The Nobbies and Gulls, Evening, Victoria, Australia

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These small islands and rocks are home to Australia's largest fur seal colony. They are also the nesting grounds for many sea birds including Little Penguins. In the early 1800s the seals here were hunted for their skin and oil. Sealers set up semi-permanent camps and bartered the skins with passing ships for products such as flour. Many abducted Aboriginal women and made them perform the difficult task of sealing for them. Sealing was intensive and uncontrolled. The area finally became a sanctuary in 1928 and was declared a State Fauna Reserve in 1966.

I captured this photograph at the end of a gloomy day as a little sunlight broke through heavy clouds in the west, illuminating the scene with a subtle glow.