History
Macquarie Island has had a very interesting history spanning many years and at various times was the center of attention in Australia.
On the 11th of July 1810 Australian/British explorer Frederick Hasselborough stumbled upon the uninhabited island when looking for new sealing grounds. He claimed the island for Britain and the colony of New South Wales in 1810 and took it's name from Colonel Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of News South Wales, 1810-1821. Hasselborough suspected that the island may have been discovered already for he reported a shipwreck of 'ancient design'. The first map of the island was made when Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshuasen was exploring the island for Alexander 1 of Russia. Between 1810-1919 Penguins and seals were hunted to the point of near extinction and it was only until 1928 that the island was placed under the Tasmanian Animals and Birds Protection Act. The ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions) set up their headquarters on the island on the 25 May 1948 and on the 5 December 1997 Macquarie Island was listed as a World Heritage Site. Macquarie Island has also experienced some very high rated earthquakes since it is located on both the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates, but both 8.1 and 7.1 earthquakes did not affect the island enough to do major damage. On the 8th of April, 2014 Macquarie Island was announced officially pest free after 7 years of pest eradication programs.
On the 11th of July 1810 Australian/British explorer Frederick Hasselborough stumbled upon the uninhabited island when looking for new sealing grounds. He claimed the island for Britain and the colony of New South Wales in 1810 and took it's name from Colonel Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of News South Wales, 1810-1821. Hasselborough suspected that the island may have been discovered already for he reported a shipwreck of 'ancient design'. The first map of the island was made when Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshuasen was exploring the island for Alexander 1 of Russia. Between 1810-1919 Penguins and seals were hunted to the point of near extinction and it was only until 1928 that the island was placed under the Tasmanian Animals and Birds Protection Act. The ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions) set up their headquarters on the island on the 25 May 1948 and on the 5 December 1997 Macquarie Island was listed as a World Heritage Site. Macquarie Island has also experienced some very high rated earthquakes since it is located on both the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates, but both 8.1 and 7.1 earthquakes did not affect the island enough to do major damage. On the 8th of April, 2014 Macquarie Island was announced officially pest free after 7 years of pest eradication programs.