The Whidbey Isles Conservation Park is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

which consists of seven islands located about west-southwest of

Coffin Bay Coffin Bay (), originally Coffin's Bay, is a town at the southern extremity of the Eyre Peninsula, a wheat growing area of South Australia. The town is situated on the western side of the southern tip of Eyre Peninsula about 46 km from Por ...

on the lower

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...

. The conservation park consists of all of the islands in Whidbey Isles, i.e. the Four Hummocks group, Perforated Island, Price Island and Golden Island, with the exception of the most southerly island in the Four Hummocks which is the subject of a lighthouse reserve under the control of the Australian government. The land within the conservation park first acquired protected area status as a Fauna Conservation Reserve declared under the ''Crown Lands Act 1929'' on 16 March 1967. On 27 April 1972, the fauna conservation reserve was reconstituted as the ''Whidbey Isles Conservation Park'' under the ''

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 Protected areas of South Australia, consisting of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of 2018, South Australia contained 359 separat ...

''. On 19 December 1991, additional land was added to the conservation park to extend protection over land located between high tide and low tide. As of 2019, it covered an area of . The Isles supports breeding populations of seabirds and marine mammals. Colonies of the endangered Australian Sea-lion (Neophoca cinerea) and protected New Zealand Fur-seal (''Arctophoca'' ''forsteri'') occur on some of these islands. In 1980, the conservation park was described as follows:

A string of widely scattered islands stretching west-south-west from Point Avoid. The closer islands are limestone, flat with rugged cliffed coastlines and a low shrub vegetation. The Four Hummocks, the most seaward islands of the group and the unnamed rock west of Perforated Island are granite domes with grassy summits. A group of rugged islands supporting a diverse sea-bird community including breeding populations of short-tailed shearwaters, fairy penguins and rock parrots. The white-breasted sea-eagle and osprey are known to utilise the islands which also support breeding populations of the Australian sea-lion and New Zealand fur seal. The rugged nature of the islands gives them considerable scenic value. The islands are in pristine condition in the absence of introduced predators and competitors. The southernmost of the Four Hummocks Group is a light house reserve and excluded from the park.

The conservation park is classified as an

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Category Ia protected area. In 1980, it was listed on the now-defunct

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

. A 1996 survey of South Australia's offshore island identified the Four Hummocks as a little penguin breeding site.

References

External links

Whidbey Isles Conservation Park webpage on protected planet
{{Islands of South Australia , state=collapsed Conservation parks of South Australia Protected areas established in 1967 1967 establishments in Australia Islands of South Australia Great Australian Bight South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate

See also

References

External links