Macquarie Island

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Orthographic projection over Macquarie Island

Macquarie Island lies in the Southern Ocean, about half-way between Australia and Antarctica. Politically, it forms part of the Australian state of Tasmania.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Fauna
- 4.1 Birds
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Macquarie Island, located at 54°37′S 158°51′E, marks the southernmost point of Australia (including islands).

The island has an approximate length of 34 km and a width of 5 km, with an area of 128 km².

[edit] History

The Australian/Briton Frederick Hasselborough discovered the island accidentally in July 1810 when looking for new sealing grounds. He claimed Macquarie Island for Britain and annexed it to the colony of New South Wales in 1810. The island took its name after Colonel Lachlan Macquarie (1762 - 1824), Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, and regarded by many as the real founder of Australia. Thaddeus von Bellingshausen, who explored the area for Alexander I of Russia, produced the first map of Macquarie Island. Bellingshausen landed on the island on November 28, 1820, defined its geographical position and traded his rum and food for Macquarie Island's fauna with the sealers.

The position of Macquarie Island relative to New Zealand and other outlying islands.

In 1890 New South Wales transferred the island to Tasmania, which leased it to Joseph Hatch (1837 - 1928) between 1902 and 1920. Between 1911 and 1914, the island became a base for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition under Sir Douglas Mawson. George Ainsworth operated a meteorological station between 1911 and 1913, followed by Harold Power (1913 until 1914) and by Tullock from 1914 until its shutdown in 1915. In 1933 the authorities declared the island a wildlife sanctuary, and eventually transferred it to the Commonwealth of Australia under the administration of the Australian Antarctic Territory on December 26, 1947. The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) established its expedition headquarters on May 25, 1948 on Macquarie Island.

Macquarie Island now forms part of the state of Tasmania.

The island became a nature reserve in 1978 and in 1997 it became a world heritage site. It also forms a Tasmanian State Reserve.

On December 23, 2004 an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale (one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded) rocked the island, but caused little damage. Some considered this event part of the prelude of earthquakes prior to the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake, but seismologists have largely discounted this theory.

[edit] Demographics

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) maintains a permanent base on the island. The base's residents, the island's only inhabitants, range in numbers from 20 to 40 people throughout the year.

[edit] Fauna

Fauna found on the island include: Subantarctic Fur Seals, Antarctic Fur Seals, New Zealand Fur Seals and Southern Elephant Seals - over 80,000 individuals of this species. Royal Penguins breed only on this island; King Penguins, Rockhopper Penguins and Gentoo Penguins also breed here. An estimated 100,000 introduced rabbits also occur on the island. Introduced feral cats were declared totally eradicated in 2002.

In September 2006 a large landslip at Lusitania Bay, on the eastern side of the island, partially destroyed an important penguin breeding colony. Parks & Wildlife Service Tasmania attributed the landslip to a combination of heavy spring rains and severe erosion caused by rabbits. The Service is seeking funding from the federal or Tasmanian governments for a rabbit eradication plan[1].