It is named after Thomas Frederick Cheeseman of the Auckland Museum, who was on board the New Zealand Government steamer 'Stella' when it visited the island in 1887.

Apart from a short stretch of its west coast, the island is bordered by cliffs, making access from the sea difficult.

Between the two high points of the island is a central valley where the vegetation is dominated by the sedge Cyperus ustulatus, while the surrounding slopes are dominated by a mix of Parietaria debilis and Disphyma australe.

The island forms part of the Kermadec Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it is an important site for nesting seabirds.

This article about the geography of New Zealand's outlying islands is a stub.