Mewstone

Island in Tasmania, Australia

Mewstone

Nickname: Mewstone Island; The Mewstone

Mewstone is an important breeding site for shy albatrosses

Mewstone

Location off the south coast of Tasmania

Etymology| Great Mew Stone, an island near Plymouth, United Kingdom
Geography
Location| South coast Tasmania
Coordinates| 43°44′17″S 146°22′16″E﻿ / ﻿43.73806°S 146.37111°E﻿ / -43.73806; 146.37111
Archipelago| Pedra Branca
Adjacent to| Southern Ocean
Area| 13.1 ha (32 acres)[1]
Highest elevation| 150 m (490 ft)
Administration

Australia

State| Tasmania
Region| South coast
Demographics
Population| Unpopulated

Mewstone is an unpopulated island, composed of muscovite granite, located close to the south coast of Tasmania, Australia. The 13.1-hectare (32-acre) island has steep cliffs and a small flat summit and is part of the Pedra Branca group, lying 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southeast of Maatsuyker Island, and 22 kilometres (14 mi) off the south coast of Tasmania. Mewstone comprises part of the Southwest National Park and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site.[1][2]

The highest point of the island is approximately 150 metres (490 ft) above sea level.[2] Mewstone has abundant bird life and has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports over 1% of the world populations of shy albatrosses and fairy prions.[3]

## Etymology

[edit]

In 1642 it was described by Abel Tasman, who said it "resembles a lion".[4] In 1773 it was named by Tobias Furneaux[5] in HMS Adventure. It is likely that Mewstone was named after the Great Mew Stone, an island about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south-southeast of Furneaux's birthplace in Plymouth, United Kingdom. The Great Mewstone got its name from the old English name for the herring gull; mew.[6]

Although it is sometimes referred to as Mewstone Island or The Mewstone, its official name is simply Mewstone.[7]

## Flora and fauna

[edit]

There is very little flora due to the rocky nature of the island. What little plant life there is grows in crevices in the rocks where soil has accumulated.[8]

Recorded breeding seabirds include fairy prion (20,000 pairs), silver gull, black-faced cormorant and shy albatross (7,500 pairs). Mewstone is the largest of only three shy albatross breeding colonies in the world, the other two being Albatross Island and Pedra Branca.[1] Australian fur seals haul-out on small ledges. The Tasmanian tree skink is also present.[2]

## See also

[edit]

* Australia portal
* Islands portal

* List of islands of Tasmania
* South East Cape
* South West Cape

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Small Southern Islands Conservation Management Statement 2002" (PDF). Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service. 2002. p. 14\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
2. ^ a b c Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; Halley, Vanessa (2001). Tasmania's Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Hobart: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. ISBN 0-7246-4816-X.
3. ^ "IBA: Mewstone". Birdata. Birds Australia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
4. ^ Heeres, J. E., ed. (2006). "Abel Janszoon Tasman's Journal of his Discovery of Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand in 1642 with Documents Relating to his Exploration of Australia in 1644...to which are added his Life and Labours, 1898". Gutenberg of Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2006.
5. ^ Sprod, Dan (2005). "Furneaux, Tobias (1735 - 1781)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
6. ^ "The Great Mewstone". South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
7. ^ "Place Name Search for Mewstone, Tasmania". Geoscience Australia. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2006.
8. ^ White, Gary (1980). Islands of South-West Tasmania. Sydney: self-published. ISBN 0-9594866-0-7.

## External links

[edit]

* Mewstone viewed from the south

* v
* t
* e

South West region of Tasmania, Australia

Settlements|

* Adamsfield
* Melaleuca
* Strathgordon

Governance|

* Braddon (federal)
* Franklin (federal)
* Braddon (state)
* Franklin (state)
* Derwent Valley Council
* Huon Valley Council
* West Coast Council

Mountains|

* Engineer Range
* Frenchmans Cap
* Anne

| Frankland Range|

* Citadel, The
* Cleft Peak
* Cupola, The
* Frankland
* Greycap
* Lion, The
* Lloyd Jones
* Murpheys Bluff
* Redtop
* Right Angle
* Scotts
* Secheron
* Terminal

|

Arthur Range|

* Federation

King William Range|

Mount King William

Prince of Wales Range (Tasmania)|

* Diamond Peak

Protected areas,
parks and reserves|

* Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park
* Melaleuca to Birchs Inlet Important Bird Area
* Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Nature Reserve
* Port Davey Islands Important Bird Area
* Southwest National Park
* South West Wilderness
* Tasman Fracture Commonwealth Marine Reserve
* Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

Rivers|

* Anne
* Davey
* Franklin
* Gordon
* Huon
* Serpentine
* Spero

Lakes|

* Edgar

Lake Pedder controversy|

*   * Gordon
* Pedder
* Lake Pedder Action Committee
* United Tasmania Group

Dams
Franklin controversy|

* Edgar
* Gordon
* Scotts Peak
* Serpentine

* Commonwealth v Tasmania

* The Wilderness Society

Harbours, bays, inlets and estuaries|

* Bathurst Harbour
* Bathurst Channel
* James Kelly Basin
* Port Davey

Coastal features|

* High Rocky Point
* Low Rocky Point
* Point Hibbs
* South Coast
* South West Cape

Power stations|

* Gordon

Transport|

* Gordon River Road
* Scotts Peak Dam Road

| Railways|

* Great Western Railway (proposed never constructed)

|

Landmarks|

| Natural|

* Gordon Splits

|

Man-made|

* Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse
* Port Davey Track
* South Coast Track

People of note|

* Bob Brown
* Peter Dombrovskis
* Helen Gee
* James Goodwin
* Brenda Hean
* Richard Jones
* Deny King
* Eric Reece
* Olegas Truchanas
* T. B. Moore

Islands|

* Eddystone
* Hibbs Pyramid
* Inner Rocks
* Sidmouth Rock

| Breaksea|

* Fitzroy
* Kathleen
* Main
* Mavourneen
* Munday
* North

|

Maatsuyker (group)|

* Chicken
* De Witt
* Flat Top
* Flat Witch
* Hen
* Ile du Golfe
* Louisa
* Maatsuyker (island)
* Needles
* Round Top
* Walker
* Western Rocks

Swainson (group)|

* Big Caroline
* Hay
* Lourah
* Shanks
* Swainson

Mutton Bird (group)|

* East Pyramids
* Mutton Bird Island
* Mutton Bird Islet (southeast)
* Mutton Bird Islet (southwest)
* Sugarloaf
* Sugarmouse
* Wendar
* Wild Wind

Pedra Branca|

* Mewstone

Trumpeter|

* Coffee Pot, The
* Hobbs
* Trumpeter
* West Pyramid

Books and newspapers|

* Tasmania's offshore islands
* Tasmania's Wilderness Battles
* The South West Book
* South West Tasmania Resources Survey

Flora, fauna, and fishlife|

* Orange-bellied parrot
* Pedder galaxias
* Pedder earthworm
* Pedder planarian
* Pedra Branca skink

Bioregions|

* Southern Ranges (bioregion)
* West (bioregion)

Indigenous heritage|

* Kutikina Cave
* Toogee language
* Western Tasmanian languages

* v
* t
* e

Islands and islets of Tasmania, Australia

Islands located in the Bass Strait

| Curtis Group|

* Cone
* Curtis
* Devils Tower
* Sugarloaf Rock

|

Furneaux Group|

* Anderson
* Babel
* Badger
* Bass
* Battery
* Beagle
* Big Green
* Big Black
* Billy Goat
* Bird
* Boxen
* Briggs
* Cape Barren
* Cat
* Chalky
* Clarke
* Craggy
* Doughboy
* East Kangaroo
* Fifty Foot
* Fisher
* Flinders
* Forsyth
* Goose
* Great Dog
* Gull
* GVH
* Inner Little Goose
* Inner Sister
* Isabella
* Key
* Lady Barron
* Little
* Little Anderson
* Little Badger
* Little Chalky
* Little Dog
* Little Goose
* Little Green
* Little Spike
* Long
* Low
* Low (Prime Seal)
* Marriott
* Middle Pasco
* Mid Woody
* Mile
* Moriarty
* Mount Chappell
* Neds
* Night
* North Pasco
* North West Mount Chappell
* Outer Sister
* Oyster
* Passage
* Pelican
* Preservation
* Prime Seal
* Puncheon
* Roydon
* Rum
* Samphire
* Sentinel
* South Pasco
* Spike
* Storehouse
* Tin Kettle
* Vansittart
* Wright
* Wybalenna

Hogan Group|

* Southern Boundary
* East
* Hogan
* Long
* Round
* Seal
* Twin

Hunter Group|

* Albatross
* Hunter
* Three Hummock

Kent Group|

* Deal
* Dover
* Erith
* Judgement
* North East
* South West

New Year Group|

* Christmas
* Councillor
* King
* New Year

Rodondo Group|

* Rodondo Island
* East Moncoeur Island
* West Moncoeur Island

Waterhouse Group|

* Baynes
* Bird
* Cygnet
* Foster
* George
* Little Swan
* Little Waterhouse
* Maclean
* Ninth
* Paddys
* St Helens
* Swan
* Tenth
* Waterhouse

ungrouped|

* Garden Island (Tamar River)
* Goat
* Robbins
* Three Sisters
* Walker

Islands located in the Southern Ocean

| ungrouped|

* Big Caroline
* Breaksea
* Chicken
* Coffee Pot
* De Witt
* East
* Eddystone
* Fitzroy
* Flat Top
* Flat Witch
* Hay
* Hen
* Hibbs
* Hobbs
* Ile du Golfe
* Inner
* Kathleen
* Louisa
* Lourah
* Maatsuyker
* Mavourneen
* Mewstone
* Munday
* Mutton Bird
* Mutton Bird (southeast)
* Mutton Bird (southwest)
* Needles
* Round Top
* Shanks
* Sidmouth
* Sugarloaf
* Sugarmouse
* Swainson
* Trumpeter
* Walker
* Wendar
* Western
* West
* Wild Wind

|

Islands located in the Tasman Sea

| Partridge Group|

* Arch
* Charity
* Faith
* Hope
* Partridge

|

Sloping Group|

* Barren
* Fulham
* Hog
* King George
* Little Spectacle
* Sloping
* Smooth
* Spectacle
* Visscher
* Woody

Tasman Group|

* Dart
* The Lanterns
* Tasman
* Wedge

ungrouped|

* Actaeon
* Boomer
* Bruny
* des Phoques
* du Nord
* Eddystone
* Egg
* Friars
* Garden
* Governor
* Green
* Images
* Lachlan
* Maria
* Nuggets
* Pedra Branca
* Picnic
* Satellite
* Schouten

Islands located in the South West Pacific Ocean

* Bishop and Clerk
* Judge and Clerk
* Macquarie

* Category
* Commons

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template