King George Island is an island in south-eastern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is part of the Sloping Island Group

Sloping Island Group

The Sloping Island Group is a group of small islands in south-eastern Australia, lying close to the south-eastern coast of Tasmania around the Tasman and Forestier Peninsulas.The group consists of:* Sloping Island* Barren Island* Fulham Island* Hog Island...

, lying close to the south-eastern coast of Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 around the Tasman

Tasman Peninsula

Tasman Peninsula is located around by road south-east of Hobart, at the south east corner of Tasmania, Australia.-Description:The Tasman Peninsula lies south and west of Forestier Peninsula, to which it is connected by an isthmus called Eaglehawk Neck...

 and Forestier Peninsula

Forestier Peninsula

The Forestier Peninsula is a peninsula of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Its coordinates are . It is connected to the mainland at East Bay Neck, near the town of Dunalley...

s. The island was once inhabited and farmed and contains the ruins of two buildings on its eastern side.

Flora and fauna

Much of the island’s original vegetation has been destroyed by clearing and burning, though there are remnant stands of allocasuarina

Allocasuarina

Allocasuarina is a genus of trees in the flowering plant family Casuarinaceae. They are endemic to Australia, occurring primarily in the south. Like the closely related genus Casuarina, they are commonly called sheoaks or she-oaks, they are notable for their long, segmented branchlets that...

s and eucalypt

Eucalypt

Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...

s. Rabbits

European Rabbit

The European Rabbit or Common Rabbit is a species of rabbit native to south west Europe and north west Africa . It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity...

 are present as well as the Metallic Skink

Metallic Skink

The Metallic Cool-skink or Metallic Skink is a species of skink in the Scincidae family. It is endemic to Australia, found in southern Victoria, as well as in Tasmania where it is the most widespread and common lizard, occurring on many offshore islands in Bass Strait as well as the mainland. It...

 and White's Skink

White's Skink

White's Skink is a species of skink in the Scincidae family. It is found in south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania and many Bass Strait islands. It is slow-growing, to a maximum length of about 90 mm, and may take four years to reach maturity. It gives birth to live young. It is...

.

Sources

• Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. ISBN 0-7246-4816-X