[1] According to Ngaluma legend, the island was formed during the Dreaming when Matalga, a leading Pilbara spirit man, lifted a large rock and threw it into the sea.

[2] The island was charted in July 1801 by François-Michel Ronsard, the cartographer on a French expedition led by explorer Nicolas Baudin on board the ship Le Géographe.

[3] In 1912, a Norwegian steel sailing ship, the Crown of England, was shipwrecked as it lay anchored on the island loading copper ore, after the area was struck by a cyclone.

[4] The newly built tug SS Wyola sailing for Fremantle was despatched to rescue the barque Concordia which was left grounded by the storm.

[5] The discovery of iron ore deposits in the Pilbara region during the early 1960s saw Depuch Island considered for use as a port for the mining facilities being established in the area.