Lord Howe Island Nature Tours

naturalist • tour guide • author • photographer • museum curator • researcher

Ian Hutton Awarded OAM
Australia Day usually brings about barbeques, beach days, fireworks and friends. But for Lord Howe Island naturalist Ian Hutton, Australia Day also brought with it the Order of Australia Medal for services to conservation and tourism.

Ian Hutton with Providence Petrel
Ian with a Providence Petrel.

Jaguar logo
Winner of 2002 Jaguar Award for
Excellence in Innovation in Tours.

Lord Howe Island Museum

Ian Hutton
Ian Hutton has a B.Sc with majors in plant ecology and climatology. He arrived on Lord Howe Island in 1980 and became enthralled by the unique flora and fauna, beginning a lifetime of observing, photographing and researching the island's natural history. His plant observations were recorded as notes, photographs, drawings and herbarium specimens lodged at the national Botanic Gardens, Cenberra and Kew Gardens in England.

In 1982 Ian became the first person licenced by the Lord Howe Island Board to conduct guided reef and botanical tours. In 2002 he was winner of the Jaguar Award for Excellence in Innovations in Tours. In 2006 Ian was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his services to conservation and tourism.

Over the years, Ian has produced ten books on the island, many of which can be ordered on the Books page. Ian has also been instrumental in starting up his 'Weeders' program. Several times a year, environmentally-conscious mainlanders, or Friends of Lord Howe Island, under Ian's guidance get down on bended knee to help rid the island of weeds. To date, over 13,000 volunteer hours have been devoted to eradicating noxious invaders.

Ramblers guide cover Birds Guide cover Plant Guide cover Marine Guide cover

With notable photographic skills Ian's photos have been published in major newspapers and magazines worldwide, including the New York Times, Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age. They feature in his books and many are on display in the Photos page of this website.

Ian doing bird research Ian Hutton has been location consultant for several television documentaries concerned with the birds of the Island, and he has also been busy in a number of scientific projects that are outlined in the Research page of this website.

For the past few years Ian has been on the committee to develop a Multi-species Biodiversity Plan of Management of Lord Howe. He's also a part-time curator at the Lord Howe Island Museum.