The 1883 eruption ejected approximately 21 km 3  (5.0 cu mi) of rock, ash, and  pumice . [4] The cataclysmic explosion was faintly heard as far away as  Perth  in  Western Australia , about 1,930 miles (3,110 km) away, and the island of  Rodrigues  near  Mauritius , about 3,000 miles (5,000 km) away. [5] According to