 Detailed map of Maatsuyker Island | |
| Etymology | Joan Maetsuicker[1] |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Location | South West Tasmania |
| Coordinates | 43°39′00″S146°16′12″E / 43.65000°S 146.27000°E /-43.65000; 146.27000 |
| Archipelago | Maatsuyker Islands Group |
| Adjacent to | Southern Ocean |
| Area | 186 ha (460 acres) |
| Highest elevation | 284 m (932 ft) |
| Administration | |
Australia | |
| State | Tasmania |
| Region | South West |
| Demographics | |
| Population | A small number of volunteers |
Maatsuyker Island is anisland located close to thesouth coast ofTasmania, Australia. The 186-hectare (0.72 sq mi) island is part of theMaatsuyker Islands Group, and comprises part of theSouthwest National Park and theTasmanian WildernessWorld Heritage Site.
TheMaatsuyker Island Lighthouse, the southernmost Australian lighthouse, is located on the southern tip of the island.[2][3] The island is part of the Maatsuyker Island GroupImportant Bird Area, identified as such byBirdLife International because of its importance as a breeding site for seabirds.[4]
Maatsuyker Island is currently inhabited by volunteers, swapped out every 6 months, the improvements on it are being maintained by theTasmanian Government and volunteer organisations interested in preserving the history of the island and the lighthouse.
The vegetation is dominated by the woody shrubLeptospermum scoparium, or tea tree, which covers most parts of the island, reaching a canopy height of 6 m in sheltered places.
Recorded breedingseabird andwader species are thelittle penguin (700 pairs),short-tailed shearwater (800,000 pairs),sooty shearwater,fairy prion (5000 pairs),common diving-petrel (10,000 pairs),soft-plumaged petrel,Pacific gull,silver gull andsooty oystercatcher. Theswamp antechinus has been recorded.
The island is ahaul-out site for theAustralian fur seal and a breeding site for theNew Zealand fur seal. It is visited bysouthern elephant seals, which occasionally breed there.Reptiles recorded include themetallic skink,three-lined skink andTasmanian tree skink.[2]
Access to the island has traditionally been by boat, but today helicopters have almost totally taken over this role.[5]
Because the island is so far south and is entirely dominated by circumpolar weather systems, mean temperatures are significantly colder than most of Australia. Maatsuyker Island has an annual mean temperature of around 11 °C (52 °F) with strikingly cool summers that are reminiscent of those in northern Scotland, despite sharing a latitude withNice in southern France. Wind is almost constant and often vigorous.
Weather conditions in the area can be extreme, with theRoaring Forties wind being a particular problem. The maximum wind gust recorded was 185 km/h (115 mph). There are an average of 250 rain days a year.[6] Snow falls occasionally to beach level, whilesleet is a common occurrence.
Reportedly, the first keepers of the light took chickens with them to Maatsuyker but the fowls blew away into the ocean. Given the wind and lack of shelter, this is possible if they were left outside during storms. Vegetables get blown flat by the wind, but surprisingly, can be grown successfully,[7] even though the garden is on the west side of the island, facing into the prevailing winds. Due to the high vegetation in patches on the top of the island, it is possible to shelter on the "jeep trail" that runs from the lighthouse to the landing. Several vehicles have been used here over the years, includingSuzuki Sierras in the 1980s.
Weather observations have been recorded continuously from the island since 1891 for rainfall; mean temperatures from 1936, and extreme temperatures from 1957.
| Climate data for Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse (43.66° S, 146.27° E) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 34.1 (93.4) | 34.7 (94.5) | 32.4 (90.3) | 31.0 (87.8) | 22.0 (71.6) | 20.0 (68.0) | 17.8 (64.0) | 21.8 (71.2) | 25.6 (78.1) | 28.0 (82.4) | 33.0 (91.4) | 32.9 (91.2) | 34.7 (94.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 17.1 (62.8) | 17.3 (63.1) | 16.3 (61.3) | 14.5 (58.1) | 12.8 (55.0) | 11.5 (52.7) | 11.0 (51.8) | 11.2 (52.2) | 12.2 (54.0) | 13.3 (55.9) | 14.4 (57.9) | 15.7 (60.3) | 13.9 (57.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 10.9 (51.6) | 11.2 (52.2) | 10.7 (51.3) | 9.6 (49.3) | 8.5 (47.3) | 7.4 (45.3) | 6.7 (44.1) | 6.5 (43.7) | 6.9 (44.4) | 7.5 (45.5) | 8.5 (47.3) | 9.7 (49.5) | 8.7 (47.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 3.5 (38.3) | 5.0 (41.0) | 1.7 (35.1) | 0.2 (32.4) | 0.7 (33.3) | −1.1 (30.0) | −1 (30) | 0.0 (32.0) | 0.6 (33.1) | −1.1 (30.0) | 2.0 (35.6) | 3.2 (37.8) | −1.1 (30.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 77.4 (3.05) | 69.4 (2.73) | 84.4 (3.32) | 107.1 (4.22) | 115.9 (4.56) | 116.3 (4.58) | 128.3 (5.05) | 123.6 (4.87) | 107.6 (4.24) | 104.8 (4.13) | 90.8 (3.57) | 88.9 (3.50) | 1,213.9 (47.79) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 17.4 | 14.7 | 18.3 | 20.7 | 22.8 | 22.0 | 24.2 | 24.6 | 22.8 | 22.7 | 20.1 | 19.2 | 249.5 |
| Average afternoonrelative humidity (%) | 76 | 76 | 78 | 80 | 82 | 82 | 81 | 80 | 79 | 78 | 77 | 77 | 79 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology[8] | |||||||||||||
