Macquarie Island facts for kids

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Macquarie Island
Nickname: Macca
Satellite photo of Macquarie Island
Macquarie Island Location in Oceania Location in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean
Geography
Location	Southwestern Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	54°38′S 158°52′E / 54.63°S 158.86°E / -54.63; 158.86
Area	128 km² (49 sq mi)
Length	35 km (21.7 mi)
Width	5 km (3.1 mi)
Highest elevation	410 m (1,350 ft)
Highest point	Mount Hamilton Mount Fletcher
Administration
Australia
State	Tasmania
LGA	Huon Valley Council
Demographics
Population	No permanent inhabitants
Additional information
Time zone	AEDT (UTC+11:00)


UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Natural: vii, viii
Inscription	1997 (21st Session)

Macquarie Island is a special island in the Pacific Ocean. It's located about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica.

The island is about 34 kilometers (21 miles) long and 5 kilometers (3 miles) wide. No people live there permanently today. It was first found in July 1810 by Captain Hasselburgh, who was looking for places to hunt whales and seals.

Getting to the island is only possible by sea. There are no harbors for ships to dock.

Island History: From Discovery to Protection
Island Geography: Peaks and Nearby Islets
Island Geology: Rocks from Deep Below
Island Climate: Cold, Wet, and Cloudy
Island Animals: A Home for Many Species
Current Threats and Conservation Efforts
Interesting Facts About Macquarie Island
Related pages
Images for kids
See also

Island History: From Discovery to Protection

Frederick Hasselborough, an Australian, discovered this empty island on July 11, 1810. He was searching for new places to hunt seals. He claimed Macquarie Island for Britain and added it to the colony of New South Wales that same year.

Between 1810 and 1919, hunters caught seals and then penguins. They used these animals for their oil. This hunting was so intense that the animals were almost completely wiped out.

Macquarie Island became part of Tasmania on June 17, 1880. Later, from 1902 to 1920, the Tasmanian Government rented the island to Joseph Hatch. He ran an oil business that used penguins.

Penguins and remains of the wreck of The Gratitude, Nuggets Beach, Macquarie Island, 1911, Frank Hurley

The island also served as a base for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition from 1911 to 1914. This expedition was led by Sir Douglas Mawson. Scientists like George Ainsworth and Harold Power ran a weather station there.

In 1933, the island was declared a wildlife sanctuary. This meant it was a safe place for animals. In 1972, it became a State Reserve. On May 25, 1948, the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) set up their main base on Macquarie Island.

On December 23, 2004, a very strong earthquake hit the island. It measured 8.1 on the moment magnitude scale, but luckily, it didn't cause much damage.

Island Geography: Peaks and Nearby Islets

Macquarie Island has flat, high areas called plateaus at its north and south ends. The highest points include Mount Elder in the northeast, which is 385 meters (1,263 feet) high. In the south, Mounts Hamilton and Fletcher reach 410 meters (1,345 feet).

Close to Macquarie Island are two small groups of other islands. The Judge and Clerk Islets are about 14 kilometers (9 miles) to the north. The Bishop and Clerk Islets are about 34 kilometers (21 miles) to the south.

Island Geology: Rocks from Deep Below

This unique island was formed when two tectonic plates crashed into each other. This collision pushed the land upwards. Macquarie Island is the only place on Earth where rocks from the Earth's mantle are pushed above sea level. The mantle is about 6 kilometers (4 miles) below the ocean floor.

Island Climate: Cold, Wet, and Cloudy

Macquarie Island has a Tundra climate. This means it's usually cold. It often snows there from June to October.

The average temperature on the island is around 4.9°C (40.8°F) in July. It can go up to 8.8°C (47.8°F) in January. It rains a lot throughout the year, with about 1,002.1 mm (39.5 inches) of rain annually. The island gets rain on about 317 days each year and snows on around 56 days. Macquarie Island is one of the cloudiest places in the world, with about 289 cloudy days a year.

Island Animals: A Home for Many Species

A royal penguin rookery on Macquarie Island

Many birds and animals use Macquarie Island as a place to breed. About 3.5 million seabirds visit the island every year.

Four types of penguins live on the island:

About 850,000 royal penguins
200,000 king penguins
10,000 gentoo penguins
Between 20,000 and 1,000,000 rockhopper penguins

Mammals found on the island include different kinds of seals:

In 1977, Macquarie Island became a Biosphere Reserve. This means its coastal ecosystem is recognized as an important natural area by UNESCO.

Current Threats and Conservation Efforts

When Europeans arrived in 1810, they brought new animals to the island. Rats and mice came with travelers and started to multiply because they had no natural enemies. To control these rodents, people brought cats to the island.

Around 1870, rabbits and a type of bird called wekas were left on the island by sealers. They were meant to be a food source. However, these new animals caused huge damage to the native wildlife. Two native bird species, the Macquarie Island rail and the Macquarie parakeet, became extinct because of them. By the 1970s, there were about 130,000 rabbits, and they were destroying plants.

The feral cats also harmed native seabirds. It's estimated they killed about 60,000 seabirds each year. To help the seabirds, people started removing the cats in 1985. By June 2000, almost all 2,500 cats were gone.

After the cats were removed, the seabird population began to grow again. However, the number of rats and rabbits then increased. They ate young birds and damaged the grass, which led to soil erosion and landslides. In September 2006, a big landslide destroyed part of a penguin breeding area.

In 2007, the Australian and Tasmanian governments started a plan to get rid of all the rats and rabbits. They used bait, but this accidentally harmed some other birds, so the program was paused.

By February 2012, reports showed that rabbits, rats, and mice were almost completely gone. By April 2012, only a few rabbits were found. By July 2013, there were no signs of rabbits at all.

On April 8, 2014, Macquarie Island was officially declared pest-free. This was a huge success, as it was the biggest island pest removal project ever tried. As of May 2024, the island has been pest-free for 10 years, and its plants are growing well. Scientists continue to watch the island to protect it from new dangers like climate change and bird diseases.

Interesting Facts About Macquarie Island

The island was named after Colonel Lachlan Macquarie. He was the Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821.
The Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen explored the area in 1820. He created the first map of Macquarie Island.
Although Macquarie Island is now free of many pests, some invasive bird species, like the Domestic mallard and European starling, can still be found there.
In the 1800s, people believed there was a "Emerald Island" south of Macquarie Island, but it was a phantom island.
The island became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. This means it's recognized as a very important natural place globally.