Scientists Discovered A Skin-Crawling Secret That This Strange Island Had Concealed For 80 Years

To the unassuming traveler, the Lord Howe Island Group probably looks like a tropical paradise. And while it’s true that the lush forests, beaches and coral reef are something of a haven, there’s more to these Australian islands than first meets the eye. Indeed, one particular isle has been harboring a decades-old, skin-crawling secret that was left undiscovered for over 80 years.

A Little-Known Island

Found between Australia and New Zealand, the Lord Howe Island Group lies in the Tasman Sea. The rocky landmasses that form it are comprised mostly of volcanic remnants, and the main isle, known simply as Lord Howe Island, is just 6.2 miles long.

Untouched And Uncharted

What’s more, before European settlers moved to the central island permanently in 1834, the stretch of land was seemingly uninhabited. The Polynesians in the South Pacific had no idea that it even existed, in fact. And it’s incredible to think that for many years, the island remained potentially untouched by humans.

First Steps On Paradise

However, in 1788 – so, several decades prior to people arriving on the island – a British lieutenant named Henry Lidgbird Ball had become the first European to spot the landmass. Ball was commander of the oldest First Fleet ship, HMS Supply, which had left England with ten other vessels to found Australia’s first European settlement. And it was while the lieutenant was en route to the nearby Norfolk Island with a cargo of convicts that he first laid eyes on Lord Howe Island.

Claiming For The United Kingdom

Then, just under a month later, Ball embarked upon his return journey from Norfolk Island. And during this section of his voyage, he did more than simply observe Lord Howe Island. This time, in fact, he sent a boarding party to the shore and claimed the land for his home country.