Pomona Island is the largest island within
Lake Manapouri
Lake Manapouri is located in the South Island of New Zealand. The lake is situated within the Fiordland National Park and the wider region of Te Wahipounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage Area.
Māori History
According to Māori legend ...
, in
Fiordland National Park, in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
's
South Island. With an area of , it is the largest island to be found within any New Zealand lake.
The island is uninhabited, and lies close to the entrance to the lake's southern arm, 11 kilometres to the west of
Manapouri
Manapouri is a small town in Southland / Fiordland, in the southwest corner of the South Island, in New Zealand. The township is the westernmost municipality in New Zealand. Located at the edge of the Fiordland National Park, on the eastern ...
township. To its north, the island is separated from the mainland by the wide Hurricane Passage. Pomona Island was named by surveyor
James McKerrow in 1862 after the main island of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
's
Orkney Islands.
Natural history
Forested areas of Fiordland National Park generally are dominated by
beech and
podocarp
Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pr ...
species with understory of numerous
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...
s and shrubs;
crown fern (''Lomaria discolor'') is an example of chief understory species. Pomona Island is within this area of forest characterisation, and is almost entirely covered in native bush, with the forest also containing
kāmahi
''Weinmannia racemosa'', commonly called kāmahi, is an evergreen small shrub to medium-sized tree of the family Cunoniaceae. It is the most abundant forest tree in New Zealand, occurring in lowland, montane, and subalpine forests and shrubland ...
and
rātā. Since the eradication of all introduced animal pests, the health of the island's flora and birdlife has increased noticeably.
Pomona Island, geologically a round-topped granite hill, has given its name to a mineral form known as
Pomona Granite.
[''New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics''.1982. vol. 25, no. 1, Published by The Royal Society of New Zealand]
Pomona Island Charitable Trust
Pomona Island has its own Charitable Trust it was set up in July 2005 with the aim of restoring the largest inland island in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
to its presumed natural state prior to the introduction of pests. The specific objectives of the Trust are to eradicate all mammalian pest species from Pomona Island ensuring a high quality of indigenous biodiversity on the island in terms of both flora and fauna. Also to reintroduce, through natural and assisted means, birdlife native to Fiordland within the Southwest
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
World Heritage Area and provide a safe habitat for endangered and threatened birds to breed thereby increasing the populations of individual species, to monitor conservation activities and their impact on the island's
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
.
See also
*
Desert island
A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereot ...
*
List of islands
This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water
A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another plan ...
References
* Pomona Island Trust Website
External links
{{Authority control
Lake islands of New Zealand
Wildlife sanctuaries of New Zealand
Conservation projects in New Zealand
Protected areas of Southland, New Zealand
Uninhabited islands of New Zealand
Islands of Fiordland