GULF OF

CARPENTARIA  , an extensive arm of the sea deeply indenting the north coast of Australia, between 10° 40' and 17° 4o' S., and 135° 30' and 142 ° E . Its length is 48o m. and its extreme breadth (E. to W.) 420 M . It is bounded E. by Cape York Peninsula, and W. by the Northern Territory of South Australia . Near its southern extremity is situated a group of islands called Wellesley; and towards the western side are the Sir Edward Pellew Islands, the Groote Eylandt and others . A large number of rivers find their way to the gulf, and some are of considerable size . On the eastern side there is the Mitchell river; at the south-east corner the Gilbert, the Norman, the Flinders, the Leichhardt and the Gregory; and on the west the Roper river . Jan Carstensz, who undertook a voyage of discovery in this part of the globe in 1623, gave the name of Carpentier to a small river near Cape Duyfhen in honour of Pieter Carpentier, at that time governor-general of the Dutch East Indies; and after the second voyage of Abel Tasman in 1644, the gulf, which he had successfully explored, began to appear on the charts under its present designation .