On 27 October 1862, the British government granted an exclusive concession to exploit the guano on Lady Elliot Island, Wreck Reefs, Swain Reefs, Raine Island, Bramble Cay, Brampton Shoal, and Pilgrim IslandPilgrim Island is not located, possibly somewhere off Western Australia to the Anglo-Australian Guano Company organised by the whaler, Dr. W.L. Crowther in Hobart, Tasmania. They were apparently most active on Bird Islet (Wreck Reefs) and Lady Elliot and Raine Islands,Hutchinson, G.E. 1950. "The biogeochemistry of vertebrate excretion". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 96:1‑544 losing five ships at Bird Islet between 1861 and 1882.Crowther, W.E.L.H. 1939. "The development of the guano trade from Hobart Town in the fifties and sixties." Papers and Proceedings Royal Society Tasmania 1938:213‑220
