Gabo Island is a

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

located off the coast of eastern

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

, between

Mallacoota Mallacoota is a small town in the East Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. At the 2016 census, Mallacoota had a population of 1,063. At holiday times, particularly Easter and Christmas, the population increases by about 8,000 ...

and

Cape Howe Cape Howe is a coastal headland in eastern Australia, forming the south-eastern end of the Black-Allan Line, a portion of the border between New South Wales and Victoria. History Cape Howe was named by Captain Cook when he passed it on 20 A ...

on the border with

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It is separated from the mainland by a wide channel; access is available by arranged flights and boats. Gabo Island is a shipping reference commonly referred to in Victorian weather warnings issued by the

Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

. The island is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

under the direct administration of the government of Victoria.

Gabo Island Lighthouse

Gabo Island is well known for its historic lighthouse. This lighthouse, Australia's second tallest, was completed in 1862 and made from pink

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

quarried from the island itself. The

focal plane In Gaussian optics, the cardinal points consist of three pairs of points located on the optical axis of a rotationally symmetric, focal, optical system. These are the '' focal points'', the principal points, and the nodal points. For ''ideal'' ...

of the light is situated at above sea level, the characteristic is a group of three flashes that occurs every twenty seconds. A keeper's house is occupied by a caretaker; another building may be rented for overnight stays.

Climate

Gabo Island has a moderate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cfb'') with mild summers and cool winters and rainfall spread throughout the year. The island features 60.8 clear days annually, higher than

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

's 48.6 days.

Birds

The island is home to the world's second largest

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

little penguin The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian li ...

s. Gabo and nearby Tullaberga Island have been identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Inte ...

because of the numbers of breeding penguins (up to 21,000 pairs) and

white-faced storm petrel The white-faced storm petrel (''Pelagodroma marina''), also known as white-faced petrel is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Pelagodroma''. Description The white-faced ...

s (up to 20,000 pairs). Concern of predation of native birds and animals led to a successful

feral cat A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

eradication program on the island between 1987 and 1991.

Literary references

“The wind that blows by Gabo,” is the title of a poem by

E.J. Brady Edwin James Brady (7 August 1869 – 22 July 1952) was an Australian journalist and poet. Personal life From Irish parents, Brady was born at Carcoar, New South Wales, and was educated both in the United States and Sydney, Australia. Among h ...

.Brady, E.J., (1933) Wardens of the sea, Sydney, Endeavour Press, p.24-26 File:GABOMAP.png, Map of Gabo Island, Victoria, Australia File:Gabomap1.png, Map of Gabo Island

References

External links

The Great Penguin Count on Gabo Island
{{Authority control Unincorporated areas of Victoria (Australia) 1862 establishments in Australia Gippsland Important Bird Areas of Victoria (Australia) Islands of Victoria (Australia) Seabird colonies Penguin colonies