Betsey Island, along with the adjacent Little Betsey Island and Betsey Reef, forms a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

with an area of 176 ha in south-eastern Australia. They are part of the Betsey Island Group, lying close to the south-eastern coast of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

around the entrance to the River Derwent. It is classified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

; it is an important site for

little penguin The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian lit ...

s with an estimated 15,000 pairs breeding there,Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). ''Tasmania's Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features''. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart.

short-tailed shearwater The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (''Ardenna tenuirostris''; formerly ''Puffinus tenuirostris''), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in A ...

s (130,000-170,000 nesting burrows), and

black-faced cormorant The black-faced cormorant (''Phalacrocorax fuscescens''), also known as the black-faced shag, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. Upperparts, including facial skin and bill, are black, with white underparts. It is endemic to coas ...

s (over 200 breeding pairs).

Name

The Aboriginal name of the island is ''Temeteletta''. The island has previously been known as Lady Franklin Island, Franklin Island, Betsy Island and Willaumez Island. The first European name of the island was 'Bett's Island' after an officer who was on board an early ship exploring the region. Though an alternate explanation has been that a man called Betts was the original owner: 'The correct name is Betts's Island, the first owner having been a person of the name of Betts. Popular usage has sanctioned a different spelling.' (Cassell's Picturesque Australasia (1889): page 142)

Flora and fauna

The northern part of the island is dominated by

Tasmanian blue gum ''Eucalyptus globulus'' subsp. ''globulus'', commonly known as the Tasmanian blue gum, southern blue gum, or blue gum, is a subspecies of tree that is endemic to southeastern Australia. It has mostly smooth bark with some persistent slabs of old ...

forest, with the southern part mainly sedgeland. There is

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

on the west. Problem weeds are Cape Leeuwin wattle and

boxthorn ''Lycium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The genus has a disjunct distribution around the globe, with species occurring on most continents in temperate and subtropical regions. South America has the most spec ...

. Apart from the penguins, shearwaters and cormorants,

kelp gull The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, par ...

s and

white-bellied sea-eagle The white-bellied sea eagle (''Haliaeetus leucogaster''), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related t ...

s have nested there.

European rabbit The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has ...

s have been present on the island since 1825.

Reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s present include the

she-oak skink The she-oak skink (''Cyclodomorphus casuarinae'') is a large, long-tailed, snake-like skink endemic to Tasmania, Australia. It is viviparous Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is o ...

and

White's skink White's skink (''Liopholis whitii)'', also known commonly as White's rock skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Etymology The specific name, ''whitii'', is in honour of Irish surgeon and ...

References

Islands of Tasmania Protected areas of Tasmania Important Bird Areas of Tasmania Islands of Australia (tenure: nature reserve) {{Hobart landmarks