Disappointment Island
Encyclopedia
Disappointment Island (50°36.25′S 165°58.38′E) is one of seven uninhabited islands of the archipelago Auckland Islands
. It is 5 miles (8 km) from the north-west end of Auckland Island
and 180 miles (290 km) south of New Zealand
. It is home to the White-capped Albatross
. About 65,000 pairs - nearly the entire world population - nest on Disappointment Island. Endemic to the island is the Auckland Rail
, once thought to have been extinct, but rediscovered in 1966.
On 14 May 1866, the General Grant
, a full-rigged ship of 1,103 tons, crashed into the towering cliffs on the west coast of Auckland Island
. Sixty-eight passengers died. There were fifteen survivors who made their way to Disappointment Island, where they waited eighteen months for rescue.
On 7 March 1907, the Dundonald
, a steel, four-masted barque
, sank after running ashore on the west side of Disappointment Island. Twelve men drowned. There were sixteen survivors who waited seven months for rescue. They survived on supplies gained from the castaway depot
on Auckland Island.
Auckland Islands
The Auckland Islands are an archipelago of the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands and include Auckland Island, Adams Island, Enderby Island, Disappointment Island, Ewing Island, Rose Island, Dundas Island and Green Island, with a combined area of...
. It is 5 miles (8 km) from the north-west end of Auckland Island
Auckland Island
Auckland Island is the main island of the Auckland Islands, an uninhabited archipelago in the south Pacific Ocean belonging to New Zealand. It is inscribed in the together with the other subantarctic New Zealand islands in the region as follows: 877-004 Auckland Isls, New Zealand S50.29 E165.52...
and 180 miles (290 km) south of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It is home to the White-capped Albatross
White-capped Albatross
The White-capped Albatross, Thalassarche steadi, is a mollymawk that breeds on the islands off of New Zealand. Not all experts agree that this form should be recognized as a separate species to the Shy Albatross, Thalassarche cauta...
. About 65,000 pairs - nearly the entire world population - nest on Disappointment Island. Endemic to the island is the Auckland Rail
Auckland Rail
The Auckland Rail is a small nearly flightless rail endemic to the Auckland Islands 460 km south of New Zealand. It is somewhat of a biogeographical anomaly, being the only species in the genus Lewinia to have reached the islands of New Zealand, skipping over the main islands to reach the remote...
, once thought to have been extinct, but rediscovered in 1966.
On 14 May 1866, the General Grant
General Grant (ship)
The General Grant was a 1,005-ton three-masted barque built in Maine, USA in 1864 and registered in Boston, USA. She was named after Ulysses S. Grant, owned by Messers Boyes, Richardson & Co...
, a full-rigged ship of 1,103 tons, crashed into the towering cliffs on the west coast of Auckland Island
Auckland Island
Auckland Island is the main island of the Auckland Islands, an uninhabited archipelago in the south Pacific Ocean belonging to New Zealand. It is inscribed in the together with the other subantarctic New Zealand islands in the region as follows: 877-004 Auckland Isls, New Zealand S50.29 E165.52...
. Sixty-eight passengers died. There were fifteen survivors who made their way to Disappointment Island, where they waited eighteen months for rescue.
On 7 March 1907, the Dundonald
Dundonald (ship)
The Dundonald was a steel, four-masted barque of 2205 tons, which was launched in Belfast in 1891. She was shipwrecked in 1907 in the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands...
, a steel, four-masted barque
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
, sank after running ashore on the west side of Disappointment Island. Twelve men drowned. There were sixteen survivors who waited seven months for rescue. They survived on supplies gained from the castaway depot
Castaway depot
A castaway depot is a store or hut placed on an isolated island to provide emergency supplies and relief for castaways and victims of shipwrecks...
on Auckland Island.
See also
- Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
- List of sub-Antarctic islands
- List of islands of New Zealand
- New Zealand sub-antarctic islandsNew Zealand sub-antarctic islandsThe five southernmost groups of the New Zealand Outlying Islands form the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic islands. These islands are collectively designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site....
- SCARScientific Committee on Antarctic ResearchThe Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research is an interdisciplinary body of the International Council for Science . It was established in February 1958 to continue the international coordination of Antarctic scientific activities that had begun during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58...
- Territorial claims in Antarctica