Dangerous Reef

Dangerous Reef is located in Spencer Gulf about east-south east of the city of Port Lincoln, about north-northeast of Observatory Point on the northeast coast of Thistle Island and is about east of the nearest point of the mainland on the Eyre Peninsula. Officially, it is described in one source as being a "reef." Dangerous Reef itself is described as consisting of "a chain of four large rocks" with the tallest reaching a height of with the remainder being "barely dry" at low tide as well as some other "small rocks." ==Formation, geology and oceanography==

Dangerous Reef was formed about 8400 years ago following the rise of sea levels at the start of the Holocene. The island/reef system consists of an "isolated inselberg ridge" formed of "much eroded peneplained granite or granite gneiss belonging to the Lincoln Complex of granitic rocks intruded during the Kimban Orogeny, 1600 to 1800 Ma." As of 1982, it was reported that the island/reef system has no soil apart from that derived as the "broken down by-product of sea-lion and seabird excrement". The island/reef system extends from the "largest rock" for a distance of to the west and for a distance of to the south-east. The south-eastern end of the reef system is reported as experiencing waves that "break heavily." Water depths greater than are reported within of the reef system. ==Flora and fauna==

Flora As of 1982, only the "largest rock" was vegetated and this consisted of two plant species, Mueller's Saltbush and Leafy Peppercress. Fauna Australian sea lions were seen in "immense numbers" by sailors on the yacht Wanderer, which passed by Dangerous Reef in May 1885. They described seeing "some of them real old man sea lions, as they lay on the rocks moving their heads from side to side, strongly reminding one of the slow ponderous movements of bears." Australian sea lions (referred to as "hair seals" at the time) were abundant at Dangerous Reef in 1904. Photographs from the 1907 show Australian sealions and cormorants inhabiting the reef and are supported by written accounts. An account from 1910 referred to two to three hundred Australian sea lions seen "on an island near Dangerous Reef". The island in question is likely to have been a part of the greater Dangerous Reef complex or one of the islands of the Sir Joseph Banks Group. The sea lions were well known residents of the reef in 1912 with "hundreds" observed there that year. Early 20th century descriptions note cormorants and terns there as "prolific", and detail gulls preying on unattended cormorant eggs, while the eggs of terns appeared untouched. Also noted were the presence of Greater crested terns, Little terns and Pacific gulls. In 1913, the island was known to support a breeding colony of cormorants. In the 1930s, the reef was reported to host "plentiful" birds and seals, and photographs show the presence of Australian sealions, which were reportedly abundant there. A written account of a landing party there noted the dominance of Australian sealions and relatively few Long-nosed fur seals. It said of the sealions:"Huge old bulls had their harems and offspring grouped around them, while all the young bulls kept at a respectful distance. The air was full of the sound of their coughing barks."In the 1950s, Dangerous Reef was a popular destination for shark fishermen to catch Great white sharks. Underwater photographer and conservationist Valerie Taylor and her filmmaker husband Ron Taylor made several visits to Dangerous Reef. She observed a decline between visits in the 1960s and 1970s from two-hundred or more Australian sealions down to roughly two dozen. She also observed changes in their behavior from relaxed on her first visit to fearful on her second. In 1982, Dangerous Reef was known to support breeding colonies of black-faced cormorant, silver gull and Pacific gull. In 1994, the breeding colony of Australian sea lions on the "largest rock" was reported as being the second largest colony for this species of pinniped. ==History==

European use Discovery Dangerous Reef was discovered and named by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders, on 19 March 1802. Capturing animals Attempts were made in the late 1800s to capture animals from Dangerous Reef for zoological displays. Captured animals included seal pups and terns. In May 1871, three Australian sea lions were captured alive and transported to Glenelg on The Stormy Petrel. They were then advertised and displayed publicly on Rundle Street in Adelaide. Two of the captive animals were females. Guano mining Dangerous Reef is one of the island sites from which guano was mined under licence from the South Australian Government prior to 1919. The activity was controversial for the disturbance that it caused to roosting and breeding seabirds. Navigation aids A navigation aid has been in place on the "largest rock" since 1911. Great white sharks The waters adjoining Dangerous Reef are notable as a place of aggregation for great white sharks. It was a popular site for gamefishing from early in the 20th century until 1997 when the great white shark became a protected species in Australia. Dolphins were sometimes used as bait, Notable gamefishers who visited the waters around Dangerous Reef included the American novelist, Zane Grey, in 1939 and the Australian radio personality, Jack Davey, in 1952. In 1969, the island/reef system was one of the sites used for filming of the great white shark documentary, Blue Water White Death. In 1974, footage of live sharks used in the 1975 American film, Jaws was filmed at Dangerous Reef by Ron Taylor. Great White of Dangerous Reef, hosted by game-fisherman Malcolm Florence was filmed there in the late 1980s. In the film, sharks are fed from the safety of a shark cage before a shark is caught on a line. From the 1970s up until 2002, Dangerous Reef was one of the sites where tourists could try shark cage diving and observe sharks from within the water. In more recent years, shark cage diving for tourists has been offered near the Neptune Islands instead, with tours departing from Port Lincoln. ==Protected area status==

Dangerous Reef first received protected area status on 29 April 1909 as a bird protection district declared under the Birds Protection Act 1900. It was further publicized as a sanctuary in 1933, noting that seals there were also protected. Since 1989, it has been part of the Sir Joseph Banks Group Conservation Park including the waters within of the island group's shoreline for the purpose of managing shark cage diving activity. Since 2012, the waters adjoining the island group have also been part of a sanctuary zone within the Sir Joseph Banks Group Marine Park. ==See also==