The Lawrence Rocks are a group of two rocky islets, 6.8 ha and 1.5 ha in area, with an associated reef, 2.4 km south-east of Point Danger in western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia, and about 6 km south-east of the city of Portland. Geologically, the group is formed from the remnants of an extinct

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the Crust (geology), crust of a Planet#Planetary-mass objects, planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Ear ...

, with the

islets An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

composed of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

and

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

. The islets were sighted by Lieutenant James Grant on 5 December 1800 from the survey brig HMS ''Lady Nelson'' and named for Captain Effingham Lawrence, one of the Elder Brethren of

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

Fauna

The rocks are protected as 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 ...

and are the site of a breeding colony of

Australasian gannet The Australasian gannet (''Morus serrator''), also known as the Australian gannet or tākapu, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family, Sulidae. Adults are mostly white, with black flight feathers at the wingtips and lining the trailin ...

s, the overspill from which led to the establishment of a sister colony at Point Danger. The group has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA), because it supports over 10% of the world population of Australasian gannets, being used by over 6000 birds. Other birds recorded on the rocks, and likely to breed there, include little penguins, black-faced cormorants, crested terns,

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 ...

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 small numbers of

Cape gannet The Cape gannet (''Morus capensis'') is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. They are easily identified by their large size, black and white plumage and distinctive yellow crown and hindneck. The pale blue bill is pointed with fine ...

s. The rocks are also used as a haul-out site by Australian fur seals.BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Lawrence Rocks. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/08/2011. Seal hunting was conducted on the island in the 19th century.Karen Townrow, ''An archaeological survey of sealing & whaling sites in Victoria'', Heritage Victoria & Australian Heritage Commission, Melbourne, 1997, p.14.

References

Seabird colonies Islands of Victoria (Australia) Nature reserves in Victoria (Australia) Underwater diving sites in Australia Important Bird Areas of Victoria (Australia) Seal hunting {{VictoriaAU-geo-stub