Melville Island lies off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. At 2,234 mi² (5,786 km²) it is just outside the 100 largest islands in the world, but is the second biggest island in Australia, after Tasmania (and excluding the continental landmass). It is also known in the Tiwi language as Yermalner.

Together, Melville Island and Bathurst Island are known as the Tiwi Islands.

The first European to sight the island was Abel Tasman in 1644. In 1818 a British Naval Officer named it for Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville, first lord of the Admiralty, who is also commemorated by the much larger Melville Island in the Canadian arctic. Shortly after this, the British made the first attempt to settle Australia's north coast, at the short-lived Fort Dundas.

The climate is tropical.

External links

• Tiwi Land Council
• Tiwi Art

Islands of Australia | Indigenous Australian communities

Melville-Insel (Australien) | Wyspa Melville'a (u wybrzeży Australii)