Pullen Island is a 1 ha
granite island lying 0.5 km offshore from the town of
Port Elliot on the southern coast of the
Fleurieu Peninsula of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. It was originally named Lipson Island but was renamed in 1839 by
W.J.S. Pullen, the Colonial Marine Surveyor, after himself. The island is protected by designation as the
Pullen Island Conservation Park.
Description
About 300 m long, the island that is largely a mass of weathered granite boulders, with a cove and beach on the northern side providing a landing for small boats. There is little vegetation, though pockets of soil on the higher part of the island support a few plants including the native
common boobialla and
introduced African boxthorn,
tree mallow
''Malva'' is a genus of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae. It is one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temper ...
and
buckthorn
''Rhamnus'' is a genus of about 110 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns, in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from tall (rarely to ) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found thr ...
.
Seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envir ...
s breeding on the island include
little penguins and
silver gulls. There is also a large roost of
feral pigeons.
[
]
Little penguin colony
The 2013 Encounter Bay penguin census conducted by penguin ecologist Dr. Diane Colombelli-Négrel from Flinders University found no penguins and no active burrows on Pullen Island. The census' report concluded that the colony had not recovered from a prior collapse.[Colombelli-Négrel, D. & Kleindorfer, S]
Penguin monitoring and conservation activities in the Gulf St Vincent July 2013 – June 2014. Report to the Adelaide and Mt Lofty Natural Resources Management Board
Flinders University, South Australia (2014-04). Retrieved 2014-07-27.
Protected area status
Pullen Island has enjoyed protected area status since 2 September 1948 when it was declared as a closed area for birds under the ''Animals and Birds Protection Act 1919-1946''.[ On 16 March 1967, the island gained status as a Fauna Conservation Reserve.]National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972
Protected areas of South Australia consists of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of March 2018, South Australia contains 359 separ ...
''.[
]
References
Islands of South Australia
Encounter Bay
{{SouthAustralia-geo-stub