Norfolk Island National Park, Nature reserve on Norfolk Island, Australia
Norfolk Island National Park covers 6.50 km2 in the South Pacific, about 1,471 km off eastern Australia. Its Mount Pitt section on Norfolk Island covers 460 ha, while Phillip Island adds 190 ha and Nepean Island is much smaller. Mount Pitt and Mount Bates are the island's two highest points, and a World War II radar station still stands on Mount Bates.
Norfolk Island National Park was established in 1984 under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975, and the German source gives 1986; the Mount Pitt section and the Botanical Gardens were included at that time. Before this, the land was a public reserve under the Commons and Public Reserves Ordinance of 1936. A radar station built on Mount Bates during World War II can still be visited. The Captain Cook Monument above the north coast recalls Cook's landing in 1774.
The island's first crowdfunding campaign, targeting A$77,000, raised almost A$90,000 for the Norfolk parakeet: chicks are hand-fed in an aviary on Phillip Island, which has no natural predators, before release. The surplus paid for nest boxes for the Norfolk boobook owl and replanting of the parrots' food plants.
The Mount Pitt section holds 460 ha of the park's 650 ha, with the remaining 190 ha on Phillip Island; the summit of Mount Pitt is reached on foot and Mount Bates carries a World War II radar station that can still be visited. June is the wettest month with 98 mm of rain, February the driest with 37 mm, and summer highs rarely exceed 25 °C. Phillip Island lies offshore and is not reached by the island's walking trails.
The green parrot's rescue was funded by the island's first crowdfunding campaign, which aimed for A$77,000 and raised almost A$90,000. Chicks are moved to predator-free Phillip Island and hand-fed in an aviary so they do not fly back. The surplus paid for nest boxes for the Norfolk boobook owl and replanting of parrot food plants.
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