Althorpe Islands
Althorpe Island, South Australia
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 Althorpe Islands
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| Location | Investigator Strait |
| Coordinates | 35°22′S 136°52′E / 35.367°S 136.867°ECoordinates: 35°22′S 136°52′E / 35.367°S 136.867°E |
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Australia
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The Althorpe Islands are a group of islands in the Investigator Strait, off the south-western tip of Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. The group includes Althorpe Island and two rocky islets immediately to its west known as The Boobs. These are located 7.7 km south-southwest of Cape Spencer on the mainland. Closer inshore are Seal Island and Haystack Island, which together with Althorpe Island and The Boobs constitute the Althorpe Islands Conservation Park. A management plan for the Althorpe Islands Conservation Park was adopted in 2009. The islands are uninhabited and can only be accessed by sea or by helicopter.
Althorpe Island was described in 1879 as "no means an abode of bliss, for it is bare and bleak. The vegetation is nothing but scrubby bushes a few inches high, which seem afraid to grow any bigger lest they be blown off; and the flat summit of the now inhabited island rock is swept by the wild winds that chase the rollers into foam on the rocks beneath."
These islands support significant seabird colonies, including the state endangered white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster). The smaller islets of Althorpe Islands provide haul-out areas for nationally and state vulnerable Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea).
An early written account of the native wildlife of Althorpe Island was printed in the South Australian Register in 1879:
"Mutton birds make their 'holey' habitations on all sides of the Althorpes; seals sport in secluded spots; swift seagulls and solemn shags make the welkin (whatever instrument that is) ring consumedly ; penguins, like little lads in white pinafores, inhabit the nooks and crannies of the rocks... Sharks,sometimes of enormous size, may often be seen meandering softly round the ocean streets."
In 1951, a lighthouse keeper described the native wildlife at Althorpe Island:
"Penguins nest there in the mating season, and their young are to be seen in nooks and crannies around the shore. During the summer months, from September to March, mutton birds migrating from Siberia nest on the island in millions, digging their nests in the soil, under bushes and literally covering the ground... Years ago, seals were plentiful on the island, but owing to large scale slaughter during the early days of the State, few, if any, remain."
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Wikipedia