Maatsuyker 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 ...
located close to the
south coast of
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, Australia. The island is part of the
Maatsuyker Islands Group, and comprises part of the
Southwest National Park
Southwest National Park is an Australian national park located in the south-west of Tasmania, bounded by the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park to the north and the Hartz Mountains National Park to the east. It is a part of a chain of ...
and the
Tasmanian Wilderness
The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, abbreviated to TWWHA, is a World Heritage Site in Tasmania, Australia. It is one of the largest conservation areas in Australia, covering , or almost 25% of Tasmania. It is also one of the last ex ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
The
Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse, the southernmost Australian lighthouse, is located on the southern tip of the island.
[Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). ''Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features''. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. ] The island is part of the Maatsuyker Island Group
Important Bird Area, identified as such by
BirdLife International because of its importance as a breeding site for seabirds.
Maatsuyker Island is currently inhabited by volunteers, swapped out every 6 months, the improvements on it are being maintained by the
Tasmanian Government
The Tasmanian Government is the democratic administrative authority of the state of Tasmania, Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania, is invit ...
and volunteer organisations interested in preserving the history of the island and the lighthouse.
Flora and fauna
The vegetation is dominated by the woody shrub ''
Leptospermum scoparium
''Leptospermum scoparium'', commonly called mānuka, () mānuka myrtle, New Zealand teatree, broom tea-tree, or just tea tree, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family (biology), family Myrtaceae, native plant, native to New Zealan ...
'', or tea tree, which covers most parts of the island, reaching a canopy height of 6 m in sheltered places.
Recorded breeding
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
and
wader
245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
species are the
little penguin (700 pairs),
short-tailed shearwater (800,000 pairs),
sooty shearwater
The sooty shearwater (''Ardenna grisea'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori name , and as muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater (''A. pacificus ...
,
fairy prion
The fairy prion (''Pachyptila turtur'') is a small seabird with the standard prion plumage of blue-grey upperparts with a prominent dark "M" marking and white underneath. The sexes are alike. This is a small prion of the low subantarctic and sub ...
(5000 pairs),
common diving-petrel
The common diving petrel (''Pelecanoides urinatrix''), also known as the smaller diving petrel or simply the diving petrel, is a diving petrel, one of four very similar auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans. It is native to South Atlanti ...
(10,000 pairs),
soft-plumaged petrel
The soft-plumaged petrel (''Pterodroma mollis'') is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae.
Distribution
It breeds on islands in the Southern Hemisphere, nesting on Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island, the Prince Edward Islands, Crozet ...
,
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 ...
,
silver gull
The silver gull (''Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae'') is the most common gull of Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly at or near coastal areas. It is smaller than the Pacific gull (''Larus pacificus''), which ...
and
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 ...
. The
swamp antechinus
The swamp antechinus (''Antechinus minimus''), also known as the little Tasmanian marsupial mouse, is a species of shrew-like marsupial of the family Dasyuridae and as such is related to dunnarts, quolls and the Tasmanian devil.
Taxonomy
The s ...
has been recorded.
The island is a
haul-out site for the
Australian fur seal and a breeding site for the
New Zealand fur seal
''Arctocephalus forsteri'' (common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New Z ...
. It is visited by
southern elephant seal
The southern elephant seal (''Mirounga leonina'') is one of two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest extant marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its ...
s, which occasionally breed there.
Reptiles recorded include the
metallic skink
:''"Metallic skink" may also refer to the garden skink ( Lampropholis delicata)''.
''Carinascincus metallicus'', the metallic cool-skink or metallic skink is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. It is endemic to Australia, found in sout ...
,
three-lined skink
The eastern three-lined skink (''Acritoscincus duperreyi''), also known commonly as the bold-striped cool-skink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. ''A. duperreyi'' has been extensi ...
and
Tasmanian tree skink.
[
]
Traffic
Access to the island has traditionally been by boat, but today helicopters have almost totally taken over this role.
Climate
Because the island is so far south and is influenced by circumpolar weather systems, average temperatures are significantly colder than most of Australia. Maatsuyker Island temperatures are around all year with days being cooler and milder. Wind is usually constant.
Due to the high vegetation in patches on the top of the island, it is possible to shelter on the "jeep trail" that runs from the lighthouse to the landing. Several vehicles have been used here over the years, including Suzuki Sierras in the 1980s.
Weather observations have been recorded continuously from the island since 1891.
See also
* South East Cape
The South East Cape is a cape located at the southernmost point of the main island of Tasmania, the southernmost state of Australia. The cape is situated in the southern and south-eastern corner of the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasma ...
* South West Cape
* List of islands of Tasmania
Tasmania is the smallest and southernmost state of Australia. The Tasmanian mainland itself is an island, with an area of - 94.1% of the total land area of the state. The other islands have a combined area of , for a cumulative total of 99.75% o ...
References
{{Islands of Tasmania , state=autocollapse
Islands of Tasmania
Protected areas of Tasmania
South coast of Tasmania
Important Bird Areas of Tasmania
Seabird colonies
Maritime history of the Dutch East India Company
Penguin colonies