Phillip Island, Kingston, Norfolk Island. - Australian Heritage Sites on Waymarking.com

Phillip Island provides a dramatic point of interest in the Norfolk Island seascapes with its precipitous topography and exposed geology. Although the island has remained uninhabited through most of its history, the exploitation of natural resources by early settlers on Norfolk Island has extensively altered the island's environment which currently is in stark contrast to the rolling green hills of nearby Norfolk Island.

The Norfolk Island Group is situated approximately halfway along a submarine ridge that runs between New Caledonia and the north island of New Zealand. Phillip Island is a 190 hectare uninhabited island which is situated approximately 6 kilometers south of Norfolk Island. Both Norfolk Island and Phillip Island are remnants of a much larger landmass that developed on this submarine ridge between 2.3 and 3.1 million years ago during the Pliocene.
The geology of Phillip Island is strikingly prominent due to its low level of vegetative cover. The island is made up of approximately equal amounts of basalt and tuff, both of which are volcanic in origin. Basalt is derived from lava flows whilst tuff is created during explosive events - most likely when molten rock came into contact with seawater. Pieces of limestone containing fossils dating from the Miocene (approximately 20 million years ago) are found within areas of tuff. This indicates that the island was in existence in some form during that epoch. Since the Pliocene, powerful ocean swells have eroded the coastline of Phillip Island to form rugged clifflines, some of which are 300 meters high.
Norfolk, Nepean and Phillip Islands are now the only emergent points along the Norfolk Ridge and are therefore geographically isolated. Although the islands are close enough to other land masses to receive regular colonists from Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, they are isolated enough that, over time these colonists have evolved into a variety of endemic taxa. Like other oceanic islands, the Norfolk Island Group provides an important link between tropical and temperate environments.
Although the island was once covered in grasses, thickets of shrubs and low trees, the natural environment of Phillip Island has been severely affected by the overgrazing by introduced species such as goats, pigs and rabbits. These animals were originally introduced to the island for food and sport during the early settlement periods of Norfolk Island. Pigs and goats were eradicated in the early 1900's but rabbits were not completely removed until 1988.
By then, extensive damage had been done to the fragile island environment. Over grazing had stripped the island of almost all vegetation which in turn led to severe erosion of the soil strata. The rugged terrain and steep slopes combined with highly eroded volcanic soils and high rainfall has led to deep scouring of valleys and hillsides being stripped to bedrock. There is currently very little topsoil left on the island.
Since the eradication of rabbits, vegetation has been re-establishing on Phillip Island through natural regeneration as well as through planting and seeding programs. Sixty eight species of vascular plant are presently found on Phillip Island. Of these, five species are endemic, and thirty two species are native to the Norfolk Island Group.
The dramatic change in habitats available on Phillip Island since the introduction of exotic pests has meant a decline in the variety of fauna species found on the island. There are very few endemic terrestrial vertebrates on Phillip Island apart from birds. This is fairly typical of a geographically isolated oceanic island group that has a history of isolation followed by the introduction of non-native competitors.
Since the elimination of goats, pigs and rabbits, and in the absence of introduced predatory fauna such as rats and cats, Phillip Island now provides an important breeding ground for seabirds. Of the thirteen species of seabird that breed within the Norfolk Island Group, twelve of them are found on Phillip Island. Some, such as the providence petrel PETRODROMA SOLANDRI and the Australasian gannet MORUS SERRATOR breed on Phillip Island but are not found on Norfolk or Nepean Islands. A number of the seabirds that live on Phillip Island are subject to international agreements such as the Japan and Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA) and the China and Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA).
Phillip Island also acts as a refuge for some of the non-avian native fauna of the Norfolk Island Group. Along with two reptile species, the island supports a diverse range of invertebrate species. The best studied of these is the Phillip Island centipede CORMOCEPHALUS COYNEI which is restricted to Phillip and Nepean Islands.
Information Source: Australian Heritage Database.

Commonwealth Heritage List
Class Natural
Legal Status Listed place (22/06/2004)
Place ID 105627
Place File No 9/00/001/0016

List: Commonwealth Heritage List Place ID: 105627 Place File No: 9/00/001/0016 URL database reference: [Web Link] Status: Listed Place Year built: Between 2.3 and 3.1 million years ago.

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