Lord Howe Island

About Lord Howe Island

Lord Howe Island is a remote volcanic island in the Tasman Sea, approximately 600 kilometres east of Port Macquarie and around 700 kilometres northeast of Sydney, administered as an unincorporated area of New South Wales and governed by the Lord Howe Island Board. With a permanent population of just 445 residents, the island is tightly regulated — the number of tourists is capped at 400 at any one time — preserving its extraordinary natural environment and UNESCO World Heritage-listed landscape, inscribed in 1982. The island covers approximately 14.5 square kilometres, rising dramatically to Mount Gower at 875 metres.

Lord Howe Island is renowned as one of Australia's most pristine and biodiverse places, home to rare endemic species, the world's southernmost coral reef, and sweeping lagoon scenery framed by the twin peaks of Mount Gower and Mount Lidgbird. Accessible only by air from Sydney or Brisbane — a flight of roughly two hours — the island offers a unique blend of eco-tourism, fishing, diving, and bushwalking in an environment almost entirely free from cars and commercialisation. Life on the island is unhurried and community-centred, making it one of the most extraordinary places to live or visit in Australia.

Lord Howe Island falls under postcode 2898 and is governed by the local council Council (LGA). For state elections, residents vote in the Port Macquarie electorate.