Rabbit Island (Bass Strait)

Rabbit Island
Rabbit Island is located in South Gippsland Shire
Rabbit Island
Rabbit Island
Geography
LocationBass Strait
Coordinates38°54′42″S 146°30′39″E / 38.91167°S 146.51083°E / -38.91167; 146.51083
Area30 ha (74 acres)[1]
Length866 m (2841 ft)[1]
Width466 m (1529 ft)[1]
Highest elevation59 m (194 ft)[1]
Administration
Australia
StateVictoria

Rabbit Island is a small, granite island 1.6 km off the north-eastern coast of Wilsons Promontory, Victoria, Australia.[1]

The island, to the mean low-water mark, is part of the Wilsons Promontory National Park[2] and is proclaimed as a Remote and Natural Area under the National Parks Act. The surrounding waters to a distance of 300 m from the mean low-water mark are part of Wilsons Promontory Marine Park.[3]: 1 [4] The island is part of the Wilsons Promontory Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for breeding seabirds.[5]

The island was named in 1842 by Captain John Lort Stokes[6] after the numerous rabbits, descendants of those left by sealers to provide a food supply for sailors.

  1. ^ a b c d e Norman, F. I.; Harris, M. P.; Brown, R. S.; Deerson, D. M. (November 1980). "Seabird islands No 86, Rabbit Island, Wilsons Promontory, Victoria" (PDF). Corella. 4 (4): 77–78.
  2. ^ "Wilsons Promontory National Park". Parks Victoria. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  3. ^ Parks Victoria (2006), Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park and Wilsons Promontory Marine Park Management Plan (PDF), ISBN 0731183460
  4. ^ "Wilsons Promontory Marine Park". Parks Victoria. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  5. ^ "Important Bird Areas factsheet: Corner Inlet". BirdLife International. 2017.
  6. ^ Bird, Eric. "Place Names on the Coast of Victoria" (PDF). The Australian National Placename Survey (ANPS). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011.