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{{Short description|Island in Queensland, Australia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox islands
| name = Bramble Cay
| image_name = Bramble Cay (Landsat).png
| image_caption =
| image_size =
| map_image = TorresStraitIslandsMap with Bramble Cay.png
| map_alt =
| map_size = 220px
| map_caption = A map of the [[Torres Strait Islands]] in the waters of [[Torres Strait]]; Bramble Cay labeled in red in upper right
| native_name = Maizab Kaur
| nickname =
| location = [[Torres Strait]]/[[Coral Sea]]
| coordinates={{coord|-9.142|143.875|region:AU-QLD_type:isle|display=title}}9°8'23"S, 143°52'54"E
| archipelago = [[Torres Strait Islands]]
| total_islands =
| major_islands = Bramble Cay, Black Rocks
| area_km2 = 0.0362
| area_footnotes =<ref>Area as of 1995</ref>
| length_km = 0.251
| width_km = 0.104
| highest_mount =
| elevation_m = 3
| country = Australia
| country_admin_divisions_title = [[States and territories of Australia|State]]
| country_admin_divisions = [[Queensland]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_1 = [[local government areas of Queensland|Shire]]
| country_admin_divisions_1 = [[Shire of Torres]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_2 = Island Region
| country_admin_divisions_2 = Eastern Islands
| country_largest_city =
| country_largest_city_population = 0
| population =
| population_as_of =
| density_km2 = 0
| ethnic_groups = [[Torres Strait Islanders]]
| additional_info = [[Extreme points of Australia|Northernmost point of Australia]]<br />[[Green turtle]] breeding place
}}

'''Bramble Cay''', also known as '''Maizab Kaur''' (also spelt '''Maizub Kaur''') and '''Massaramcoer''', is a small [[cay]] located at the northeastern edge of Australia and the [[Torres Strait Islands]] of [[Queensland]] and at the northern end of the [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref>{{cite rowlett|qld}}</ref> Lying around {{cvt|50|km}} north of [[Erub Island]] in the [[Gulf of Papua]], it is the northernmost point of land of Australia and marks the end of the [[Great Barrier Reef]].

It is of interest for its [[geomorphology]], human history and [[flora and fauna]]. It is an important nesting site for [[green turtle]]s and several species of seabird, and is notably the site of the first extinction of a mammal species due to [[Global warming|anthropogenic climate change]], the [[Bramble Cay melomys]]. There is an automated [[lighthouse]] on the island.

==Geology==
The island was formed around a "[[basalt]] outcrop produced by [[Pleistocene]] volcanic activity and is composed of [[Foraminifera|foraminiferal]] sand, compacted guano and, at its south-eastern end, a low phosphatic rock platform".<ref name="Extinction report June 2016">{{Citation |author-last1=Gynther |author-first1=Ian |author-last2=Waller |author-first2=Natalie |author-last3=Leung |author-first3=Luke K.-P. |date=June 2016 |title=Confirmation of the extinction of the Bramble Cay melomys Melomys rubicola on Bramble Cay, Torres Strait: results and conclusions from a comprehensive survey in August–September 2014 |publisher=Unpublished report to the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland Government, Brisbane. |url=https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/threatened-species/documents/bramble-cay-melomys-survey-report.pdf |accessdate=14 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614071845/https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/threatened-species/documents/bramble-cay-melomys-survey-report.pdf |archive-date=14 June 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:A Man of War Cutter of 10 Guns, as Bramble, &c. Sailing by the wind, on the Larboard tack - Ensign and Pendant flying RMG PU6129.tiff|thumb|left|European surveyors from {{HMS|Bramble|1822|6}} encountered the island in the 1840s.]]
[[File:Bramble Cay in 2014.jpg|thumb|left|Bramble Cay, as seen from a boat in 2014.]]
Before being named by Europeans, the name of the island in the [[Meriam Mir]] language of the people of [[Murray Island, Queensland|Mer Island]]<ref name="art2021" /> was and is Maizab Kaur<ref name="map2017">{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-location-of-Bramble-Cay-in-relation-to-Papua-New-Guinea-and-Cape-York-Peninsula_fig1_315674840 |title=The location of Bramble Cay in relation to Papua New Guinea and Cape York Peninsula, Australia. |format=Map |others=From: ''The Bramble Cay melomys Melomys rubicola (Rodentia:Muridae): A first mammalian extinction caused by human-induced climate change?'' (2017) by Natalie Waller, Ian Gynther et al. |date=2017}}</ref> (also spelt Maizub Kaur<ref>{{cite web |title=News: Stronger protection for unique natural and cultural values of Torres Strait |website=Country Needs People |date=22 August 2016 |url=https://www.countryneedspeople.org.au/stronger_protection_for_nature_and_culture_torres_strait |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Marine turtle connectivity |website=eAtlas |url=https://eatlas.org.au/ne-aus-seascape-connectivity/green-turtles |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref>). People from Erub have been visiting the island for many generations, to hunt and gather food and to look after the environment. Certain families have ancestral connections with the cay.<ref name="art2021">{{cite web |title=Torres Strait artists give extinct native rodent new life while flagging first climate change loss |first=Brendan |last=Mounter |website=ABC News |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=19 August 2021 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-19/bramble-cay-melomys-revived-through-art/100386670 |access-date=22 August 2021}}</ref><ref name="cmar.csiro.au">{{cite map |url=http://www.cmar.csiro.au/datacentre/torres/AFMA1980_2003/DVDVer101/Reports/tst_atlas/pdfs/darn500.pdf |type=PDF map |title=Map 8 Darnley Island and surrounds |publisher=[[CSIRO|CSIRO Marine Research]], [[Australian Government]] |date=1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319091722/http://www.cmar.csiro.au/datacentre/torres/AFMA1980_2003/DVDVer101/Reports/tst_atlas/pdfs/darn500.pdf |archive-date=19 March 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The cay marks the entrance to the [[Great North East Channel]] through the Torres Strait, which has made it significant to human history.<ref name="ellison1998" /> The name, Bramble Cay, derives from European surveyors on {{HMS|Bramble|1822|6}}, who came upon the island in April 1845.<ref name="Australian Mammal Society p. 77">{{cite book |title=Australian Mammal Society |date=May 1983 |publisher=Australian Mammal Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3pQDiQryII8C&pg=PA77 |language=it |access-date=2019-03-02 |page=77}}</ref>

In 1862, a mining lease was granted to the Anglo-Australian Guano Company and occasionally boats would come to mine the low grade phosphatic rock but due to its low quality, the company did not create a permanent base there.<ref name="ellison1998" />

It has been the site of at least five shipwrecks, resulting in [[coal]] being deposited on the cay.<ref name="ellison1998" />

The first [[lighthouse]], a {{convert|42|ft|m|adj=on}} pyramidal steel tower, was erected in 1924.<ref name="lhphotos">{{cite web |title=Unattended lighthouse, Bramble Cay, Torres Strait |website=Queensland Places |url=https://www.queenslandplaces.com.au/node/9159 |publisher=Centre for the Government of Queensland |access-date=22 August 2021}}</ref> It was demolished in 1954 and replaced by the present lighthouse, a {{convert|17|m|ft| adj=on}} stainless steel tower,<ref name="lighthouse">{{cite web |title=Lighthouses of Australia: Far North Queensland |website=The Public's Library and Digital Archive |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/lighthouse/qldn.htm |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref> which was equipped with [[solar power]] on 6 January 1987.{{cn|date=August 2021}}

==Geography==
The sand [[cay]] is {{convert|3.62|ha|acre}} in size,<ref name="ellison1998" /> and lies about {{cvt|50|km}} north of [[Erub Island]] (aka Darnley Island),<ref name="art2021" /> in the [[Gulf of Papua]], around {{cvt|230| km}} northeast of [[Cape York (Queensland)|Cape York]].<ref name="lighthouse" /> It is also known by the name of Massaramcoer.<ref>{{cite web |title=Massaramcoer, Australia |website=Geographical Names |others=Source: [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]], Bethesda, MD, USA |url=https://geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-2247038&fid=457&c=australia |access-date=22 August 2021}}</ref>

It is surrounded by a relatively small [[coral reef]] and is relatively isolated from other reefs in the [[Torres Strait]]. There are some bare patches of compacted [[guano]] depressions that hold water during the [[wet season]].<ref name="dawe">{{cite web |title=Melomys rubicola - Bramble Cay Melomys |website=Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australian Government |date=22 August 2021 |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=64477 |access-date=22 August 2021}}
[[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/ Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU)] licence.</ref><ref name="ellison1998" />

About {{convert|5|km}} to the southwest are the Black Rocks, also called ''Rebes'', which rise one metre above the water.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/pollux/pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/SD/pub127/127sec09.pdf |title=Info |website=permanent.access.gpo.gov }}</ref> Three kilometres northeast, maps show submerged Nautilus Reef,<ref name="cmar.csiro.au" /> the [[phantom island|existence]] of which is doubtful. Bramble Cay and the reefs and rocks close by are separated from other reefs and islets further south by [[Bligh Channel]] (Bligh Entrance). To the north and northwest, the Great North East Channel separates them from the coast of [[Papua New Guinea]] ([[Parama Island]]), which is {{convert|48|km}} to the north.{{cn|date=August 2021}}

The closest islet is uninhabited [[Underdown Islet (Queensland)|Underdown Islet]], about {{convert|40|km}} south. [[Papua New Guinea]] (PNG), specifically [[Parama Island]], is {{convert|48|km}} west-northwest. The Papua New Guinean city of [[Daru]], the capital of [[Western Province (Papua New Guinea)|Western Province]], is some {{convert|70|km}} west of Bramble Cay.{{cn|date=August 2021}} Bramble Cay is the closest island to the mouth of the [[Fly River]] in PNG (at around {{convert|55|km}} southeast).<ref name="ellison1998" />

The {{convert|17|m|ft| adj=on}} automatic lighthouse, located east of the centre of the cay, is the only human structure on the island. It is maintained by the [[Australian Maritime Safety Authority]]. The cement base of the old (1958) temporary lighthouse tower, once located near the centre of the cay, now sits towards the south-eastern side of the cay at the [[high tide]] mark.<ref name="dawe" /><ref name="lhphotos" /> It is the most northerly navigation aid in Australia, at latitude 9°08.5' S. It also marks the northern end of the [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref name="lighthouse" />

==Flora and fauna==
The cay is predominantly vegetated by three [[herbaceous]] plants,<ref name="ellison1998">{{cite web |url=http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/duffy/ARB/450-458/455.pdf |title=Natural History Of Bramble Cay, Torres Strait |first=Joanna C. |last=Ellison |series=Atoll Research Bulletin No. 455 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226041803/http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/duffy/ARB/450-458/455.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2009 |df=dmy |date=September 1998 |publisher=[[National Museum of Natural History]], [[Smithsonian Institution]]}}</ref> to about {{cvt|40| cm}} in height.<ref name="dawe" /> Although 11 species of plants have been recorded on the island in the past, only three to five species have been recorded as present at the same time. Common species include ''[[Portulaca oleracea]]'', ''[[Boerhavia albiflora]]'', ''[[Cenchrus echinatus]]'', and ''[[Amaranthus viridis]]''.<ref>{{cite book |first=Lee K. |last=Curtis |title=Queensland's Threatened Animals |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nr1XjdJUmqYC&pg=PA398 |year=2012 |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |isbn=978-0-643-10457-0 |page=398}}</ref> Three species were found in 1994: ''[[Boerhavia tetrandra]]'' (genus ''[[Boerhavia]]''<ref>{{cite web |title=Boerhavia tetrandra G.Forst. |website=World Flora Online |url=http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000568110 |access-date=22 August 2021}}</ref>), a type of [[spinach]] eaten by humans; ''[[Amaranthus viridis]]'' and ''[[Lepturus|Lepturus repens]]''. The same study (published 1998) showed significant loss of vegetation since 1924, mostly on the southern and northern shores of the island.<ref name="ellison1998" />

The island was once home to the [[Bramble Cay melomys]], an isolated species of [[rodent]] that was the first mammal species to be declared extinct as a consequence of human-caused [[Global warming|climate change]].<ref name="Guardian 14 June 2016">{{cite news |last=Slezak |first=Michael |title=Revealed: first mammal species wiped out by human-induced climate change |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/14/first-case-emerges-of-mammal-species-wiped-out-by-human-induced-climate-change |date=14 June 2016 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |accessdate=14 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="Extinction report June 2016" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2016/06/barrier-reef-rodent-first-mammal-declared-extinct-due-climate-change |website=University of Queensland |access-date=21 February 2019 |title=Barrier Reef rodent is first mammal declared extinct due to climate change}}</ref>

Bramble Cay is the largest nesting site of [[green turtle]]s in the Torres Strait (as of 2008). It also supports the only large [[seabird]] colony in the region.<ref name="dawe" /> A variety of birds nest on the northern side of the cay, with the [[crested tern]] the most common one observed in the 1990s. Other species observed at that time included the [[sooty tern]], [[common noddy]], [[brown booby]], and seven other species.<ref name="ellison1998" />

The surrounding sea is rich with [[algae]] and algae-loving fish such as [[Naso (fish)|unicornfish]], [[wrasse]] and [[trumpetfish]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://australia.greatestdivesites.com/torres_strait/bramble_cay |title=Bramble Cay is a small sandy cay located on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef but with excellent diving. |website=australia.greatestdivesites.com}}</ref>

==Governance==
Administratively, Bramble Cay is part of the [[Shire of Torres]], specifically of the Eastern Islands Region. Although the island is located {{convert|25|km}} north of the Seabed and Fisheries Jurisdiction Line between Australia and Papua New Guinea, the Australian sovereignty is undisputed and explicitly recognized by Papua New Guinea.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1985/4.html |title=Treaty between Australia and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea concerning Sovereignty and Maritime Boundaries in the area between the two Countries, including the area known as Torres Strait, and Related Matters [1985] ATS 4 |website=www.austlii.edu.au}}</ref>

Customary tenure of Bramble Cay is held by the people of Erub (Darnley), the closest inhabited island, {{convert|45|km}} south-southwest. Darnley Islanders travel to Bramble Cay to collect turtle and bird eggs during the nesting season, and also grant people of the neighbouring Eastern Islands, [[Stephens Island (Torres Strait)|Ugar]] (Stephens Island) and [[Murray Island, Queensland|Mer]] (Murray Island), permission to collect.<ref name="ellison1998" />

==In the arts==
In August 2021, a group of artists from [[Erub Island]] created a series of works called ''Maizab Kaur Mukeis'' (the [[Meriam Mir]] name for the Bramble Cay melomys), consisting of sculptures of the animal made with [[ghost nets]]. The work was inspired by the news of its extinction, with the artists hoping to create awareness of the damage caused by the abandoned fishing nets to marine [[ecosystem]]s. The work was selected as one of four Queensland finalists for the [[National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards]] (NATSIAA).<ref name="art2021" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/facts-maps/tile-100k-bramble-cay/ Wetland mapping – Bramble Cay 100K map tile]. Queensland Government.

{{Torres Strait |state=autocollapse}}

[[Category:Islands of Queensland]]
[[Category:Torres Strait Islands]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of Australia]]

Bramble Cay - Revision history

imported>Citation bot: Add: date. Removed parameters. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Eastmain | #UCB_webform 6/100