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91-544: Lord Howe Island ( / h aʊ / ; formerly Lord Howe's Island ) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand , part of the Australian state of New South Wales . It lies 600 km (320 nmi) directly east of mainland Port Macquarie , 780 km (420 nmi) northeast of Sydney , and about 900 km (490 nmi) southwest of Norfolk Island . It

182-781: A "Permanent Park Preserve" (covering about 70% of the island). The island was added to the Australian National Heritage List on 21 May 2007 and the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. The surrounding waters are a protected region designated the Lord Howe Island Marine Park . Lord Howe Island is part of the IBRA region Pacific Subtropical Islands (code PSI ) and is subregion PSI01 with an area of 1,909 ha (4,720 acres). In

273-829: A 100-acre (40 ha) lease to Richard Armstrong in 1878 drew complaints, and a few short-term leases ("permissive occupancies") were granted. In 1913, with the appointment of a board of control, permissive occupancies were revoked and the board itself given permissive occupancy of the island. Then the Lord Howe Island Act 1953 made all land the property of the Crown. Direct descendants of islanders with permissive occupancies in 1913 were granted perpetual leases on blocks up to five acres (2.0 ha) for residential purposes. Short-term special leases were granted for larger areas used for agriculture, so in 1955, 55 perpetual leases and 43 special leases were granted. The 1981 amendment to

364-455: A British possession. It subsequently became a provisioning port for the whaling industry, and was permanently settled in June 1834. When whaling declined, the 1880s saw the beginning of the worldwide export of the endemic kentia palms , which remains a key component of the island's economy. The other continuing industry, tourism, began after World War II ended in 1945. The Lord Howe Island Group

455-544: A cluster of seven small uninhabited islands called the Admiralty Group . The first reported sighting of Lord Howe Island took place on 17 February 1788, when Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball , commander of the Armed Tender HMS Supply , was en route from Botany Bay to found a penal settlement on Norfolk Island . On the return journey, Ball sent a party ashore on Lord Howe Island to claim it as

546-649: A great many unique plants and animals . In this context, Australasia is limited to Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, New Caledonia , and neighbouring islands, including the Indonesian islands from Lombok and Sulawesi eastward. The Wallace Line to the west divides areas in the Indomalayan realm of tropical Asia which are or have at times been directly connected to the Asian mainland from islands that have never been so connected. Borneo and Bali lie on

637-569: A high level of autonomy. The remaining three members are appointed by the minister to represent the interests of business, tourism, and conservation. The full board meets on the island every three months, while the day-to-day affairs of the island are managed by the board's administration, with a permanent staff that had increased to 22 people by 1988. Land tenure has been an issue since the first settlement, as island residents repeatedly requested freehold title or an absolute gift of cultivated land. Original settlers were squatters . The granting of

728-707: A line joining the east extremities of Elizabeth Reef and South East Rock ( 31°47′S 159°18′E  /  31.783°S 159.300°E  / -31.783; 159.300 ) then to the southward along this line to the South East Rock [an outlier of Lord Howe Island ]. On the Northeast From the South East Rock to the north point of Three Kings Islands ( 34°10′S 172°10′E  /  34.167°S 172.167°E  / -34.167; 172.167 ), thence to North Cape in New Zealand. On

819-538: A number of midsea island groups, quite apart from coastal islands located near the Australian and New Zealand mainlands: The East Australian Current that commences its flow southwards in the tropics of the Coral Sea, near the eastern coast of Australia is the most energetic circulation feature in the south western Pacific Ocean and is a primary means of heat transport from the tropics to the middle latitudes between Australia and New Zealand. The East Australian Current

910-511: A police officer, a ranger, and an ATM at the bowling club. Stores are shipped to the island fortnightly by the Island Trader from Port Macquarie. The island has a small four-bed hospital and dispensary. A small botanic garden displays labelled local plants in its grounds. Most electricity is supplied by 1.3 MW solar power and 3.7 MWh battery at 240 volts AC , complemented by diesel generators . No public transport or mobile phone coverage

1001-578: A sound commercial footing when in 1906, he became company director of the Lord Howe Island Kentia Palm Nursery, whose shareholders included 21 islanders and a Sydney-based seed company. However, the formation of the Lord Howe Island Board of Control was needed in 1913 to resolve outstanding issues. The kentia palm (known locally as the thatch palm, as it was used to roof the houses of the early settlers)

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1092-438: A vessel calling. The older families lost interest in market gardening with the provisions rotting in the storehouses. From 1860 to 1872, 43 ships had collected provisions, but from 1873 to 1887, fewer than a dozen had done so. This prompted some activity from the mainland. In 1876, a government report on the island was submitted by surveyor William Fitzgerald based on a visit in the same year. He suggested that coffee be grown, but

1183-406: A visiting ship) their Māori wives and two Māori boys. Huts were built in an area now known as Old Settlement, which had a supply of fresh water, and a garden was established west of Blinky Beach. This was a cashless society ; the settlers bartered their stores of water, wood, vegetables, meat, fish, and bird feathers for clothes, tea, sugar, tools, tobacco, and other commodities not available on

1274-680: Is a return of the westward-flowing Pacific Equatorial Current (Pacific South Equatorial Current ). At the juncture between the Tasman and Coral seas while the East Australian Current continues south in the western Tasman a branch flows east called the Tasman Front towards the north of New Zealand with most continuing eastward above New Zealand into the South Pacific Ocean. It transpires that while predominantly

1365-410: Is about 10 km (6.2 mi) long and between 0.3 and 2.0 km (0.19 and 1.24 mi) wide with an area of 14.55 km (3,600 acres), though just 3.98 km (980 acres) of that comprise the low-lying developed part of the island. The island is named after Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe . Along the west coast is a sandy semi-enclosed sheltered coral reef lagoon. Most of the population lives in

1456-435: Is available, but public telephones, fax facilities, and internet access are, as well as a local radio station and newsletter, The Signal . Tourist accommodation ranges from luxury lodges to apartments and villa units. The currency is the Australian dollar, and there are two banks. No camping facilities are on the island and remote-area camping is not permitted. To protect the fragile environment of Ball's Pyramid (which carries

1547-419: Is no disincentive to their use. Up until the 1980s, the palms were only sold as seed but from then onwards only as high-quality seedlings. The nursery received certification in 1997 for its high-quality management complying with the requirements of Australian Standard AS/NZS ISO 9002. Seed is gathered from both natural forests and plantations, most collectors being descendants of the original settlers. The seed

1638-525: Is not easily explained. At 16 km (6¼ sq. mi.) it is twice the size of Pitcairn Island and half the size of Norfolk Island , two other remote subtropical islands that were inhabited prehistorically, and it had a biota very similar to that of Norfolk Island." The first reported sighting of Lord Howe Island was on 17 February 1788 by Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball , commander of the Armed Tender HMS ; Supply (the oldest and smallest of

1729-621: Is part of the Indomalayan realm . In the classification scheme developed by Miklos Udvardy , New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and New Zealand are placed in the Oceanian realm . From an ecological perspective the Australasian realm is a distinct region, parts of which have a common geologic and evolutionary history. The entire area has experienced a long period of biological isolation from other regions, and thus harbors

1820-588: Is part of the state of New South Wales and is regarded legally as an unincorporated area administered by the Lord Howe Island Board, which reports to the New South Wales Minister for Environment and Heritage. The island's standard time zone is UTC+10:30 , or UTC+11 when daylight saving time applies. The currency is the Australian dollar . Commuter airlines provide flights to Sydney , Brisbane , and Port Macquarie . UNESCO records

1911-425: Is popular worldwide as a decorative palm that grows well both outdoors (in sufficiently warm climates) and indoors; the mild climate of the island has led to the evolution of a palm that can tolerate low light, a dry atmosphere, and lowish temperatures — ideal for indoor conditions, particularly in higher-end venues such as hotel lobbies, galleries and large foyers where their high price (thanks to their relative rarity)

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2002-417: Is reached by plane from Sydney Airport or Brisbane Airport to Lord Howe Island Airport in less than two hours. The Permanent Park Preserve declared in 1981 has similar management guidelines to a national park . With fewer than 800 people on the island at any time, facilities are limited; they include a bakery, butcher, general store, liquor store, restaurants, post office, museum, and information centre,

2093-462: Is then germinated in soilless media and sealed from the atmosphere to prevent contamination. After testing, seedlings are picked, washed (bare-rooted), sanitized, and certified, then packed and sealed into insulated containers for export. Nursery profits, in turn, are used in projects that enhance the island's ecosystems. The nursery plans to expand the business to include the curly palm ( Howea belmoreana ) and other native plants of special interest. By

2184-600: The 148th meridian to Flinders Island ; beyond this island a line running to the eastward of the Vansittart Shoals to [Cape] Barren Island , and from Cape Barren (the easternmost point of [Cape] Barren Island) to Eddystone Point (41°S) in Tasmania, thence along the east coast to South East Cape , the southern point of Tasmania. On the North The parallel of 30°S from the Australian coast eastward as far as

2275-509: The First Fleet ships), which was on its way from Botany Bay with a cargo of nine male and six female convicts to found a penal settlement on Norfolk Island . On the return journey of 13 March 1788, Ball observed Ball's Pyramid and sent a party ashore on Lord Howe Island to claim it as a British possession. Numerous turtles and tame birds were captured and returned to Sydney. Ball named Mount Lidgbird and Ball's Pyramid after himself and

2366-615: The Lady Penrhyn . Smyth was in Sydney when the Supply returned from the first voyage to Norfolk Island. His journal entry for 19 March 1788 noted that "the Supply , in her return, landed at the island she [discovered] in going out, and all were very agreeably surprised to find great numbers of a fine turtle on the beach and, on the land amongst the trees, great numbers of fowls very like a guinea hen, and another species of fowl not unlike

2457-629: The MV ''Island Trader'' . In 2002, the Royal Navy destroyer HMS  Nottingham struck Wolf Rock , a reef at Lord Howe Island, and almost sank. In recent times, tourism has increased and the government of New South Wales has been increasingly involved with issues of conservation. On 17 October 2011, the supply ship M/V Island Trader , carrying 20 tonnes of fuel, ran aground in the lagoon. The ship refloated at high tide with no loss of crew or cargo. The 2016 film The Shallows starring Blake Lively

2548-469: The South Pacific . No evidence to suggest prehistoric human activity has ever been found on Lord Howe Island, even after an extensive archaeological investigation in 1996. In Australian Archaeology Atholl Anderson concluded in 2003 that, "the case for no pre-European settlement on Lord Howe Island is now more compelling than before" and that "the absence of pre-European settlement on Lord Howe Island

2639-556: The kentia palm was already catching world attention. In 1878, the island was declared a forest reserve and Captain Richard Armstrong became the first resident government administrator. He encouraged schools, tree-planting, and the palm trade, dynamited the north passage to the lagoon, and built roads. He also managed to upset the residents, and parliamentarian Bowie Wilson was sent from the mainland in April 1882 to investigate

2730-470: The kiwi and the moa . The Australasian realm includes some nearby island groups, like Wallacea , the Bismarck Archipelago , Solomon Islands , and Vanuatu , which were not formerly part of Gondwana, but which share many characteristic plants and animals with Australasia. Note that this zonation is based on flora; animals do not necessarily follow the same biogeographic boundaries. In

2821-561: The Australasian realm). Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia are all fragments of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana , the marks of which are still visible in the Christmas Island Seamount Province and other geophysical entities. These three land masses have been separated from other continents, and from one another, for tens millions of years. All of Australasia shares the Antarctic flora , although

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2912-551: The British whaling barque Caroline , sailing from New Zealand and commanded by Captain John Blinkenthorpe, landed at what is now known as Blinky Beach. They left three men, George Ashdown, James Bishop, and Chapman, who was employed by a Sydney whaling firm to establish a supply station. The men were initially to provide meat by fishing and by raising pigs and goats from feral stock. They landed with (or acquired from

3003-643: The Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman , who in 1642 was the first known person to cross it. British explorer Lieutenant James Cook later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s during his three voyages of exploration. The Tasman Sea is informally referred to in both Australian and New Zealand English as the Ditch ; for example, " crossing the Ditch " means travelling to Australia from New Zealand, or vice versa. The diminutive term "the Ditch" used for

3094-719: The East On the Southeast A line running from South West Cape , Stewart Island, through the Snares (48°S, 166°30'E) to North West Cape, Auckland Island ( 50°30′S 166°10′E  /  50.500°S 166.167°E  / -50.500; 166.167 ), through this island to its southern point. On the South A line joining the southern point of Auckland Island ( 50°55′S 166°0′E  /  50.917°S 166.000°E  / -50.917; 166.000 ) to South East Cape,

3185-583: The Lord Howe Island Amendment Act gave islanders the administrative power of three members on a five-member board. The board also manages the Lord Howe Island kentia palm nursery, which together with tourism, provides the island's only source of external income. Under an amendment bill in 2004, the board now comprises seven members, four of whom are elected from the islander community, thus giving about 350 permanent residents

3276-557: The Lord Howe Island Group as a World Heritage Site of global natural significance. Most of the island is virtually untouched forest , with many of the plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. Other natural attractions include the diversity of the landscapes, the variety of upper mantle and oceanic basalts , the world's southernmost barrier coral reef , nesting seabirds , and the rich historical and cultural heritage. The Lord Howe Island Act 1981 established

3367-483: The NSW Parliament declared the island a forest reserve, but as a result of ill feeling, and an enquiry, he was eventually removed from office on 31 May 1882 (he returned later that year though to view the transit of Venus from present-day Transit Hill). After his removal, the island was administered by four successive magistrates until 1913, when a Sydney-based board was formed; in 1948, a resident superintendent

3458-686: The NSW government to establish a penal settlement on the island. From 1851 to 1854, Henry Denham captain of HMS Herald , which was on a scientific expedition to the southwest Pacific (1852–1856), completed the island's first hydrographic survey . On board were three Scottish biologists, William Milne (a gardener-botanist from the Edinburgh Botanic Garden ), John MacGillivray (naturalist) who collected fish and plant specimens, and assistant surgeon and zoologist Denis Macdonald . Together, these men established much basic information on

3549-745: The South Island by the shapes of the Lord Howe Rise and southern east coast of the North island continues to the south. The East Australian Current south of Tasmania also is diverted west in the Subtropical Front which collides with the western moving Subantarctic front of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current . The East Australian Current sheds eddies on its way south that move south-westward with some known as

3640-599: The Sydney Botanic Gardens. Overseas trade began in the 1880s, when one of the four palms endemic to the island, the kentia palm ( Howea forsteriana ), which grows naturally in the lowlands, was found to be ideally suited to the fashionable conservatories of the well-to-do in Britain, Europe, and the United States. The assistance of mainland magistrate, Frank Farnell, was needed to put the business on

3731-585: The Tasman Leakage making it as far westward as the Indian Ocean. A deep-sea research ship, the RV Tangaroa , explored the sea and found 500 species of fish and 1300 species of invertebrates. The tooth of a megalodon , an extinct shark, was also found by researchers. In 1876, the first telegraph cable connecting Australia and New Zealand was laid in the Tasman Sea. The telegraph cable

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3822-529: The Tasman Sea is comparable to referring to the North Atlantic Ocean as "the Pond". The south of the sea is passed over by depressions going from west to east. The northern limit of these westerly winds is near to 40°S . During the southern winter, from April to October, the northern branch of these winds from the west changes its direction toward the north and goes up against trade winds . Hence,

3913-553: The WWF ecoregion system, Lord Howe Island constitutes the entirety of the 'Lord Howe Island subtropical forests' ecoregion (WWF ID#AA0109). This ecoregion is in the Australasian realm , and the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome . The WWF ecoregion has an area of 14 km (5½ sq. mi.) Before European discovery and settlement, Lord Howe Island apparently was uninhabited, and unknown to Polynesian peoples of

4004-452: The act extended political and land rights to all residents of 10 years or more. An active debate exists concerning the proportion of residents with tenure and the degree of influence on the board of resident islanders about long-term planning for visitors, and issues relating to the environment, amenities, and global heritage. As a dependency of the Colony of New South Wales , Lord Howe Island

4095-530: The assistance of islanders and then took off successfully nine weeks later for a flight to Sydney. After World War II , in 1947, tourists arrived on Catalina and then four-engined Sandringham flying boats of Ansett Flying Boat Services operating out of Rose Bay , Sydney, and landing on the lagoon, the journey taking about 3½ hours. When Lord Howe Island Airport was completed in 1974, the seaplanes were eventually replaced with QantasLink twin-engined turboprop Dash 8–200 aircraft. In 1990, Lance Knight

4186-455: The camp and fleet." Watercolour sketches of native birds including the Lord Howe woodhen ( Gallirallus sylvestris ), white gallinule ( Porphyrio albus ), and Lord Howe pigeon ( Columba vitiensis godmanae ) were made by artists including George Raper and John Hunter . As the latter two birds were soon hunted to extinction, these paintings are their only remaining pictorial record. Over

4277-536: The electorate of Sydney. However, the NSW Electoral Commission eventually decided to retain the island within the electorate of Port Macquarie. Since 1901, Lord Howe Island has been included in the following Australian House of Representatives electoral divisions: The first exporter of palm seeds was Ned King, a mountain guide for the Fitzgerald surveys of 1869 and 1876, who sent seed to

4368-540: The island as food for future visitors. Between July and October 1791, the Third Fleet ships arrived at Sydney and within days, the deck work was being reconstructed for a future in the lucrative whaling industry. Whale oil was to become Australia's most profitable export until the 1830s, and the whaling industry shaped Lord Howe Island's early history. Permanent settlement on Lord Howe was established in June 1834 , when

4459-469: The island for more than six generations. Residents now work in the kentia palm industry, tourism, retail, some fishing, and farming. In 1876 on Sundays, games and labour were suspended, but no religious services were held. Nowadays, the area known locally as Church Paddock has Anglican , Roman Catholic , and Adventist churches, the religious affiliations on the island being 30% Anglican, 22% no religion, 18% Catholic and 12% Seventh Day Adventist. The ratio of

4550-574: The island since the SS ; Makambo ran aground in 1918, and have wiped out several endemic bird species and were thought to have done the same to the Lord Howe Island stick insect . A plan in 2016 was made to drop 42 tonnes of rat bait across the island, but the community was heavily divided. The island was due to be declared rodent-free in October 2021, two years after the last live rat

4641-560: The island's geology, flora, and fauna. Around 1853, a further three settlers arrived on the American whaling barque Belle , captained by Ichabod Handy. George Campbell (who died in 1856) and Jack Brian (who left the island in 1854) arrived, and the third, Nathan Thompson, brought three women (called Botanga, Bogoroo, and a girl named Bogue) from the Gilbert Islands . When his first wife Botanga died, he then married Bogue. Thompson

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4732-546: The island, but it was the whalers' valuation that had to be accepted. These first settlers eventually left the island when they were bought out for £ 350 in September 1841 by businessmen Owen Poole and Richard Dawson (later joined by John Foulis), whose employees and others then settled on the island. The new business was advertised and ships trading between Sydney and the New Hebrides ( Vanuatu ) would also be put into

4823-484: The island. Rover's Bride , a small cutter, became the first regular trading vessel. Between 1839 and 1859, five to 12 ships made landfall each year, occasionally closer to 20, with seven or eight at a time laying off the reef. In 1842 and 1844, the first children were born on the island. Then in 1847, Poole, Dawson, and Foulis, bitter at failing to obtain a land lease from the New South Wales government, abandoned

4914-579: The lagoon). Swimming, snorkelling , and scuba diving are also popular in the lagoon, as well as off Tenth of June Island, a small rocky outcrop in the Admiralty group where an underwater plateau drops 36 m (118 ft) to reveal extensive gorgonia and black corals growing on the vertical walls. Other diving sites are found off Ball's Pyramid, 26 km (16 mi) away, where trenches, caves, and volcanic drop-offs occur. Bushwalking, natural history tours, talks, and guided walks take place along

5005-485: The landrail in England, and all so perfectly tame that you could frequently take hold of them with your hands but could, at all times, knock down as many as you thought proper, with a short stick. Inside the reef also there were fish innumerable, which were so easily taken with a hook and line as to be able to catch a boat full in a short time. She brought thirteen large turtles to Port Jackson and many were distributed among

5096-598: The last remaining wild population of the endangered Lord Howe Island stick insect ), recreational climbing there is prohibited. No pets are allowed without permission from the board. Islanders use tanked rainwater , supplemented by bore water for showers and washing clothes. As distances to sites of interest are short, cycling is the main means of transport on the island. Tourist activities include golf (9-hole), lawn bowls , tennis , fishing (including deep-sea game fishing), yachting , windsurfing , kitesurfing , kayaking , and boat trips (including glass-bottom tours of

5187-463: The late 1980s, annual exports had begun to provide a revenue of over A$ 2 million, constituting the only major industry on the island apart from tourism. Lord Howe Island is known for its geology, birds, plants, and marine life. Popular tourist activities include scuba diving , birdwatching, snorkelling , surfing , kayaking , and fishing . To relieve pressure on the small island environment, only 400 tourists are permitted at any one time. The island

5278-707: The location of westerly wind stress is a factor in how far north the formation of the Tasman Front occurs, so is the presence of the New Zealand land mass, as the top of New Zealand defines the furtherest south that the Tasman Front can be split off by the westerly winds. A boundary current called the East Auckland Current goes down the west coast of the North Island and further south the East Cape Current, that has been diverted towards

5369-546: The main island after Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe , who was First Lord of the Admiralty at the time. Many names on the island date from this time, and also from May of the same year, when four ships of the First Fleet, HMS  Supply , Charlotte , Lady Penrhyn and Scarborough , visited it. Much of the plant and animal life was first recorded in the journals and diaries of visitors such as David Blackburn , Master of Supply , and Arthur Bowes Smyth , surgeon of

5460-650: The many tracks, the most challenging being the eight-hour guided hike to the top of Mount Gower. The island has 11 beaches, and hand-feeding the 1 m-long (3 ft) kingfish ( Seriola lalandi ) and large wrasse at Ned's Beach is very popular. Walking tracks cover the island with difficulty graded from 1–5, they include—in the north: Transit Hill 2-hour return, 2 km (1.2 mi); Clear Place, 1– to 2-hour return; Stevens Reserve; North Bay, 4-hour return, 4 km (2.5 mi); Mount Eliza; Old Gulch, 20-minute return, 300 m (330 yd); Malabar Hill and Kims Lookout, 3 or 5-hour return, 7 km (4.3 mi) and—in

5551-562: The master of the island's supply ship Sitka called a meeting in the town hall to propose the formation of an island owned shipping service. Lance set off around the world to find a ship and whilst in South-East Asia made one of the most well-known surf discoveries of all time at Lance's Right on the island of Sipora in the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia . Lance eventually returned to the island with its now iconic ship,

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5642-644: The next three years, the Supply returned to the island several times in search of turtles, and the island was also visited by ships of the Second and Third Fleets . Between 1789 and 1791, the Pacific whale industry was born with British and American whaling ships chasing sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) along the equator to the Gilbert and Ellice archipelago , then south into Australian and New Zealand waters. The American fleet numbered 675 ships and Lord Howe

5733-407: The north, while the south is dominated by forested hills rising to the highest point on the island, Mount Gower (875 m, 2,871 ft). The Lord Howe Island Group comprises 28 islands, islets, and rocks. Apart from Lord Howe Island itself, the most notable of these is the volcanic and uninhabited Ball's Pyramid about 23 km (14 mi; 12 nmi) to the southeast of Howe. To the north lies

5824-500: The northern, tropical islands also share many plants with Southeast Asia. Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania are separated from one another by shallow continental shelves , and were linked together when the sea level was lower during ice ages . They share a similar fauna which includes marsupial and monotreme mammals and ratite birds. Eucalypts are the predominant trees in much of Australia and New Guinea. New Zealand has no native land mammals, but also had ratite birds, including

5915-436: The onset of the California Gold Rush , and the American Civil War —with unfortunate consequences for the people of the island. To explore alternative means of income, Thompson, in 1867, purchased the Sylph , which was the first local vessel to trade with Sydney (mainly pigs and onions). It anchored in deep water at what is now Sylph's Hole off Old Settlement Beach but was eventually tragically lost at sea in 1873, which added to

6006-422: The population had increased considerably and included 29 children; the report recommended that a schoolmaster be appointed. This study sealed a lasting relationship with three scientific organisations, the Australian Museum, Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens, and Kew Royal Botanic Gardens . In 1883, the company Burns Philp started a regular shipping service and the number of tourists gradually increased. By 1932, with

6097-413: The present case, many birds occur in both "Indomalayan" and "Australasian" regions, but not across the whole of either. On the other hand, there are few faunistic commonalities shared only by Australia and New Zealand, except some birds. Meanwhile, Australia, Melanesia and the Wallacea are united by a large share of similar animals, but few of these occur farther into the Pacific. On the other hand, much of

6188-405: The regular tourist run of SS Morinda , tourism became the second-largest source of external income after palm sales to Europe. Morinda was replaced by Makambo in 1932, and she in turn by other vessels. The service continues into the present day with the fortnightly Island Trader service from Port Macquarie. The palm trade began in the 1880s when the lowland kentia palm ( Howea forsteriana )

6279-409: The sea is made up of globigerina ooze. A small zone of pteropod ooze is found to the south of New Caledonia and to the southern extent of 30°S , siliceous ooze can be found. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Tasman Sea as: On the West A line from Gabo Island (near Cape Howe , 37°30'S) to the northeast point of East Sister Island (148°E), thence along

6370-434: The sea receives frequent winds from the southwest during this period. In the Australian summer (from November to March), the southern branch of the trade winds goes up against west winds and produces further wind activity in the area. The Tasman Sea is 2,250 km (1,400 mi) wide and has an area of 2,300,000 km (890,000 sq mi). The maximum depth of the sea is 5,943 m (19,498 ft). The base of

6461-431: The sea was Colin Quincey in 1977. The next successful solo crossing was completed by his son, Shaun Quincey, in 2010. Australasian realm The Australasian realm also includes several Pacific island groups, including the Bismarck Archipelago , Vanuatu , the Solomon Islands , and New Caledonia . New Zealand and its surrounding islands are a distinctive sub-region of the Australasian realm. The rest of Indonesia

6552-525: The settlement although three of their employees remained. One family, the Andrews, after finding some onions on the beach in 1848, cultivated them as the "Lord Howe red onion", which was popular in the Southern Hemisphere for about 30 years until the crop was attacked by smut disease . In 1849, just 11 people were living on the island, but soon the island farms expanded. In the 1850s, gold

6643-474: The sexes is roughly equal, with 47% of the population in the age group 25–54 and 92% holding Australian citizenship . Official control of Lord Howe Island lay initially with the British Crown until it passed to New South Wales in 1855, although, until at least 1876, the islanders lived in "a relatively harmonious and self-regulating community". In 1878, Richard Armstrong was appointed administrator when

6734-503: The ship was William Fitzgerald, a surveyor, and Mr. Masters from the Australian Museum . Together, they surveyed the island with the findings published in 1870 when the population was listed as 35 people, their 13 houses built of split palm battens thatched on the roof and sides with palm leaves. Around this time, a downturn of trade began with the demise of the whaling industry, and sometimes six to 12 months passed without

6825-829: The situation. With Wilson was a team of scientists who included H. Wilkinson from the Mines Department, W. Condor from the Survey Department, J. Duff from the Sydney Botanical Gardens, and A. Morton from the Australian Museum. J. Sharkey from the Government Printing Office took the earliest known photographs of the island and its residents. A full account of the island appeared in the report from this visit, which recommended that Armstrong be replaced. Meanwhile,

6916-425: The south: Goat House Cave, 5-hour return, 6 km (3.7 mi); Mount Gower, 8-hour return, 14 km (8.7 mi); Rocky Run and Boat Harbour; Intermediate Hill, 45-minute return, 1 km (0.62 mi); and Little Island, 40-minute return, 3 km (1.9 mi). Recreational climbers must obtain permission from the Lord Howe Island Board. Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in

7007-420: The southern point of Tasmania. The Tasman Sea's midocean ridge developed between 85 and 55 million years ago as Australia and Zealandia broke apart during the breakup of supercontinent Gondwana . It lies roughly midway between the continental margins of Australia and Zealandia. Much of Zealandia is submerged, so the ridge runs much closer to the Australian coast than New Zealand's. The Tasman Sea features

7098-462: The southwest Pacific Ocean. Lying in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand , the island is 600 km (370 mi) east of mainland Port Macquarie , 702 km (436 mi) northeast of Sydney , and about 772 km (480 mi) from Norfolk Island to its northeast. The island is about 10 km (6.2 mi) long and between 0.3 and 2.0 km (0.19 and 1.24 mi) wide with an area of 14.55 km (5.62 sq mi). Along

7189-433: The state of New South Wales. It reports directly to the state's Minister for Environment and Heritage and is responsible for the island's care, control, and management. Its duties include the protection of World Heritage values; the control of development; the administration of Crown Land, including the island's protected area; provision of community services and infrastructure; and regulating sustainable tourism . In 1981,

7280-479: The west coast is a semienclosed, sheltered coral reef lagoon with white sand, the most accessible of the island's 11 beaches. Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean , situated between Australia and New Zealand . It measures about 2,000 km (1,200 mi) across and about 2,800 km (1,700 mi) from north to south. The sea was named after

7371-620: The western, Asian side. A second biological dividing line is Lydekker's Line , which similarly separates islands isolated by surrounding deep water from those associated with the Sahul Shelf of the Australian continent. Islands between the two lines (e.g. Sulawesi, the Moluccas and Lombok through Timor) form the biogeographical area of Wallacea , a transition zone between the Indomalayan and Australasian realms populated entirely by aerial or oceanic dispersal (although defined here as part of

7462-596: The woes of the island at that time. In 1869, the island was visited by magistrate P. Cloete aboard the Thetis investigating a possible murder. He was accompanied by Charles Moore , director of the Botanic Gardens in Sydney , and his assistant William Carron, who forwarded plant specimens to Ferdinand von Mueller at the botanic gardens in Melbourne , who by 1875, had catalogued and published 195 species. Also on

7553-401: Was appointed. In 1913, the three-man Lord Howe Island Board of Control was established, mostly to regulate the palm seed industry, but also administering the affairs of the island from Sydney until the present Lord Howe Island Board was set up in 1954. The Lord Howe Island Board is an NSW Statutory Authority established under the Lord Howe Island Act 1953, to administer the island as part of

7644-515: Was discovered on mainland Australia, where crews would abandon their ships, preferring to dig for gold than risk their lives at sea. As a consequence, many vessels avoided the mainland and Lord Howe Island experienced an increasing trade, which peaked between 1855 and 1857. In 1851, about 16 people were living on the island. Vegetable crops now included potatoes, carrots, maize, pumpkin, taro, watermelon, and even grapes, passionfruit, and coffee. Between 1851 and 1853, several aborted proposals were made by

7735-415: Was first exported to Britain, Europe, and America, but the trade was only placed on a firm financial footing when the Lord Howe Island Kentia Palm Nursery was formed in 1906 (see below). The first plane to appear on the island was in 1931, when Francis Chichester alighted on the lagoon in a de Havilland Gipsy Moth converted into a floatplane . It was damaged there in an overnight storm, but repaired with

7826-486: Was found, but a living male and pregnant female were discovered in April 2021. As of October 2023, the island is considered rat free. The eradication, contrary to many community reservations, has seen birds, insects, and plants flourish at levels not seen in decades. As at the 2016 census, the resident population was 382 people, and the number of tourists was not allowed to exceed 400. Early settlers were European and American whalers and many of their offspring have remained on

7917-540: Was largely filmed on the island. During the COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales , a public health order was issued on 22 March 2020 that declared Lord Howe Island a public risk area and directed restricted access. As of that date there were no known cases of COVID-19 on the Island. One of the most contentious issues amongst islanders in the 21st century is what to do about the rodent situation. Rodents have only been on

8008-492: Was located in a region known as the Middle Ground noted for sperm whales and southern right whales ( Eubalaena australis ). The island was subsequently visited by many governments and whaling ships sailing between New South Wales and Norfolk Island and across the Pacific, including many from the American whaling fleet, so its reputation as a provisioning port preceded settlement, with some ships leaving goats and pigs on

8099-572: Was made obsolete in 1963 when the Commonwealth Pacific Cable , New Zealand's first international telephone cable, was completed. Moncrieff and Hood were the first to attempt a trans-Tasman crossing by plane in January 1928. The aviators were never seen or heard of again. The first successful flight over the sea was accomplished by Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm later that year. The first person to row solo across

8190-504: Was not represented in parliament until the 1894 New South Wales colonial election following the passage of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act, 1893 . Since 1894, Lord Howe Island has been included in the following New South Wales Legislative Assembly districts: As part of the redistribution of electoral districts for the 2023 state election , a proposal was received to move Lord Howe Island back into

8281-495: Was the first resident to build a substantial house in the 1860s from mainland cedar washed up on the beach. Most of the residents with island ancestors have blood relations or are connected by marriage to Thompson and his second wife Bogue. In 1855, the island was officially designated as part of New South Wales by the Constitution Act. From the early 1860s, whaling declined rapidly with the increasing use of petroleum,

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