Director and CEO of the Australian Museum (AM) Kim McKay AO tells Explore that she unwinds swimming and enjoying nature on Lord Howe Island. And, she says, the best way to get around is on a pushbike.
“My friend Ian Kiernan, with whom I cofounded Clean Up Australia, was a regular visitor and helped build the museum on the island. I sponsored a chair in the museum that has my name on the back – friends who visit often send me photos of my chair.
“Australian Museum scientists have been surveying Lord Howe … since as early as 1851. In fact, findings from an AM-led expedition in 1973 helped the Australian Government to secure the island’s UNESCO World Heritage listing.
“Our scientists have documented invertebrates, discovered new species and obtained a clearer picture of the local fauna. [They] also scaled the sheer cliff faces of the remote Balls Pyramid in search of specimens of the extremely rare stick insect, the LHI Phasmid… and they found them.”
Learn about the museum’s work at australian.museum/learn/expeditions/lord-howe-island
