Brush Island

The Brush Island is a continental island, contained within the Brush Island Nature Reserve, a protected nature reserve, that is located off the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. The 47ha island and reserve is situated within the Tasman Sea, approximately south-east of the coastal village of Bawley Point.The island was gazetted as a nature reserve in July 1963 and is important for breeding seabirds. The reserve is listed on Australia’s Register of the National Estate, and has an unmanned lighthouse.DescriptionThe island lies from the tip of Murramarang Point. It is long, with a maximum width of, and rises to about above sea level. Its shorelines are steep, rocky cliff faces with erosion gullies on the northern side. The gullies are both caused and used by the little penguins whose tracks and burrows cover most of the island.HistoryThe island was sighted by Captain James Cook on 22 April 1770 during his first voyage to the South Pacific Ocean. Cook had planned to shelter HMS Endeavour between the unnamed island and mainland but was prevented by high seas. Instead Endeavour continued its northward path along the coast, making her first Australian landfall a week later at Botany Bay.