While King Island has the largest area of the four islands, the group is named after New Year Island because it was discovered by Europeans a few days earlier than King Island.[2][3]
According to the International Hydrographic Organization, the line separating the Bass Strait from the Great Australian Bight runs through King Island, so New Year Island lies in the Great Australian Bight.
^ abBrothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; Halley, Vanessa (2001). Tasmania's Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Hobart: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. pp. 50–51. ISBN0-7246-4816-X.
^"King Island". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.