Macquarie Island - a UNESCO World Heritage site

Macquarie Island is pretty far from Tasmania - lying 1,500km southeast of Tasmania it might be surprising that this island belongs to Australia. In the Southern Ocean, it is roughly halfway between New Zealand and Antartica. It lies at a latitude known as the "Furious Fifties" because of the strong winds, which have had a large impact on shaping the landscape. This island experiences Subantarctic climate and has unique and well-preserved ecosystems. The island is uninhabited by people and was most likely discovered by Australian Frederick Hasselborough in 1810, although there is potential evidence that Polynesians had visited it before.

Macquarie Island is a unique geological site - is the only place on Earth where rocks created in the mantel are actively exposed above sea level. This makes it a unique and valuable site to study geological processes and oceanic crust formation. On top of that, the island is a site of beautiful, untouched, dramatic wilderness. It hosts the entire population of Royal Penguins, a species endemic to Macquarie island, along with other species of penguin and large populations of Fur Seals. The island has been identified as an "Important Bird Area" by BirdLife International as it supports around 3.5million breeding seabirds during the breeding season.

The island's natural flora and fauna has suffered since the discovery by humans - in particular, the seal and penguin species were exploited and decimated for their blubber and furs, while alien species were also introduced. Many native species suffered steep declines or extinction, and efforts have recently been made to protect this unique ecological wonder. Macquarie Island is managed by the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS), and most of the waters out to 200km are under the Macquarie Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve. Furthermore, it is under the protections of being a World Heritage Site, which is crucial to its protection under Australian environmental laws.



-Isabella