Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands

Heard Island did not have visitors until 1833. It is probable that no human had ever seen Heard Island until this time. Peter Kemp, A British sealer, was the first person thought to have seen the island on the 27th of November 1833 from the brig Magnet during a voyage from Kerguelen to the Antarctic, and was believed to have entered the island in his 1833 chart. In 1849, an American whaler, Thomas Long, “reported to the owners of his ship that he had seen land while whaling south of Kerguelen”. Captain John Heard, an American sealer on the ship Oriental sighted the island on 25th November 1853 en route from Boston to Melbourne, officially reported the discovery on December 24th December and had the island named after him. Coincidentally, Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang discovered the McDonald Islands close to Heard Island shortly afterwards on January 4th 1854. No landing was made on the islands until sealers from the Corinthian led by Captain Erasmus Darwin Rogers in March 1855 went ashore. In the sealing period from 1855-1880, a number of American Sealers spent a year or more on the island, living in appalling conditions in dark smelly huts. By 1880, most of the seal population had been wiped out and the sealers left the island. In all, more than 100,000 barrels of Elephant Seal Oil was produced during this period. History and Scientific Expeditions In 1874 Scientists from HMS Challenger took geological and botanical collections. Between 1900 and 1929, whaling operations were attempted several times, however, there was little success and the whalers left by 1929. In 1902, Baron Erich von Drygalski, leader of the German South Polar Expedition on the vessel Gauss, paid a brief call and provided the first comprehensive scientific information on the island's geology, flora and fauna. In 1929 a French geologist, Aubert de la Rue carried out studies during a visit there via whaling ship and later in the year, Sir Douglas Mawson, leader of the British, Australian and New Zealand Expedition (BANZARE) visited Heard Island for a week en route to Antarctica. A hut was built by this expedition for use as a refuge for stranded sailors, the remains of which are still standing today. The first Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) set up a station at Atlas Cove at the western end of the island in December 1947. A total of 10-15 men worked year-round on the island conducting scientific research. The station closed in 1955. It had laboratories, a medical annex, power station, food store, mess, workshops, sleeping quarters, ablution area, and various store huts. Research teams from the United States were stationed at Atlas Cove for a year from March 1969 and built huts in this location. More huts were erected in 1970-71 by Australian and French scientists. The last ANARE scientific expedition stayed a year and used a temporary base at Spit Bay.