At 09:12 AM 2/10/2003 +1000, you wrote:
Dear Friends,
I am wondering whether anyone can assist me with the following
matters:
(1) Reference to legal or arbitral decisions
dealing with the disposition of islands where, for example, a State's
territory is defined as including all islands (but, perhaps, not waters)
to the, say, west or south of a given meridian of longitude or parallel
of latitude; and the islands in question "straddle" the
meridian or parallel.
Boundary islet/island between Victoria and Tasmania. It is depicted
on the new "Warragul special" 1:250,000 topo.
More detail can be had from a draft 1:25,000 sheet viewable in the
university's map library.
(2) A list
of all those international (and, if possible, in the case of federations,
interstate) boundaries located on the banks of rivers; as
distinct from midlines, etc.
- Vic-NSW obviously.
- Also South Africa/Namibia (Orange River). The river falls to South
Africa.
(although my 1994 Readers Digest illustrated Atlas of Southern Africa
which includes all of S.Africa at 1:500,000 seems to indicate a median
line). However,
"Following Namibian independence in 1990, agitation arose for Walvis
Bay to be handed over to that country began. This was finally done by the
National Party government in 1993. The guano islands north of the Orange
River were handed over at the same time.
The Namibian government also demanded that the Orange River boundary be
shifted from the north bank to the middle of the river, as is usual in
river boundaries. Pretoria made sympathetic noises but did nothing until
early 2001, when the Department of Foreign Affairs announced that it
would stick to the policy of the Organisation of African Unity and keep
the boundary as it was. The unorthodox arrangement regarding the Orange
River's north bank was originally made by Sir Harry Smith when he was
Governor of the Cape in 1848. It also affects the Free State Province,
which has, however, remained silent on the question. "
(http://flagspot.net/flags/na-local.html
accessed 2/10/03)
- Texas/Oklahoma and Tex/Arkansas, the Red River. The boundary is on the
south bank, leaving the river to Ok and Ark.
- The original Tx/La boundary was on the west bank of the Sabine River,
as per a Mexican/US agreement of 1828, but this was changed to the median
line in 1848, 3 years after Texas joined the union.
For these two cases see Van Zandt, F. K., 1976, Boundaries of the United
States and the Several States, Geological Survey Professional Paper 909,
USGS, Washington DC.
I have a copy if you wish to borrow it.
See also a 1999 decision,
http://www.house.gov/judiciary/sigs1026.htm
where the vegetation line was taken as the visible boundary line along the south bank of the Red river.
The text of this compact is given at http://ssl.csg.org/compactlaws/redriverbound.rtf
- Dutch and British Guianas, a draft treaty (never signed but now in use de fascto???) for the left bank of the Corentyne and the Cutari (http://www.guyana.org/features/guyanastory/chapter104.html)
- Tanzania/Malawi: Tanzania ends at the shore of Lake Malawi. The lake falls to Malawi (although Malawi shares the lake's southern end with Mozambique).
-Uganda Protectorate and Kingdom of Uganda, etc, 1900/1. Left bank of the Victoria Nile, left and right banks of various other rivers.
http://www.buganda.com/buga1900.htm http://www.kituochakatiba.co.ug/uganda_1900.htm http://www.kituochakatiba.co.ug/toro_agreement_1900.htm
- Iraq/Iran boundary along the Shatt al Arab (The Ottomans and subsequently Iraq claimed the entire river).
-At one stage the Fr Guiana/Surinam boundary followed alternatively one bank then the other, dividing the river into 4 pieces. This boundary, since abandoned, apparently simplified the exploitation of alluvial mining claims.
For comments on river banks as boundaries see Jones, S B 9-1945), "Boundary-making a handbook for statesmen...", Carnegie Endowment, Washington DC, 118-119
Dr Brendan Whyte
School of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies (SAGES)
University of Melbourne
