Macquarie Island is about 1,500 km south of Tasmania about half way to Antarctica. The island is 34 km long and 5.5 km at its longest and covers an area of 128 sq km. There are numerous sea stacks and reefs close to shore. In addition there are several small outlying islets including Judge and Clerk Islets (11km north) and Bishop and Clerk Islets (37 km south). Macquarie Island is a part of Tasmania.
The island has a mean annual temperature range from 1 to 5 degrees Celsius, has no trees, and herbaceous plants form the dominant vegetation type. Macquarie Island is a World Heritage site due to its natural history significance. It provides evidence of the rock types found at great depths in the earth's crust and for plate tectonics and continental drift. The island supports some 3.5 million seabirds and seals.
There are no permanent human inhabitants on Macquarie Island though the Australian Antarctic Division station is occupied year round. The only access to the island is by sea and there are no harbours or landing facilities.
History
Macquarie Island was first discovered on 18 July 1810 by Captain Hasselburgh of the Perseverance while searching for fur seals in waters south of New Zealand. Sealing commenced and in the first 18 months of operations around 120,000 fur seals were killed. By 1815 the initial population of an estimated 250,000 animals had dramatically declined, with only 5,000 skins being taken during the entire season.
Elephant seals were also exploited for their oil and by the 1820s sealing operations at Macquarie Island had turned exclusively to the exploitation of elephant seals. Boiling down works were located at the Isthmus, Sandy Bay, Lusitania Bay, Caroline Cove and Hurd Point. By 1830 elephant seal numbers had been reduced by approximately 70%, making operations no longer profitable. The decline in the seal population led to few sealing activities over the next four decades. Elephant seal numbers had recovered by 1874 to enable a revival of interest in oil production.
In 1911 Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) stopped at Macquarie Island en route to Antarctica. A wireless repeater station was established and a hut built on the isthmus for five scientists who remained on the island. This group travelled extensively over the next two years and recorded descriptions of the island’s sealing activities. Mawson subsequently headed a campaign to declare the island a nature reserve and condemned the penguin and sealing industries. In February 1920 all sealing licences were cancelled.
Figure 74 - The Isthmus on Macquarie Island (Source: Rodney Dann)
Figure 75 – Royal Penguins on Macquarie Island (Source: Angus Wilson)
Figure 76 - Macquarie Island Map (Source: ANARE)
