Three Hummock Island facts for kids
Three Hummock Island is shown in the lower left on the map, in the Bass Strait between Tasmania and Victoria.
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 Three Hummock Island
Location in Tasmania
Location of the Three Hummock Island in the Bass Strait
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| Etymology | Three prominent hills: North, Middle and South Hummock |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Bass Strait |
| Coordinates | 40°26′24″S 144°54′36″E / 40.44000°S 144.91000°E |
| Archipelago | Hunter Group |
| Area | 70 km2 (27 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 237 m (778 ft) |
| Highest point | South Hummock |
| Administration | |
| State | Tasmania |
| Largest settlement | Chimney Corner |
Three Hummock Island is a beautiful granite island in the Bass Strait, off the northwest coast of Tasmania, Australia. It's part of the Hunter Island Group. The island is about 70 square kilometers in size.
The island gets its name from its three main hills: North, Middle, and South Hummock. The South Hummock is the tallest, reaching 237 meters above sea level. Part of the island is a special nature reserve to protect its wildlife. The rest of the island is used for farming, which has been happening there since the mid-1800s. The main settlement is at Chimney Corner. The island also has a lighthouse, roads, three airstrips, fences, and a wharf. People also visit in March and April for seasonal "muttonbirding," which is when they collect young short-tailed shearwaters.
Contents
Amazing Wildlife and Plants
Three Hummock Island is home to many interesting plants and animals. Much of the island is covered in thick bushes like Leptospermum scoparium, Melaleuca ericifolia, and Banksia marginata. About a quarter of the island has Eucalyptus nitida woodlands.
Birds of the Island
The island is a very important place for birds, especially for breeding seabirds and shorebirds. Some of the birds you might see here include:
- Little penguin
- Short-tailed shearwater
- Pacific gull
- Pied oystercatcher
- Sooty oystercatcher
- Hooded plover
Other Animals
You can also find some mammals on the island. These include the eastern grey kangaroo. There are also some animals that were brought to the island by people, like feral cats and house mouses. In 1999, there were even feral sheep living wild on the island. Be careful, because tiger snakes also live here!
Island History: People and Families
For many years, different families have lived on and managed Three Hummock Island. They have farmed, fished, and explored this special place.
The Warne Family's Start
In 1926, Elias Albert Warne got a lease for the island. His son, Cecil Vernon Warne, arrived in February 1926. He brought the first 500 sheep to the island from Melbourne! Over the next few weeks, more sheep arrived, totaling 2,200. There were also some cattle left by previous owners. The Warnes rounded them up, fixed fences, and even bought a bull from Hunter Island.
Cecil had married Dulcie Ruby Trevena two years earlier. Dulcie stayed in Melbourne for the birth of their first son, Colin Robert. When Cecil returned, he brought family members to help. They built a shearing shed and many fences for the sheep. They even made a cement-lined "sheep dip" (a place to wash sheep) that you can still see today!
The family lived in a house built in 1910. Dulcie baked bread in a big wood oven and made butter, sometimes selling it. They even used wood and nails from an older house (built around 1850) to build the new shearing shed. They cleared paths around the island. The only way to get around was on horseback, pulling a sled for tools or even family members going on a picnic.
In September 1926, shearers arrived. They helped finish the sheep dip and spent almost five weeks shearing all the sheep. They sent 48 bales of wool to market. In their first year, the Warnes sent many animals and products to market, showing how hard they worked. Cecil and Dulcie left the island in 1929 to go back to farming on the mainland. Elias and other Warne family members continued to look after the animals. In 1931, Elias advertised the island for "stock agistment," which means renting out land for animals to graze.
The Nichols Family's Time
In 1933, the Nichols family took over the lease for Three Hummock Island. Bill and Amelia ("Ma") Nichols lived there until 1950. They raised cattle and sheep, and also fished and collected muttonbirds. They owned several ships, like the Lady Jean and Jean Nichols. These ships carried goods and people between the Bass Strait islands, Melbourne, and Launceston.
The Nichols family created a small community of workers on the island, including some of their relatives. One worker was Peggy Puckett. She lived with the Nichols family from 1937 to 1943. Her story is told in a book called A Walk Along the Shore. In the book, she describes what life was like on the island. Mrs. Nichols even named a field, "Peg's Paddock," after her! The Nichols family left the island in 1950.
The Alliston Family's New Life
The Alliston family arrived on Three Hummock Island in 1951. Eleanor Alliston, the mother, wrote two books about their life there: Escape to an Island and Island Affair. These books tell the story of how her family moved from England after World War II. They wanted to start a new life on the island, hoping to give their children a better and different childhood.
The second book, Island Affair, ends in 1984. By then, only Eleanor and her husband lived on the island. Their four children, who grew up there, had left, gotten married, and had their own families. They had a total of ten grandchildren!
In the 1990s, one of the Alliston children, Rob, returned to the island. He started a eco-tourism business, offering places for visitors to stay. The Alliston family sold their lease in 2006.
Interestingly, the book Island Affair also mentions that Giuseppe Garibaldi visited the island in 1852. He was an Italian captain who was in exile at the time.
Caretakers Today
Today, Three Hummock Island is still an eco-tourism spot. It offers accommodation for up to 14 people. From 2009 to 2018, John and Beverley O'Brien were the managers who lived on the island.
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