Lawrence Rocks

	Lawrence Rocks rocky islets in Western Victoria
	Lawrence Rocks
Etymology	Captain Effingham Lawrence
Geography
Location	Bass Strait
Coordinates	38°24′30″S 141°40′10″E / 38.40833°S 141.66944°E
Area	7 ha (17 acres)
Length	800 m (2600 ft)
Width	50 m (160 ft)
Highest elevation	90 m (300 ft)
Administration
	Australia
State	Victoria
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The Lawrence Rocks are a group of two rocky islets, 6.8 ha and 1.5 ha in area, with an associated reef, 2.4 km south-east of Point Danger in western Victoria, Australia, and about 6 km south-east of the city of Portland.^[3] Geologically, the group is formed from the remnants of an extinct volcano, with the islets composed of basalt and tuff.^[4]

The islets were sighted by Lieutenant James Grant on 5 December 1800 from the survey brig HMS Lady Nelson and named^[1] for Captain Effingham Lawrence,^[2] one of the Elder Brethren of Trinity House.

Fauna

The rocks are protected as a nature reserve and are the site of a breeding colony of Australasian gannets, the overspill from which led to the establishment of a sister colony at Point Danger.^[5] The group has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA), because it supports over 10% of the world population of Australasian gannets, being used by over 6000 birds.^[6]^[7] Other birds recorded on the rocks, and likely to breed there, include little penguins, black-faced cormorants, crested terns, silver gulls, sooty oystercatchers and small numbers of Cape gannets. The rocks are also used as a haul-out site by Australian fur seals.^[4] Seal hunting was conducted on the island in the 19th century.^[8]

Recreational dive sites

There are several named sites:^[9]

The Nursery, at the eastern side, where there are four caves, one known as the Cockpit with a small chamber at the top, at 38° 24.280′ S, 141° 40.260′ E
North Point, a boulder ridge off the northern end of Lawrence Rocks, at 38° 24.225′ S, 141° 40.004′ E
The Saddle, a gully that cuts through the centre of the rocks, at 38° 24.331′ S, 141° 40.082′ E
The Harbour, an area of gutters, ledges and swim-throughs, at 38° 24.514′ S, 141° 40.136′ E
The wreck of the Emily S, a short distance northeast from Lawrence Rocks.

References

^ ^a ^b Grant, James (1803). The narrative of a voyage of discovery, performed in His Majesty's vessel the Lady Nelson, of sixty tons burthen: with sliding keels, in the years 1800, 1801, and 1802, to New South Wales. Printed by C. Roworth for T. Egerton. pp. 71–72. ISBN 978-0-7243-0036-5. Retrieved 25 January 2012. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^ ^a ^b Wall, Bruce (1967). "Lawrence, William Effingham (1781–1841)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Pescott, T. W. (November 1980). "Seabird islands No 100, Lawrence Rocks, Victoria" (PDF). Corella. 4 (4): 107–109.
^ ^a ^b BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Lawrence Rocks. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/08/2011.
^ "Point Danger Australasian Gannet Breeding Colony". Portland Holidays. Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
^ "IBA: Lawrence Rocks". Birdata. Birds Australia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
^ "Victoria: State of the Islands". 15 January 2014.
^ Karen Townrow, An archaeological survey of sealing & whaling sites in Victoria, Heritage Victoria & Australian Heritage Commission, Melbourne, 1997, p.14.
^ "Diving Lawrence Rocks". scubadoctor.com.au. Retrieved 21 August 2024.

This article about a location in Victoria, Australia is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[Grant-1] Grant, James (1803). The narrative of a voyage of discovery, performed in His Majesty's vessel the Lady Nelson, of sixty tons burthen: with sliding keels, in the years 1800, 1801, and 1802, to New South Wales. Printed by C. Roworth for T. Egerton. pp. 71–72. ISBN 978-0-7243-0036-5. Retrieved 25 January 2012. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)

[ADB-2] Wall, Bruce (1967). "Lawrence, William Effingham (1781–1841)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 25 January 2012.

[Pescott-3] Pescott, T. W. (November 1980). "Seabird islands No 100, Lawrence Rocks, Victoria" (PDF). Corella. 4 (4): 107–109.

[bli-4] BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Lawrence Rocks. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/08/2011.

[5] "Point Danger Australasian Gannet Breeding Colony". Portland Holidays. Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 28 February 2011.

[6] "IBA: Lawrence Rocks". Birdata. Birds Australia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2011.

[7] "Victoria: State of the Islands". 15 January 2014.

[8] Karen Townrow, An archaeological survey of sealing & whaling sites in Victoria, Heritage Victoria & Australian Heritage Commission, Melbourne, 1997, p.14.

[9] "Diving Lawrence Rocks". scubadoctor.com.au. Retrieved 21 August 2024.

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v t e Islands and islets of Victoria, Australia
Near East Gippsland	Gabo The Skerries Tullaberga
Near Corner Inlet	Bennison Bullock Calf Clonmel Corner Cyril Dog Doughboy Drum East Scrubby Granite Horn Hunter Little Dog Little Snake Long One Tree Pelican Rescue Roberts Saint Margaret Scrubby Shag Sheep Snake Spec Sunday
Near Wilsons Promontory	Anser Group Anser Cleft Kanowna Glennie Group Citadel Dannevig Great Glennie McHugh Hogan Group Northern Boundary Seal Islands Group Cliffy Notch Rag Seal Norman Rabbit Rabbit Rock Shellback Wattle
In Western Port	Barrallier Chinaman Churchill Elizabeth French Joe Long Middle Spit Pelican Phillip Quail Ram Reef Seal Rocks Sandstone Schnapper Rock Tortoise Head Bank
In Port Phillip	Duck Mud Pope's Eye South Channel Fort Swan
Near Portland Bay	Griffiths Lady Julia Percy Lawrence Rocks Middle
In rivers	Beveridge Coode Gateway Herring Pental Raymond Rotamah The Island Ulupna
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