Little Island is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Australian state The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

located in

Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe and ...

off the east coast of

Jussieu Peninsula __NOTOC__ Jussieu Peninsula is a peninsula located at the south east end of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by Proper Bay and Spalding Cove within the natural harbour known as Port Lincoln to the north, Spencer Gulf to the e ...

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...

approximately south-east of

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...

. It was named by

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

in memory of John Little who was one of the eight crew lost from a cutter that capsized sometime after being launched from HM Sloop ''Investigator'' to search for water on 21 February 1802. Since 2004, the island has been part of the

Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south east tip of Jussieu Peninsula on Eyre Peninsula and on a number of nearby islands about south-south east of Port Lincoln ...

Description

Little Island which is located approximately south-east of

and is located north of Lewis Island, has a maximum height of . Access to the island is limited by the absence of a coastline sheltered from swells and tidal streams, and the unsuitability of the island's terrain for the landing of helicopters.

Formation, geology and oceanography

Little Island was formed about 8400 years ago when sea levels rose at the start of the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

. The island is predominantly

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

which is eroded to the extent that the island is divided into two sections. Each section has a

calcarenite Calcarenite is a type of limestone that is composed predominantly, more than 50 percent, of detrital (transported) sand-size (0.0625 to 2 mm in diameter), carbonate grains. The grains consist of sand-size grains of either corals, shells, ooi ...

capping that reaches a height of above sea level. The island rises from the seabed at almost vertically on its south east face while the same transition occurs over a distance of almost on its north west face.

Flora and fauna

As of 1996, the flora is reported as being a

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

composed of

marsh saltbush ''Atriplex paludosa'', commonly known as marsh saltbush, is a species of saltbush endemic to Australia. Description It grows as an erect shrub up to a metre high. Leaves are oval in shape, one to four centimetres long, and 2 to 15 millimetres wi ...

while the fauna is reported as consisting of the following

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

animals:

sooty oystercatcher The sooty oystercatcher (''Haematopus fuliginosus'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird endemic to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries. All of its fea ...

s and

Pacific gull The Pacific gull (''Larus pacificus'') is a very large gull, native to the coasts of Australia. It is moderately common between Carnarvon in the west, and Sydney in the east, although it has become scarce in some parts of the south-east, as a re ...

s and ‘a large colony’ of Australian sea lions.

History

The island was one of several first sighted by Europeans on Saturday, 20 February 1802, from HMS ''Investigator'' whilst under the command of

entered what is now Spencer Gulf. Flinders named the island on Wednesday, 24 February 1802, in memory of John Little who lost his life, presumably

drowned Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer as ...

, along with seven other members of the crew on Sunday 21 February 1802 when one of HMS ''Investigator’s '' cutters capsized near

Cape Catastrophe Cape Catastrophe is a headland in the Australian state of South Australia located at the southeast tip of Jussieu Peninsula on Eyre Peninsula. It is one of the natural features named by the British navigator Matthew Flinders in memory of the e ...

Protected areas status

Since 30 September 2004, Little Island has been part of the

. Previously, it had been part of the

Lincoln National Park Lincoln National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about west of the state capital of Adelaide and about south of the municipal seat of Port Lincoln. It consists of a mainland area on the Jussieu Pe ...

. It first obtained protected area status as a fauna conservation reserve declared under the ''Crown Lands Act 1929-1966'' on 16 March 1967. As of December 2012, the waters surrounding the island are in the Thorny Passage Marine Park.

References

Islands of South Australia Uninhabited islands of Australia Spencer Gulf Eyre Peninsula {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub