Preservation Island

Subsequently, the island was a base for sealers exploiting fur seals and southern elephant seals during the early-to-mid-19th century and was the permanent home of sealer James Munro and several Tasmanian Aboriginal women and mixed race children until his death there in 1845.

In 2016, using a previously unknown Saccharomyces strain of yeast isolated from a beer bottle recovered from the wreck of Sydney Cove wreck, a beer called Preservation Ale, similar to Trappist Ale, has been brewed in name of the island.

[1][2] Nearly two centuries of grazing livestock, as well as frequent fires and consequent wind erosion, have severely modified the natural plant communities.

The northern section of the island is infested with African boxthorn, with much of the rest covered by Poa and Stipa grassland.

[3] Recorded breeding seabird and wader species include little penguin, short-tailed shearwater, Pacific gull and sooty oystercatcher.