THE bimodal distribution of helium isotope ratios in ocean-island lavas has provided powerful constraints on the composition and evolution of the Earth’s mantle(1-3). ’High-He-3 hotspot’ ratios (He-3/He-4 greater than in mid-ocean-ridge basalt, MORB) found on Hawaii(4) and Iceland(5) are thought to trace pristine plumes from the deep(er) mantle, whereas ’low-He-3 hotspot’ values (He-3/ He-4 less than or equal to MORB value) at Tristan da Cunha(6) and St Helena(7) are considered to characterize plumes composed (in part) of recycled oceanic or continental crust. Here we report the observation of both ’high-He-3’ and ’low-He-3’ characteristics(8) in lavas from a single ocean island-Heard Island, in the Indian Ocean. Whereas the high-He-3 lavas provide unambiguous evidence for the involvement of a deep-seated plume in their genesis, we argue that the low He-3/He-4 ratios in other lavas result from shallow-level contamination by radiogenic helium before eruption. These observations call into question the presumed association between low-He-3 ratios (at Heard Island and elsewhere) and ancient crustal material recycled back into the mantle.