Smooth Island (Tasmania)

Smooth Island

Aerial photograph of Smooth Island with Dunalley in the background
Smooth Island Location in Tasmania
Etymology	Matthew Flinders, 1798
Geography
Location	Norfolk Bay
Coordinates	42°56′24″S 147°46′48″E / 42.94000°S 147.78000°E / -42.94000; 147.78000
Archipelago	Sloping Island Group
Area	0.61 km2 (0.24 sq mi)
Coastline	3.38 km (2.1 mi)
Highest elevation	44 m (144 ft)
Administration
Australia
State	Tasmania
Land district	Pembroke
Local government area	Tasman Council
Additional information
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)

The Smooth Island, part of the Sloping Island Group, is a privately owned island with an area of 59.31 hectares (146.6 acres) lying close to the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is situated in Norfolk Bay, surrounded by the Tasman and Forestier Peninsulas. The towns Dunalley and Murdunna are nearby. Smooth Island is particularly unique as it is one of the only islands in Tasmania where absolutely all of the land (up to the waterline) is privately owned with unrestricted freehold tenure.

Between 1835 and 1855 the island may have been used to grow vegetables for the Port Arthur penal colony. By 1869 the land was cultivated: The island had two or three cottages which featured a garden, as well as grazing livestock. The burnt remains of a fireplace are still present on the island. During the 1990s the island was used to host private international pheasant and quail shooting meetings. Between 2003 and 2007 the island was used to transport oyster stock to and from a processing facility in Boomer Bay.

Smooth Island is home to a wide range of native Australian birds. Recorded breeding seabird species are little penguin (Eudyptula minor), little pied cormorant, black-faced cormorant, great cormorant and short-tailed shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris). The latter predominantly habitates inland from the western to southern coasts. The following native birds occupy the island: Tasmanian nativehen and forest raven. The Pacific gull also occupies the island. A survey by the Department of the Environment (Australia) in 2010 revealed the presence of the Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis), house sparrow (Passer domesticus), common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and common blackbird (Turdus merula) on the island. The presence of sea eagle, wedge-tailed eagle, kelp gull, tern, silver gull, oystercatcher, cormorant and gannet species have also been described. No reptiles have been recorded on the island apart from a small population of blue tongue lizards. The hooded plover (Thinornis cucullatus) is a threatened species which may be present on Smooth Island.