The Partridge Island, part of the Partridge Island Group, is an

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 island ...

that lies close to the south-eastern coast of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, Australia. The island is situated in the

D'Entrecasteaux Channel The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a body of water located between Bruny Island and the south-east of the mainland of Tasmania, Australia. The channel is the mouth for the estuaries of the Derwent and the Huon Rivers and empties into the Tasman S ...

, between

Bruny Island Bruny Island ( Nuenonne: Lunawanna-alonnah) is a island located off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and its east coast lies within the Tasman ...

and the mainland of Tasmania and is part of the

South Bruny National Park The South Bruny National Park is a national park located on Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia, about south of Hobart. The park contains the Cape Bruny Lighthouse. The highest point of the park is Mount Bruny at . History The park also embr ...

.Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). '' Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features''. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. The other islands in the Partridge Island Group are: * Arch Rock * Charity Island * Curlew Island * Faith Island * Garden Island * Hope Island * Huon Island * Satellite Island * Seagull Rock

Flora and fauna

The vegetation is mainly dry

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

with a

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

understorey In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

. Little penguins breed on the island. The endangered

forty-spotted pardalote The forty-spotted pardalote (''Pardalotus quadragintus'') is one of Australia's rarest birds and by far the rarest pardalote, being confined to a few colonies in the south-east corner of Tasmania, mainly on Maria Island and Bruny Island. Desc ...

is present.

European rabbit The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has b ...

s were introduced to the island but have since been eradicated. The

eastern blue-tongued lizard The ''Tiliqua scincoides scincoides,'' or eastern blue-tongued lizard, is native to Australia. It is unique due to its blue tongue, which can be used to warn off predators. In addition to flashing its blue tongue, the skink hisses and puffs up its ...

has been recorded.

Acquisition

The island was privately owned and purchased from Dibbern estate on 8 January 1974 by Richard Ham, a Melbourne doctor, for $50,000. Dr Ham intended to establish an

Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...

-style sailing school. On 16 May 1975, an inspector from the Department of Lands arrived on Partridge Island and presented Dr Ham with a letter indicating that the

Tasmanian Government The Tasmanian Government is the democratic administrative authority of the state of Tasmania, Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania, is invit ...

intended to resume the island. Today, Partridge Island is administered by the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service as part of the South Bruny National Park. Since acquisition, the island's maintenance has been neglected. Blackberries and English ivy have invaded the bush and the jetty has become hazardous. In 1998 volunteers removed approximately of washed-up rubbish.

References

Islands of South East Tasmania Private islands of Tasmania South Bruny National Park {{Tasmania-geo-stub

Flora and fauna

Acquisition

See also

References