Three Hummock Island

Three Hummock Island is a State Reserve located in Bass Strait off Tasmania’s Northwest Coast. It is a magical place of granite coastlines, protected coves, sweeping beaches and spectacular diversity of flora and fauna.

Three Hummock Island is extremely remote. It sits over 30 kilometres from mainland Tasmania and is reached only by small plane, boat or helicopter. There are no permanent residents, settlements or shops on Three Hummock Island, with the exception of two managers who caretake the island and support guests during their stay.

Three Hummock Island has one of the purest environments in the world - crystal clear water, white sandy beaches, inland lakes and forests remain largely untouched. A nearby Air Pollution Station at Cape Grim consistently measures the air as the cleanest in the world. 

There are many walking tracks to explore on Three Hummock Island that take you to locations of exceeding beauty. Home Beach with its iconic jetty is just a few close steps away from the Homestead Accommodation, and numerous other beaches can be explored within a few kilometres. By climbing some 237 metres up South Hummock - the highest point - you can take in a view of the island, nearby Hunter Island and mainland Tasmania. 

Birdlife abounds on the island, with over 90 species recorded.  Wild ducks, black swans and eagles frequent the small lakes behind the sand dunes lining the beaches. A wide variety of sea birds can be observed around the coast, including several species of plovers, little penguins and White-bellied Sea Eagles. Short-tailed Shearwaters are a spectacular sight as they return in thousands to their rookeries at dusk during the summer months.

A Bit of History

For many centuries, the island was a summer hunting ground for Aboriginal people of the North West tribe, who reached the island by swimming across five kilometres of open water from nearby Hunter Island.

Its European discoverers were Bass and Flinders, who named the island in 1798. More explorers, shipwrecked mariners and sailors followed.  

Giuseppe Garibaldi, the famous uniter of Italy, landed on the island in 1852 and left it with this accolade:

“O desert island of the Hunter Group – how many times have you pleasantly excited my imagination. When tired of this civilized society, so full of tyrants and gendarmes, I have often transported myself in my imagination into your gracious bosom.”

In 1978 the majority of the 7,400 hectares was declared a Nature Reserve; and in 2001 a State Reserve.

From 1932 until 1951, the island was run as a farm by Cissie and Bill Nichols until John and Eleanor Alliston took over with their four children, Venetia, Robert, Warwick and Ingrid. The family maintained a presence on the island until 2006. Eleanor Alliston is the author of "Escape to an Island" and "An Island Affair", which tell of her family's adventurous years living on Three Hummock.