Bruny Island

Curated by Dr Tonia Cochran and 17 others

Bruny hosts a rich human history, highly varied and exquisite natural landscapes, and is a wonderful place to find peace, solitude and to connect with wild nature.

kunanyi Sunset from Bligh Point landscape

About the region Articles about Bruny Island Conservation Things to Do Nature Community FAQ

About the region

Find peace, solitude and connect with wild nature

Located off the south-east coast of Tasmania, Australia, Bruny Island is surround by the D'Entrecasteux Channel, Storm Bay and the Southern Ocean.

Bruny Island / lunawanna-alonnah has a rich human history extending back 40,000 years, and layers of history and stories both moving, tragic and inspiring, colour its landscapes.

The island is an extraordinary microcosm of the nature of Tasmania, with grasslands, grand forests, coastal shrubs, rich and magical marine habitats and long wild stretches of coastline. Rich in birdlife, Bruny provides home to the threatened Forty-Spotted Pardalote, the Swift Parrot and the Wedge-Tailed Eagle along with important breeding sites for the short-tailed shearwater. A colony of White wallabies inhabit the southern reaches of Bruny’s Adventure Bay.

Beneath the waves of Bruny island’s varied coastline, rocky reefs and sandy gulches provide home and habitat to extraordinary sea creatures from ‘Leatherjacket’ and ‘Flathead’ fishes, to Crayfish, Little Penguins and migratory whales.

Two Tree - Point Dan Broun

Mars Bluff - Jonathan Esling

Adventure Bay - Jonathan Esling

White Wallaby "Gidday" Bruny Island Warwick Berry

White Wallaby - Warwick Berry

Adventure Bay, Bruny Island

Bligh Rocks view to Cape Queen Elizabeth, Bruny Island

Mars Bluff walk, Bruny Island

Australian Fur Seal

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Articles about Bruny Island

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Not one, but many: Bruny Island is a modular marine-based ecosystem

Bruny Island Environment Network presents their next instalment of M:BIEn blogs curated by Peter Droege.

Birds of Bruny Island

This beautiful short film by talented film-maker and wildlife photographer Marcio Conrado shows some of the incredible diversity of avian species that can be found...

The story of the ocean: a young ceramicists perspective

For Hannah, year 12 student and a regular visitor to Bruny Island, a childhood spent in and around the ocean has left a big impression...

Nature’s in my blood

"I can't remember a time where I wasn't interested in nature, plants and animals", says naturalist and owner of Inala Nature Tours, Dr. Tonia Cohcran...

Mars Bluff Jonathan Esling

Conservation

Preserving Bruny Island for future generations

Bruny Island is home to important areas of Old Growth forests, very high biodiversity values, and provides important habitat for threatened species including the Swift Parrot, Tasmanian Wedge-tailed eagle and Forty-Spotted Pardalote. The island is home to important threatened lowland and grassy vegetation communities and is of immense cultural heritage significance, including particularly to Tasmania’s Aboriginal community.

Conservation efforts for Bruny Island include the proposal to extend formal reserves and Parks on Bruny island, the need to secure permanent protection of Bruny Island’s native forests from logging, the eradication of feral cats, better protection of Bruny Island’s extraordinarily diverse and spectacular marine environment, and improved protection and care for nature on private land.

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Conservation efforts for Bruny Island

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Welcome the Swifties back to Bruny

The swifities are coming back to Bruny Island, so what better way than to celebrate with the local community at the Alonnah Hall.

Art For Swiftie Conservation

With joint creative efforts, kids from the Bruny Island District School created a Swift Parrot sculpture that was entered into the Bruny Island Bird F...

Evermore, Be the Black Currawong by Mailea Leary (Bruny Youth Stories Winner)

Bruny Youth Stories Prize winner in the Youth category.

To Gannet by Harriet Boyle (Bruny Youth Stories Winner)

Bruny Youth Stories Prize winner in the Youth category.

Pink Robin by Tinaya Thilakasiri (Bruny Youth Stories Winner)

Bruny Youth Stories Prize winner in the Junior category.

Winners of the Bruny Youth Stories Prize!

The first ever Bruny Youth Stories Prize received several dozen of entries from kids and youth all across Tasmania. Here are the winners and finalists...

Young Tasmanians’ Bird Stories to Take Flight at Bruny Island Bird Festival

The Bruny Youth Stories Prize has received dozens of beautiful entries from young writers as young as six, from Bruny Island and right across Tasmania...

Bruny Youth Story Prize

Bruny Youth Story Prize entry - Stuck adventures on Bruny Island, by Addison King

Things to Do

Visiting Bruny Island

Bruny Island (Nuenonne: Lunawanna-alonnah) is a critical refuge for a myriad of rare and threatened wildlife and a globally significant haven for birds.

Activities

Snorkelling and diving

Surfing

Trail Running

Sailing

Nature & Heritage

Landscape features

Wildlife

Marine life

Conservation Reserves

Heritage Sites

Villages / Towns

Explore map

Bruny Island Adventure Bay Jonathan Esling

Nature

Discover the plants and wildlife that call Bruny Island home

Bruny is home to wild beaches, rare birdlife, rugged sea-cliffs, a myriad of sea creatures, and ecosystems from kelp forests to coastal grasses and scrubland through to grand forests.

People have lived on Bruny Island for more than 40,000 years. The mighty sea-cliffs that presided over the first meetings between Europeans and the world’s oldest culture, remain much as they did more than 200 years ago - still clothed in forest, and hammered by the swells of the Southern Ocean. Seabirds that are now rare still make their homes on Bruny’s coasts.

White beaches stretch for uninterrupted miles, and the island’s convoluted coastline creates a huge diversity of marine habitats and spectacular coastal scenery. Beneath the waves, rocky reefs and sandy gulches provide home and habitat to extraordinary sea creatures from ‘Leatherjacket’ and ‘Flathead’ fishes, to Crayfish, Little Penguins and migratory whales.

Bruny Island is rich in wildlife – from being a stronghold for the Eastern Quoll, whilst also being a globally significant bird area – with many birds including the threatened Forty-Spotted Pardalote, Swift Parrot, the Tasmanian Wedge-Tailed Eagle and the exquisite Pink Robin all found on Bruny.

The species of Bruny Island

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Big-bellied Seahorse

The big-bellied seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) is one of three seahorse species found in Tasmanian waters. Reaching up to 35 cm in height, they are one of the worlds largest seahorses, with a big round belly as their distinctive feature.

Australasian Gannet

The Australasian gannet, also known as the Australian gannet, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family. Photo: Dan Broun

Australian Fur Seal

There are nine species of fur seals in the world, and the Australian fur seal is the largest of them. Photo: Warwick Berry

Tasmanian Pademelon

The Tasmanian pademelon is a small wallaby that inhabits the dense forests of Tasmania. Picture: Dan Broun

Yellow-throated Honeyeater

The yellow-throated honeyeater is a bird endemic to Tasmania, distinguished by its bright yellow throat. Picture by: Kim Murray

Hooded Plover

The hooded plover is a small shorebird endemic to southern and eastern Australia that lives and nests on ocean beaches. Picture: Kim Murray

Little Penguin

This little penguin, also known as the fairy penguin, weigh just under one kilogram. Adorably awkward on land, but a skilled predator in the sea, this cute little creature can be found in New Zealand and the southern coast of Australia. Image: Dr Eric Woehler

Eastern Quoll

This small marsupial was once common on mainland Australia, but were hunted to extinction by feral cats. It’s now only found wild in Tasmania.

Brush-Tailed Possum

The brush-tailed possum is a nocturnal marsupial native to Australia, with soft grey fur, a bushy tail, and large eyes adapted for night vision. Picture: Phill Pullinger

Green Rosella

The Green Rosella endemic to Tasmania, and a signature sight of the Tasmanian bushland. Picture: Eric Woehler

Bruny Island galleries

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Tasmanian Marine life

Tasmania's marine environment is globally significant, with a rich mix of ecosystems and habitats fostering marine life found nowhere else on Earth

Bruny Island - A Photographer's Paradise

Bruny Island is an island, off an island, off an island, surrounded by islands. Image: Nick Monk

Dark Sky Sanctuaries

The aurora australis lights the skies of Southwest Tasmania. The next Dark Sky Sanctuary? Image: Dan Broun

Bruny Island Coastline

Bruny Island has an intricate, complex, beautiful and varied coastline, ranging from sheltered inlets, shallow bays, mudflats, lagoons, and grand sea-cliffs, through to long sandy ocean facing beaches.

Bruny Island wildlife

Bruny Island is a haven for rare and unique birds and animals, and is one of the best bird-watching spots in Australia.

Community

Engage with the Bruny Island community

With a permanent population of about 600 plus a healthy community of ‘shackies’ that visit and stay on Bruny Island regularly, there is a rich nurturing community life on Bruny Island, with a proud people who have a strong sense of place and a deep love for their island.

Lyndel Wilson

Lyndel is the terrestrial birds program leader at BirdLife Australia

Benjamin Convery

Ben is Co convener of the Bruny Island Environment Network

Luke Rasmussen

Aurora and Astro photographer from Bruny Island, Tasmania. Recently moved to the area after years of visiting. Married with a daughter in grade 3 at the local school.

Martin Stone

Martin Stone is a Tasmanian forester who grew up roaming the foothills of Mount Wellington. Retirement has enabled him to combine his interest in the bush, maps, local history and the mountain, discovering what he had never really noticed and...

Ewan Blyth

Ewan is an experienced outdoor educator and guide with a passion for the Earth's wild places

Julius Schwing

Julius Schwing is an award winning improvising guitarist and composer from Bruny Island, Lutruwita/Tasmania. Born in Vienna, he started playing guitar at age nine and since the age of thirteen has performed in Australia, Europe, India, New Zealand, Canada and...

Edith Shum

Edith is an ecologist pursuing a PhD at the University of Tasmania, exploring how species shape our connection to places in the context of environmental change.

Marcio Conrado

Experienced video producer from Brazil, degree in Communication.

Mischa Cushing

Mischa Cushing is a sea kayak guide and outdoor educator in Tasmania, Australia.

Dr Eric Woehler

Dr Eric Woehler (OAM) is a seabird and shorebird ecologist based in lutruwita/Tasmania who has been involved in research, management and conservation of birds and their habitats his entire life.

Karen Dick

Karen Dick is an expert in ecology and birds and is the convenor of BirdLife Tasmania

Dr Andrew Hingston

Dr Andrew Hingston is an expert in Tasmanian birds.

Phill Pullinger

Phill is a GP, conservationist, author of Tarkine Trails, and co-founder of Kuno. Phill has broad expertise and a long held passionate commitment to the natural world.

Andrew Hunter

Andrew is the campaigns manager at BirdLife Australia.

Cat Davidson

Cat is a nature guide who lives on Bruny Island and is a specialist bird and ecology guide with Inala Nature Tours.

Kerry Marvell

Kerry is an artist, keen gardener and conservationist who lives on South Bruny Island.

Marg Graham

Marg Graham is a tireless advocate for conservation and secretary of the Bruny Island Environment Network.

Bob Graham

Bob Graham is a professional geographer and convenor of the Bruny Island Environment Network

Dr Tonia Cochran

Dr Tonia Cochran is a zoologist, experienced naturalist and owner of Inala Nature Tours.

Dan Broun

Dan Broun is an experienced photo-journalist and passionate advocate for wild nature

David Boyer

Bruny Island resident for 20 years, and enthusiastic naturalist

James Bunker

James Bunker is a conservationist and Vice President of the Bruny Island Environment Network.

Kim Murray

Writer and naturalist

BirdLife Tasmania

BirdLife Tas is the State Branch of BirdLife Australia, supporting bird awareness and conservation.

Bruny Island Cloudy Bay Supergroms

Cloudy Bay Supergroms is a Bruny Island kids’ group offering weekly surfing and skating meetups to stay active, build skills, and connect year-round

Bruny Island Environment Network

The Bruny Island Environment Network’s interest is in the conservation of Bruny Island.

Inala Nature Tours

Inala Nature Tours is based on Bruny Island in Tasmania and operates birding and wildlife tours across Australia and Internationally

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Bruny Island

What is Bruny Island?

Bruny hosts a rich human history, highly varied and exquisite natural landscapes, and is a wonderful place to find peace, solitude and to connect with wild nature.

What is Bruny Island known for?

Located off the south-east coast of Tasmania, Australia, Bruny Island is surround by the D'Entrecasteux Channel, Storm Bay and the Southern Ocean. Bruny Island / lunawanna-alonnah has a rich human history extending back 40,000 years, and layers of history and stories both…

What are the best things to do at Bruny Island?

Bruny Island (Nuenonne: Lunawanna-alonnah) is a critical refuge for a myriad of rare and threatened wildlife and a globally significant haven for birds.

What wildlife and nature can you find at Bruny Island?

Bruny is home to wild beaches, rare birdlife, rugged sea-cliffs, a myriad of sea creatures, and ecosystems from kelp forests to coastal grasses and scrubland through to grand forests. People have lived on Bruny Island for more than 40,000 years. The mighty sea-cliffs that…

Find peace, solitude and connect with wild nature

Help us to build a platform to connect people with planet earth!

Articles about Bruny Island

Preserving Bruny Island for future generations

Conservation efforts for Bruny Island

Visiting Bruny Island

Activities

Nature & Heritage

Discover the plants and wildlife that call Bruny Island home

The species of Bruny Island

Bruny Island galleries

Engage with the Bruny Island community

Frequently asked questions about Bruny Island

What is Bruny Island?

What is Bruny Island known for?

What are the best things to do at Bruny Island?

What wildlife and nature can you find at Bruny Island?

How is Bruny Island being conserved?

How can I get involved with the Bruny Island community?

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