Hogan Island

Together with the other islands in the Hogan, Kent and Furneaux groups, Hogan Island formed part of a land bridge that connected Tasmania to mainland Australia until the end of the Pleistocene period. After the glacial period ended, the Hogan Group were the first islands to become isolated by rising sea levels.^[2]

The islands were named in 1802 by John Black, captain of the brig Harbinger, after Michael Hogan, the owner of his ship. The Harbinger was the first vessel to sail through Bass Strait after its discovery by Bass and Flinders. From that time, sealers inhabited, or regularly visited, the islands.^[2] After the mass killing of seals made sealing less viable, sealers turned to hunting kangaroos or farming. On 12 October 1900, the first lease for Hogan Island was recorded. While the original lease covered the entire island group, since 1959 it has only applied to Hogan Island and, from 1967, was held by B. R. Stackhouse, who used the island for cattle and sheep grazing.^[2] However, that activity ceased after causing considerable damage to the vegetation and the natural springs there.^{[citation needed]}

Hogan Island possesses an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), with tepid summers and mild winters. Temperatures are moderated by its position in the Bass Strait and from frequent westerlies in all seasons. Average maxima vary from 21.8 °C (71.2 °F) in January to 13.0 °C (55.4 °F) in July, while average minima fluctuate between 15.3 °C (59.5 °F) in February and 8.8 °C (47.8 °F) in August. Mean precipitation is moderately low (averaging 619.6 mm (24.39 in) per annum), but rainfall is frequent, as Hogan Island receives 157.2 precipitation days annually (with a maximum frequency of rain in winter). Extreme temperatures have ranged from 39.3 °C (102.7 °F) on 29 January 2009 to 2.2 °C (36.0 °F) on 5 September 2017.^[3]

Recorded breeding seabird and wader species include little penguin, short-tailed shearwater also known as the muttonbird, Pacific gull, silver gull and sooty oystercatcher. Reptiles present are the eastern blue-tongued lizard, metallic skink, three-lined skink, Bougainville's skink and White's skink.^[5] Feral goats were present for some time also.