Lipson Island Conservation Park

Where is it?: Lipson Island Conservation Park is a small island park in Lipson Cove, c. 25km NE of Tumby Bay on the east coast of Eyre Peninsula.

Owner: Department for Environment and Water

Property summary: Total area 8 hectares. Out of Hundreds (Lincoln)  – Section 742 and Allotment 1 (Deposited Plan 31593). ¹

Landscape Management Region: Eyre Peninsula

History: Lipson Island and Lipson Cove were named in 1872 after Captain Thomas Lipson, South Australia’s first naval officer, its first collector of customs, and harbour master at Port Adelaide ^{2, 3}.

Lipson Island was proclaimed as a Fauna Conservation Reserve on 16 March 1967 ⁴ . The park was renamed Lipson Island Conservation Park on 27 April 1972 ⁵ . Allotment 1 was added on 19 December 1991 ⁶ .

Habitat: The island is around 100m in length x 20m wide, about 75m from the shore at low tide. The seaward (eastern) side of the island is lined with granite boulders. The remainder of the island is composed of sand with a limited number of plants. They include *African Boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum), Nitre-bush (Nitraria billardierei) and *Common Iceplant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) ³ .

Total Species Recorded to Date: 21 (non-passerines 16, passerines 5)

Common Species: Black-faced Cormorant, Silver Gull, *Feral Pigeon, Greater Crested Tern,

Less Common Species: Sooty Oystercatcher, Rock Parrot, Little Penguin, Red-capped Plover

References:
¹ Department for Environment and Water. (2019). Protected Areas Information System. Property Summary Report. 30 March 2019. p. 39.  

 ² Bound for South Australia – Captain Thomas Lipton.

 ³ Robinson, A. C.; Canty, P.; Mooney, T.; Rudduck, P. (1996). South Australia’s Offshore Islands. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, South Australia / Australian Heritage Commission.  

 ⁴ Government of South Australia (1967). ‘Crown Lands Act, 1929-1966: Fauna Conservation Reserves Dedicated’. The South Australian Government Gazette, No. 11, 16 March 1967. pp. 961-962.  

 ⁵ National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. (SA) sch 4 p. 4. 

 ⁶ Government of South Australia (1991). ‘National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 Sections 29 (3) and 30 (2): Various Conservation Parks—Alteration of Boundaries’. The South Australian Government Gazette, No. 131, 19 December 1991. p. 1907. 

Updated: 14/10/2021