Walcott Inlet

Walcott Inlet is an estuary located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It flows into Collier Bay, in the Indian Ocean, via a narrow gap known as Yule Entrance.

The inlet was named on 19 June 1865 by Trevarton Charles Sholl after Stephen Walcott, Commissioner of the Government Emigration Board, while on an exploratory expedition from the short-lived Camden Harbor settlement (in Camden Sound).

The inlet is 66 km in length, with a width of 9 km and covering an area of 257 km2. It is tide-dominated, but in nearly pristine condition with a catchment area of 12732 km2. The entry to the inlet, known as Yule Entrance, is 9 km in length and as little as 450 m wide. The mean tidal range at the mouth is 6.52 m, but can reach 11 m, leading to turbulence, strong tidal flows and whirlpools.

Three large rivers flow into the eastern end of the inlet: Charnley River, Calder River and Isdell River, via Yule Entrance. The Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary and Wilinggin Indigenous Protected Area are located near the inlet.

The name of Yule Entrance is likely derived from a Presbyterian missionary called Dr. John S. Yule, who attempted to create a mission station near Walcott Inlet, which was abandoned soon afterwards by the lay missionaries sent there afterwards, Robert and Frances Wilson, owing to lack of fresh water at the site.