Walpole Island (New Caledonia)

Although it is geographically part of the Loyalty Islands, administratively it doesn't belong to any province or commune.

Graves, shell and bone tools, as well as stone markers indicate the presence of a permanent population at some point.

Speculation amongst the overseers of the Guano mining operation suggested that shipwreck or other castaways had also occupied the island.

[1][2] British captain Butler is credited for discovery of the island in 1794 and he named it after his ship Walpole.

The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports breeding populations of brown boobiess, red-bellied fruit doves and Melanesian flycatchers.