Australia - Heard Island and the McDonald Islands

Heard Island (about 43km by 20km) is the biggest of a group of islands in the South Indian Ocean about 4,100km south-west of Fremantle. The McDonald Islands are 43km west of Heard Island.

Geography

Topography: Heard Island is dominated by the only active volcano on Australian territory, the 2,745m-high Big Ben. The McDonald Islands are small, steep and rocky.

Climate: Sub-Antarctic.

Vegetation: Heard Island is regarded as one of the last Antarctic habitats remaining free of introduced organisms, and is of considerable scientific interest. Vegetation is sparse, but cushion plants, tussock grass, mosses and lichens can survive.

Wildlife: Visited by elephant seals, leopard seals and penguins. Petrels, albatrosses and skuas breed on Heard Island.

Society

No permanent inhabitants. Occasional visits by scientists for research.

Economy

Overview: There is no economic activity. Zoological and geological expeditions are made to Heard Island from time to time. In 1985, research was conducted into the coastal zone’s maritime resources and there have been a small number of expeditions since then. In 1991, international research on global warming was undertaken at Heard Island, which has direct paths to the world’s five principal oceans.

History

Heard Island was first sighted in 1833 and named in 1855 after an American captain. After 1855 the island’s elephant seals and penguins were exploited for their oil. The territory was transferred by the UK to Australian control in 1947. Between 1947 and 1955, a research station was maintained on Heard Island, to conduct various scientific and meteorological investigations. The station was closed after 1954, when Mawson station was established on the Antarctic mainland.

The McDonald Islands were first visited in 1971 by an Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition. In December 1997 the territory was inscribed on the World Heritage List.

Administration

The islands are administered by the Australian Antarctic Division on behalf of the minister for the environment and heritage. The Environment Protection and Management Ordinance (January 1988) set up a framework for sustained conservation. A management plan under the ordinance came into force in 1996.