Stephen Sia, The Lord Howe Island Signal

LHI Board. Residents and visitors are advised that a leopard seal has been observed on the southern end of Middle Beach since Sunday and is likely to stay in the area for several days to rest and recover ... The seal has cookie cutter shark bite wounds, which are showing signs of healing, and the seal will be monitored over the coming days.

Richard Segal. The Lord Howe currawong is one of the most recognisable and commonly encountered native bird species on Lord Howe Island. They are often curious about people and always keen for a sultana or two. Until recently, little was known about the currawong, including where they prefer to nest and how many of them are breeding. For example, do all birds nest each year or only some of them? Do they nest across the island, or do they favour certain areas?

Leslie Williams MP. Congratulations and thank you to all those who made submissions to the Electoral Commission Redistribution Panel in relation to the proposal to move LHI from the electorate of Port Macquarie to the electorate of Sydney!

Chris Murray. Mary Marlowe’s novel, Psalmist of the Dawn (published in 1934 but probably written in 1931) is set on Lord Howe and populated with real places, activities and people – that latter only slightly disguised behind pseudonyms ... Garfishing was an important part of the Islanders’ semi-subsistence lifestyle before World War II. Large quantities of gars were caught not only for local consumption but also for sale to passing vessels.

To date 87 rodents have been removed. All rodent detections and removals have been within the northern settlement area. A small number of rats that continue to be detected are being actively monitored and baited ... Eleven prospective biosecurity officers undertook training on 2 & 3 July with renowned dog trainers Steve Austin and Miriam Richie.

Due to its incredibly small population size, population density, and distribution, the Lord Howe Abalone faces an extremely high risk of extinction from threats including marine pollution - such as an oil spill event - and climate change. As a result, the IUCN assessed this species to be Critically Endangered. Of the 37 worldwide abalone species, it was one of only two given this status.

Collection significance assessment - In June, Melanie Piddocke from Queensland Museum visited the Island to undertake a Collection Significance Assessment of the collections held at the Lord Howe Island Museum. Cataloguing online - The Museum committee has also commenced cataloguing the artefacts held in the collection on a web-based system called eHive. Signal archive accessible at the museum - the museum now has a very accessible digital archive of all issues of the Island newspaper, The Lord Howe Island Signal.