Montague Island
Encyclopedia
Montague Island is 9 kilometres offshore from Narooma
on the south coast of New South Wales
, Australia
.
maintained by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority
. The lighthouse was designed by James Barnet
and built in 1881. It was automated in 1986 and demanned in 1987. The lighthouse is 21 metres tall and the light is 80 metres above sea level with a nominal range of 20 nautical miles (37 km) and a geographic range of 17 nautical miles (31 km). The original Fresnel lens
was removed in 1986 and is now on display at the Narooma Lighthouse Museum.
Intending visitors to the lighthouse (both day visitors and overnight stays) must first check with the National Parks and Wildlife Service
.
The next lighthouse to the north is the Burrewarra Point
lighthouse.
s on the island. As the island has no foxes or feral cats, the penguins have no predators other than other sea birds and seals. With the restoration of native habitat and the provision of penguin breeding boxes, penguin numbers have increased, and there are now approximately 12,000 on the island. The female usually lays two eggs, and during a good year, both chicks will survive. The birds come ashore at dusk after feeding at sea, and visitors to the island can watch the birds from a platform near the jetty.
, Sterna bergii, have brilliant white feathers covering the body while the head is completely black.
s, also known as mutton birds, nest on the island. Species recorded are:
The majority of the seals are Australian Fur Seals, Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus. New Zealand Fur Seal
s (Arctocephalus forsteri), Subantarctic Fur Seal
s (Arctocephalus tropicalis) and Australian Sea Lion
s (Neophoca cinerea) have also been observed.
is a major weed. Originally introduced in the early 19th century to help feed the animals kept by the lighthouse keepers and their families, it spread to cover most of the south island. The NPWS officers poison a section, then burn it, before replanting with some help from volunteers. In the less accessible areas of the northern and eastern parts, an aerial spraying program is used to manage the kikuyu where it infests shearwater breeding sites. The kikuyu is a barrier for the shearwaters and penguins who cannot penetrate it to move or to burrow. Various native species are used to replant areas after the kikuyu grass has been controlled.
Narooma, New South Wales
Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway. The name is said to be derived from the Aboriginal word meaning ‘clear blue waters’. At the 2006 census, Narooma had a population of 3,100 people.Montague Island, a National...
on the south coast of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Lighthouse
On the island is a lighthouseLighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
maintained by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Australian Maritime Safety Authority is responsible, on behalf of the Commonwealth Government of Australia, for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations...
. The lighthouse was designed by James Barnet
James Barnet
James Johnstone Barnet was the Colonial Architect for New South Wales from 1862 - 1890.-Life and career:Barnet was born at Almericlose, Arbroath, Scotland. The son of a builder, he was educated at the local high school...
and built in 1881. It was automated in 1986 and demanned in 1987. The lighthouse is 21 metres tall and the light is 80 metres above sea level with a nominal range of 20 nautical miles (37 km) and a geographic range of 17 nautical miles (31 km). The original Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
was removed in 1986 and is now on display at the Narooma Lighthouse Museum.
Intending visitors to the lighthouse (both day visitors and overnight stays) must first check with the National Parks and Wildlife Service
National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales)
The National Parks and Wildlife Service is part of the Office of Environment and Heritage - the main government conservation agency in New South Wales, Australia....
.
The next lighthouse to the north is the Burrewarra Point
Burrewarra Point
Burrewarra Point is to the north of Broulee and 25 kilometers to the south of Batemans Bay on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia.An active lighthouse, Burrewarra Point Light, is located at Burrewarra Point. It was built in 1974....
lighthouse.
Wildlife
Forty nine species of fauna have been recorded on the island by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. (Wildlife atlas)Little Penguins
The island is home to a large colony of Little PenguinLittle Penguin
The Little Penguin is the smallest species of penguin. The penguin, which usually grows to an average of in height and in length , is found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand, with possible records from Chile.Apart from Little Penguins, they have several common names...
s on the island. As the island has no foxes or feral cats, the penguins have no predators other than other sea birds and seals. With the restoration of native habitat and the provision of penguin breeding boxes, penguin numbers have increased, and there are now approximately 12,000 on the island. The female usually lays two eggs, and during a good year, both chicks will survive. The birds come ashore at dusk after feeding at sea, and visitors to the island can watch the birds from a platform near the jetty.
Crested Terns
Crested ternsGreater Crested Tern
The Greater Crested Tern , also called Crested Tern or Swift Tern, is a seabird in the tern family which nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World...
, Sterna bergii, have brilliant white feathers covering the body while the head is completely black.
Shearwaters
ShearwaterShearwater
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds. There are more than 30 species of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris and many smaller species in the genus Puffinus...
s, also known as mutton birds, nest on the island. Species recorded are:
- Puffinus bulleri (Buller's ShearwaterBuller's ShearwaterBuller's Shearwater is a Pacific species of seabird in the family Procellariidae; it is also known as the Grey-backed Shearwater or New Zealand Shearwater...
) - Puffinus griseus (Sooty ShearwaterSooty ShearwaterThe Sooty Shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name tītī and as "muttonbird", like its relatives the Wedge-tailed Shearwater and the Australian Short-tailed Shearwater The Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) is...
) - Puffinus pacificus (Wedge-tailed ShearwaterWedge-tailed ShearwaterThe Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a Muttonbird, like the Sooty Shearwater of New Zealand and the Short-tailed Shearwater of Australia...
) - Puffinus tenuirostris (Short-tailed ShearwaterShort-tailed ShearwaterThe Short-tailed Shearwater or Slender-billed Shearwater , also called Yolla or Moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested...
)
Seals
The northern tip of the island is the seasonal home to a seal bachelor colony. Due to the site's remoteness, it is only possible for visitors to see them from a boat.The majority of the seals are Australian Fur Seals, Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus. New Zealand Fur Seal
New Zealand Fur Seal
The Australian fur seal , or New Zealand fur seal or southern fur seal, is a species of fur seal found around the south coast of Australia, the coast of the South Island of New Zealand, and some of the small islands to the south and east of there...
s (Arctocephalus forsteri), Subantarctic Fur Seal
Subantarctic Fur Seal
The subantarctic fur seal is a fur seal found in the southern parts of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. It was first described by Gray in 1872 from a specimen recovered in northern Australia—hence the inappropriate tropicalis specific name.- Description :The subantarctic fur seal is...
s (Arctocephalus tropicalis) and Australian Sea Lion
Australian Sea Lion
The Australian Sea Lion , also known as the Australian Sea-lion or Australian Sealion, is a species of sea lion that breeds only on the south and west coasts of Australia...
s (Neophoca cinerea) have also been observed.
Environmental restoration
Kikuyu grassPennisetum clandestinum
The tropical grass species Pennisetum clandestinum is known by several common names, most often kikuyu grass, as it is native to the region of East Africa that is home to the Kĩkũyũ tribe. Because of its rapid growth and aggressive nature, it is categorised as a noxious weed in some regions...
is a major weed. Originally introduced in the early 19th century to help feed the animals kept by the lighthouse keepers and their families, it spread to cover most of the south island. The NPWS officers poison a section, then burn it, before replanting with some help from volunteers. In the less accessible areas of the northern and eastern parts, an aerial spraying program is used to manage the kikuyu where it infests shearwater breeding sites. The kikuyu is a barrier for the shearwaters and penguins who cannot penetrate it to move or to burrow. Various native species are used to replant areas after the kikuyu grass has been controlled.