.[3]
Access to the rock was limited with no road down to the shore present until the mid-1930s;[9] the site was not well known in 1932, with visitors having to "scramble through thickets and down the cliff" to access the coast.[2] The first recorded drowning off the rock occurred in 1934 when a man was washed from it.[10] A danger sign was erected near the site later the same year.[11] Two more fishermen drowned when they were washed off the rock in 1940, with a third surviving by clinging to a ledge then raising the alarm.[1][12]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Two men swept to death". The Daily News. Vol. LVIII, no. 20, 312. Western Australia. 7 May 1940. p. 13. Retrieved 18 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "Busselton Centenary". The West Australian. Vol. XLVIII, no. 9, 292. Western Australia. 7 April 1932. p. 14. Retrieved 18 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "Cape Naturaliste to Sugarloaf Rock, Dunsborough". Trails WA. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Sugarloaf Rock". Margaret River Region. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ Sugarloaf rock, Cape Naturaliste, 1967, retrieved 4 September 2021
- ^ aussiejeff (1994), September 1994 - Sugarloaf Rock, Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia, retrieved 4 September 2021
- ^ David Stanley (2015), Sugarloaf Rock, retrieved 4 September 2021
- ^ a b "Sugarloaf Rock". Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Sussex Road Board". The South-western News. Vol. XXXI, no. 1560. Western Australia. 15 March 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 18 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Frederick E. Wyett". The South-western News. Vol. XXX, no. 1533. Western Australia. 31 August 1934. p. 4. Retrieved 18 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Country News". The West Australian. Vol. 50, no. 15, 087. Western Australia. 29 October 1934. p. 10. Retrieved 18 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Fishing Tragedy". The West Australian. Vol. 56, no. 16, 831. Western Australia. 14 June 1940. p. 12. Retrieved 18 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.