Curtis Island, New Zealand

Curtis Island
Curtis Island (left) and Cheeseman Island from north
Map
Geography
Coordinates 30°33′S 178°34′W / 30.550°S 178.567°W / -30.550; -178.567
Archipelago Kermadec Islands
Area 40 ha (99 acres)
Highest elevation 47 m (154 ft)
Administration
Curtis Island Crater

Curtis Island is an island in the southwest Pacific (located at 30°33′S 178°34′W / 30.550°S 178.567°W / -30.550; -178.567). It is a volcanic island with an elevation of 47 m (154 ft) and an area of 40 ha (99 acres). Together with neighbouring Cheeseman Island it belongs to the Kermadec Islands. Politically it is part of New Zealand. The Kermadec Islands lie halfway between North Island, New Zealand and Tonga at approximately the latitude of the Gold Coast, Queensland.

History

Lieutenant John Watts, RN was the first European to visit the Macauley and Curtis Islands – which he named after patrons George Mackenzie Macaulay and William Curtis – on the Lady Penrhyn in late 1788.[1] Lady Penryn had delivered convicts to New South Wales as part of the First Fleet and was proceeding to Macao.

Count von Luckner, Commander of the German raider Seeadler during the First World War, stopped off at Curtis Island to replenish his stores from the castaway depot left there by the New Zealand Marine Department (for the use of shipwrecked crews) while attempting to make good his escape from New Zealand to South America.

Environment

The island is a breeding site for the masked booby.[2] It forms part of the Kermadec Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it is an important site for nesting seabirds.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Alderman Macaulay 1750–1803, The Worshipful Company of Bowyers, archived from the original on 2013-01-18, retrieved 23 February 2012
  2. ↑ Greene et al. (2004).
  3. ↑ BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Kermadec Islands. Downloaded from "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2014. on 3 February 2012.
  • Greene, T.C.; Scofield, R.P.; Dilks, P.J. (July 2004). Status of Kermadec red-crowned parakeets and the likely effects of a proposed kiore eradication programme. Macauley Island expedition July 2002 (PDF). DOC Science Internal Series 179. Wellington: Department of Conservation, New Zealand. ISBN 0-478-22579-2.


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