World Heritage Sub-Antarctic Islands of New Zealand and Australia

Aug 5, 2010
Brian Cross

Auckland Islands Yellow Eyed Penguins - Image by Twiddlebat

In the Southern Ocean between New Zealand and Antarctica, six island groups have World Heritage listing for their great natural and ecological significance.

The Auckland, Campbell, Antipodes, Snare, Bounty Islands and Macquarie Island all lie in the Southern Ocean between New Zealand and Antarctica. Macquarie is the exception politically, being a part of the state of Tasmania in Australia, while the rest are New Zealand territories. All are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Macquarie Island in its own right and the others grouped as “New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands.”

Macquarie Island

Macquarie Island is a piece of land seven times longer than it is wide lying 1,000 km south of Invercargill and 1,500 km south-east of Hobart. At 54º south the most southern of the islands in the region, it is about half way between Australia and Antarctica.

Macquarie Island was designated a world heritage site primarily for its geologcal features and tectonic interest. It is a section of the Macquarie Ridge, formed on the boundary between the Indo-Australian and the Pacific plates. Macquarie Island is the only place on earth where the earth’s mantle is actively exposed above sea-level.

The Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service adminsters Macquarie Island and the Australian Antarctic Division conducts scientific research there. A limited and strictly regulated tourist service operates to the island.

New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands

The New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands have world heritage listing by virtue primarily of the unique range of wildlife they support. They are rich in biodiversity and host large populations of endemic birds, plants and invertebrates. UNESCO’s stated justification for inscription of the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands are that they “display a pattern of immigration of species, diversifications and emergent endemism, offering particularly good opportunities for research into the dynamics of island ecology.”

The Auckland Islands

Auckland Island is the largest of this group, abundant in bird and plant life of special interest to naturalists. The islands are critical to the survival of the endangered yellow eyed penguin (hoiho), while the royal albatross colony on Enderby Island is also regularly monitered by the Department of Conservation for its health and long-term wellbeing.

The sea life around the Auckland Islands is also protected. The 484,000 hectare Moto Maha Marine Reserve doubles as a marine mammal sanctuary, home to the largest breeding populations of the endangered New Zealand sea lion.

Like all of the islands in this vicinity of the Southern Ocean, the Auckland Islands have stories to tell about human endurance and survival in the harsh Sub-Antarctic environment. One of New Zealand’s most famous shipwrecks, that of the General Grant, occurred here in 1866. The Auckland Islands lie about halfway between Macquarie Island and Invercargill.

Campbell and the Snares Islands

Some 300km southeast of the Auckland Islands lie Campbell Island and its accompanying cluster of islets. The Campbell Islands are used by six different types of albatross. They also host a large selection of megaherbs, a term coined by English Botanist Joseph Hooker for the size of the plants relative to the difficult conditions in which they grow.

The closest Sub-Antarctic islands to the New Zealand mainland, the Snares comprise a small cluster 100km south of Stewart Island. They are the only breeding site of the Snares crested penguin, and home to sooty shearwaters (aka mutton birds or titi) by the hundreds of thousands.

The Antipodes and Bounty Islands

The Antipodes Islands are around 700km southeast of Dunedin, and were named for their approximate position on the globe relative to London. A rugged volcanic island group covering some 60 sq. km, The Antipodes have heritage value for the castaway depot built there in 1886 and provisioned through until 1929.

Some way north of the Antipodes and a similar distance off the Otago coast are the Bounty Islands, described by Encyclopaedia of New Zealand contributor Professor George Jobberns as “the barest, bleakest, and most desolate of New Zealand's outlying islands.” They were discovered by Captain William Bligh in 1788. The early sealers made use of the Antipodes and Bounty Islands, but there is little human activity there today.

It is possible to visit the island groups of the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands, but there are strict regulations and conditions applied by the Department of Conservation.