Back from the brink

Norfolk Island is often described as an enormous lush-green dairy farm floating in the endless blue of the Pacific Ocean. Norfolk’s diminutive neighbour, Phillip Island, is something completely different however; burnt ochre in colour, it has been described as the Uluru of the Pacific and is uninhabited but for birds. Thousands and thousands of birds.

And yet Phillip Island is something very special indeed, a bastion of exotic life that tells a story of hope for the environment.

Volcanic in origin, Phillip Island is just 190 hectares (470 acres) in area, and made up chiefly of lava and solidified volcanic ash, the legacy of an eruption millions of years ago. Just six kilometres south of Norfolk Island, it was named after Arthur Phillip, who had an illustrious naval career that saw him ultimately rise to the delightfully titled rank of ‘Admiral of the Blue’, and who served as the first Governor of New South Wales.

The early Norfolk colonists introduced pigs, goats and rabbits to Phillip Island as a source of sport – as in hunting, for the officers only naturally – as well as food, and this is where it all started to go wrong.

The Island’s environment was completely unsuited to these voracious foreign interlopers, who rapidly consumed any vegetation and disrupted the delicate ecosystem, eating skinks and geckos, and disrupting the habitats of everything from petrels and snails to giant birdeating centipedes. With no plant life to secure it, the soil washed or blew away and what had once been a harsh but green and pleasant land turned into, well, a wasteland.

If you’d only viewed the Island in its ravaged state – by 1977 it was basically just bare rock – you may have felt it was beyond saving, but fortunately in the 1980s restoration work began, and then in 1996 it became part of the Norfolk Island National Park. This set in motion a chain of events that saw dedicated and passionate individuals and groups working to turn back the clock, and forty years on the change has been astonishing.

With no plant life to secure it, the soil washed or blew away and what had once been a harsh but green and pleasant land turned into, well, a wasteland.

“The Phillip Island restoration project began with the removal of all the feral animals that were degrading the landscape.” Says Sara Freeland, Visitor Experience Manager for the Norfolk Island National Park. “This made a drastic difference in the recruitment and survival of plant life, and over the years we have built on this by continuing to support the recovery of the native forest.”

“Currently we have a small plant nursery on Phillip Island, and actively replant natives across the island. Our ranger team tries to visit Phillip Island once a month - though this is not always possible because of weather - to clear invasive weeds. The focus here is on controlling smaller patches of new weeds, rather than trying to eradicate the immense stands of olive, which are actually helping to stabilise the soil.”

“Our Natural Resource Management team have a biosecurity management plan, which also aims for monthly monitoring of pest species, namely rodents. Currently rats (and cats) are not detected on the island, which is a huge environmental plus as they would significantly impact the nesting sea bird colonies.”

All this means that Phillip Island today is home once more to a variety of unique species of flora and fauna – some of which had been thought to be extinct – and thousands of migratory seabirds breed there, including masked boobies, black-winged petrels, sooty terns and black noddies. The bird-eating centipede – which is frankly scary as it is known to grow up to 150mm long and 17mm wide! – and two other rare species, the Lord Howe Island Skink and the Lord Howe Island Gecko, are now found in much better numbers. Rare and tiny snails, thought to have been extinct, are also once again resident on the Island

The bird-eating centipede –which is frankly scary as it is known to grow up to 150mm long and 17mm wide!

Non-Norfolk residents can still visit Phillip Island on a guided trekking tour, but be warned that a fairly good level of fitness is required as you will need to scale rocks and a rope ladder, as well as get out of and back into the boat without a jetty! The boat trip out only takes 20 minutes, but it can only be made in good weather so you may need to be flexible with your schedule.

An easier option can be a visit to the Norfolk Island Discovery Centre, which can be found at the Botanic Gardens. It has excellent displays telling the stories of Norfolk Island’s geological history and native plant and wildlife species, and also covers many of the species from Phillip Island such as the rare Phillip Island Hibiscus; it’s nice to know that you can still explore a little of Phillip Island while on Norfolk without having to go full Indiana Jones.

Regardless of whether you visit it or just admire it from afar however, Phillip Island stands as testament to how dedication and passion can bring an ecosystem back from the brink - and provide a lesson to us all.

The Discovery Centre also shows the film Pterodroma: in search of the Kermadec petrel, a 28 minute film about the quest of two scientists trying to save the Kermadec petrel. The film is a great way to get a sense of Phillip Island and is a visual feast that beautifully portrays its raw wild beauty - and it’s also freely available on YouTube.