Latest news with #LordHowe
ABC News
24-05-2025
- ABC News
New transport era on Lord Howe Island as Qantas touches down for final time
On remote Lord Howe Island, historical eras have been largely defined not by leaders or monarchs but modes of transport, which provide a critical connection to mainland Australia. The island's transport eras have spanned from 1834 when the first island settlers used whaling boats, to the romanticised post-World War II flying boat era, through to the past three decades when Qantas has served the island community. "The history of an extremely isolated place like Lord Howe Island, 586 kilometres from the closest point on the Australian coast, is always defined by transport and communication," Lord Howe Island resident and historian Chris Murray said. "How one gets on and off that isolated place." Recently the final Qantas-branded and crewed plane touched down on Lord Howe Island's tiny airstrip. It marks an emotional end of an era for island residents and a crowd gathered under rainy skies to wave goodbye to the final flight. "There were lots of tears," Lord Howe resident Bronwyn Tofaeono said. Qantas has held the route licence since 1991, but is phasing out its Dash-8 Q200 series, the only aircraft in its fleet able to operate on Lord Howe Island's very short runway. Regional carrier, north Queensland-based Skytrans is now transitioning in to take over the route and rebranding the planes. Ms Tofaeono said, over the decades, their community connection to the airline and the route's regular pilots and crew had developed into something that went far beyond just transport. "The Qantas Dash 8 has become more than just a plane to us," she said. "It brought our newborn babies home, carried our children to and from boarding school, and connected us with the world beyond our shores. "After my father passed away, I will never forget the moment we brought him home — the Qantas crew stood quietly on the tarmac as his coffin was unloaded. "It was an act of profound respect that I will carry with me forever." Mr Murray managed ground operations at Lord Howe for Qantas for nearly three decades, from 1991 to 2020. He said planes sometimes needed to stay overnight on the island due to bad weather or breakdowns, and friendships had developed between the pilots and crew and island families. "Quite a number [of pilots and crew] come out on holidays to see us as they've developed attachments to the place," Mr Murray said. Island resident Cindy Shick worked with Mr Murray as a Qantas agent for almost 30 years. "For many of us, you go over to the mainland, and you come back with your baby," Ms Shick said. "There's a generation of kids who've never flown on anything but QantasLink as they came back in their mum's arms." Ms Shick's husband, fifth-generation islander Jack Shick, said the ending of the Qantas era was a significant milestone. Lord Howe Island's flying boat era spanned from 1947 to 1974 and Qantas operated the large craft until 1951. Ansett later took over and Mr Murray's father was the Ansett manager on Lord Howe Island from 1958 to 1974. "The flying boats were just exceptional," Mr Murray said. "We are all flying boat 'tragics' on Lord Howe. "We love the era [and] seeing the grace of a very large aircraft skimming across the lagoon. "The aircraft could only alight here at high tide … quite a swell can come in over our reef, so the runway, if I can term it that, was rather uneven at times." Mr Shick said many island residents had fond memories of the flying boat days. "They [flying boats] were very comfortable, the seats were like small lounge chairs and when a meal was served it came on a proper plate, [with a] knife and fork, nothing like air travel nowadays," he said. "The highlight of the trip was landing on the crystal-clear waters of the lagoon. QantasLink chief operating officer Nick Collie said, moving forward, the airline would have a codeshare partnership with Skytrans and would continue a connection with Lord Howe Island. "As a nod to our longstanding history … we will be naming one of our newest A321 XLR aircraft, Seven Peaks Walk, after the iconic Lord Howe Island track," Mr Collie said. Skytrans has been awarded the licence to operate the regulated route to Lord Howe Island until March 2030, and its transition mode with Qantas ends in February 2026, after which it will exclusively operate all flights. Skytrans CEO Alan Milne said: "Skytrans is honoured to be able to continue this essential air service and looks forward to working closely with the Lord Howe Island community to ensure a safe, reliable and customer-focused operation continues."
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
The birds so full of plastic they 'crack and crunch': Heartbreaking images lay bare the devastating impact of Earth's pollution
It's not a sound commonly associated with birds. But a colony of flesh-footed shearwaters 'crack and crunch' because they've consumed so much plastic, experts have revealed. Lord Howe, a small volcanic island off Australia's east coast, is home to around 44,000 shearwaters – also known as mutton birds. Once born, their chicks are in their burrows for 90 days and should be getting a diet of fish and squid from their parents. But mum and dad are accidentally feeding them meals of plastic – including balloon clips, pieces of LEGO, pen lids, bottle tops and wheels from a toy car. Scientists once found a record 778 pieces of plastic in an 80-day-old seabird chick. And they say every single bird now has 50 or more pieces in their stomach. Dr Alex Bond, senior curator in charge of birds at the Natural History Museum, has been documenting threats to the island's bird life since 2009. 'The parents lay one egg a year and that hatches in late January,' he said. 'The parents then spend the next three months going out into the Tasman Sea, collecting food or plastic, bringing it back and feeding the chick.' Plastic can account for up to 10 per cent of the chick's total body weight, leaving no room for real food. Dr Bond explained that plastic can also absorb toxins in the ocean, end up in a bird's stomach and release these toxins into the bloodstream. Along with scientists from the Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation and the University of Tasmania, he has been measuring contaminants in the birds' blood and feathers. They also study tissue damage to the birds' internal organs, and examine plastic from inside their stomachs. Sadly, they find dead or dying birds on Lord Howe Island's beaches most mornings. Once chicks emerge from their burrows they head for the water. Those which are too weak to face the ocean can easily be rolled by the waves and drown. The team take the birds back to their lab and empty their stomachs – most of which are filled with countless large chunks and pieces of plastic. They also flush the stomachs of living birds by gently pumping seawater into them, which causes the bird to vomit it back up into a bucket. Anything they have eaten that is lodged in their belly – such as plastic – comes back up with it. 'These are chicks that have been accidentally fed all this plastic by their parents,' Dr Bond said. 'They haven't even fledged the nest yet by the time this amount of rubbish accumulates in their systems, but they will eventually be expected to migrate from Australia to Japan on their own. 'With that amount of material inside them, many will never make it.' He said in some instances, he can feel and hear 'crunching' when holding the birds. Previous studies into the birds have found that those with the most plastic in their stomachs have higher concentrations of toxic contaminants in their tissues. In 2023 Dr Bond and his team came up with the name 'plasticosis' to describe the disease where plastic repeatedly digging into the bird's stomach can cause irritation. Population data suggests that the number of flesh-footed shearwaters on Lord Howe island has dropped significantly. The Natural History Museum says people can help by cutting down on single-use plastics like water bottles and coffee cups, and recycling where possible. Concerned citizens should report birds tangled in plastic or other debris to help scientists understand more about the scale and spread of plastic pollution. HOW DOES PLASTIC KILL TURTLES? Sea turtles live in the ocean and feed on vegetation and algae floating in the waters. Unfortunately, many pieces of litter discarded by humans pollute these waters and resemble food. The sea turtles mistake them for nutrition and consume them. This plastic then enters their digestive tract and causes havoc to the animal's innards. A study in 2018 found eating a single piece of plastic increases the turtles chance of death. Researchers found there it caused a one in five chance of death - rising to 50 per cent for 14 pieces. Turtles have a digestive tract which means they are physically incapable of regurgitation. Once something has been eaten, it stays in the animal unless it can be defecated. Once inside the animal, if a piece of plastic covers an organ or blocks a key canal, it can create a fatal blockage. Plastic blockages stopping the passing of food or faeces can kill turtles, but harder pieces can also inflict fatal internal injuries.
The Age
06-05-2025
- The Age
How Aussie island's '70s-style apartments became a luxe ‘house hotel'
They're an inquisitive bunch, these Lord Howe Islanders. In the turquoise waters off Ned's Beach, chunky kingfish and their silver drummer mates dart and dive around us, nudging our legs and beating us to small yet perfectly formed waves. Later, when snorkelling in the island's postcard lagoon, more stickybeaks arrive; a dozen or so sooty terns that form a circle centimetres above our bobbing heads. 'What are they doing?' 'Just having a look, I reckon,' our laid-back dive boat captain replies. But even he shakes his head when a wayward squid hits the deck after making a giant leap for squidkind from the watery depths. The fact that this World Heritage-listed island's birds and much of its sea life are protected may partly explain why the wildlife here seems so, well, in your face. Or maybe shrinking violets just don't make the evolutionary cut in a place as ruggedly beautiful as this coral-ringed dot halfway between Australia and New Zealand that's also home to the broodingly formidable Mount Gower; giant banyan trees in the evocatively named Valley of the Shadows; and the ancient oddball that is Ball's Pyramid, the world's tallest sea stack that juts out of the water like a dark claw. It's the sole haven for another long-term islander, the Lord Howe Island stick insect, or 'tree lobster', rediscovered in 2001, long after being presumed extinct. Lord Howe's dominant traits of stoicism and beauty have long fascinated islander Tim Maxwell. So when he and his father, Michael, debated over many chats – 'we needed to get this right' – how to transform their '70s-style apartments near Ned's Beach into a standout retreat, they took clues from the island itself. 'We weren't interested in a building that would eventually need updating,' says Tim. 'We wanted to create something solid, timeless and of enduring beauty and quality that would be here for future generations to enjoy.'
Sydney Morning Herald
06-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
How Aussie island's '70s-style apartments became a luxe ‘house hotel'
They're an inquisitive bunch, these Lord Howe Islanders. In the turquoise waters off Ned's Beach, chunky kingfish and their silver drummer mates dart and dive around us, nudging our legs and beating us to small yet perfectly formed waves. Later, when snorkelling in the island's postcard lagoon, more stickybeaks arrive; a dozen or so sooty terns that form a circle centimetres above our bobbing heads. 'What are they doing?' 'Just having a look, I reckon,' our laid-back dive boat captain replies. But even he shakes his head when a wayward squid hits the deck after making a giant leap for squidkind from the watery depths. The fact that this World Heritage-listed island's birds and much of its sea life are protected may partly explain why the wildlife here seems so, well, in your face. Or maybe shrinking violets just don't make the evolutionary cut in a place as ruggedly beautiful as this coral-ringed dot halfway between Australia and New Zealand that's also home to the broodingly formidable Mount Gower; giant banyan trees in the evocatively named Valley of the Shadows; and the ancient oddball that is Ball's Pyramid, the world's tallest sea stack that juts out of the water like a dark claw. It's the sole haven for another long-term islander, the Lord Howe Island stick insect, or 'tree lobster', rediscovered in 2001, long after being presumed extinct. Lord Howe's dominant traits of stoicism and beauty have long fascinated islander Tim Maxwell. So when he and his father, Michael, debated over many chats – 'we needed to get this right' – how to transform their '70s-style apartments near Ned's Beach into a standout retreat, they took clues from the island itself. 'We weren't interested in a building that would eventually need updating,' says Tim. 'We wanted to create something solid, timeless and of enduring beauty and quality that would be here for future generations to enjoy.'
