Cape Inscription - WA

Cape Inscription is the most northerly location on Dirk Hartog Island and arguably the most historically significant site in Australia.

This was the place of the first recorded landing by Europeans on Australian soil when Dutchman Dirk Hartog came ashore in 1616 on the northern end of the island. He left a record of his landing inscribed on a pewter plate nailed to a post in a cleft of a rock on the high cliff. Today, more modern posts mark this spot.

The Cape Inscription lighthouse - together with the keepers' quarters - was built between 1908 and 1910. It still operates but has been automated since 1917. In 2012, the Shire of Shark Bay renovated the lighthouse keepers' quarters, which had fallen into disrepair over the years since lighthouse automation.

Malkana people are recognised as the traditional owners of Dirk Hartog Island National Park.