Members of the Auckland Islands Party (cropped)

The Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition of 1907 was organised by the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury. The main aim of the expedition was to extend the magnetic survey of New Zealand by investigating Campbell Island and the

Auckland Islands The Auckland Islands (Māori: ''Motu Maha'' "Many islands" or ''Maungahuka'' "Snowy mountains") are an archipelago of New Zealand, lying south of the South Island. The main Auckland Island, occupying , is surrounded by smaller Adams Island, ...

, but botanical, biological and zoological surveys were also conducted.

Preparations

The planning committee of the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury approached the various branches of the New Zealand Institute for support and armed with this, approached the New Zealand Minister in Charge of Marine Department, John A. Millar, for possible transport. On being informed that neither of the

New Zealand Government , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ...

steam ships would be available, the committee sent a delegation to the Acting Premier,

William Hall-Jones Sir William Hall-Jones (16 January 1851 – 19 June 1936) was the 16th prime minister of New Zealand from June 1906 until August 1906. Hall-Jones entered parliament in 1890, later becoming a member of the Liberal Party. He was interim prime mi ...

. By 8 June 1907, it was confirmed that under the captaincy of

John Bollons John Peter Bollons (10 November 1862 – 18 September 1929) was a New Zealand marine captain, naturalist and ethnographer. For many years he captained New Zealand government steamers, including the NZGSS ''Hinemoa'', which undertook lighthouse ...

would be available to transport the expedition.

Personnel

A group of 26 participants went on the expedition. The group was split into two main parties—one for Campbell Island and one for the Auckland Islands—with the intention that the groups were to be dropped off to survey while NZGSS ''Hinemoa'' conducted its regular round of checking the

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. A string of depots were built by the New Zealand government on their subantarctic islands in the ...

s at other subantarctic islands before returning to pick the groups up. Botany survey *

Leonard Cockayne Leonard Cockayne (7 April 1855 – 8 July 1934) is regarded as New Zealand's greatest botanist and a founder of modern science in New Zealand. Biography He was born in Sheffield, England where he attended Wesley College. He travelled to Austra ...

Bernard Aston Bernard Cracroft Aston (9 August 1871 – 31 May 1951), also known as Barney Aston, was New Zealand's first official agricultural chemist and was also a notable botanist. He was born in Beckenham, Kent, England, on 9 August 1871. He was a m ...

* John Smaillie Tennant *

Arthur Dorrien-Smith Major Arthur Algernon Dorrien-Smith (28 January 1876 – 30 May 1955) was Lord Proprietor of the Isles of Scilly from 1918 to 1920. Family Major Arthur Algernon Smith-Dorrien-Smith was born on 28 January 1876, in Oxfordshire, to Thomas Smith ...

* Robert M. Laing * Joseph Crosby-Smith Geology survey *

Robert Speight Robert Speight (2 October 1867 – 8 September 1949) was a notable New Zealand geologist, university professor and museum curator. Early life Speight was born in Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, England in 1867. When he was about 12, his family em ...

* Alexander Moncrief Finlayson * G. S. Collyns * Patrick Marshall * Robert Browne Magnetic survey * Coleridge Farr * Henry Denman Cook * Henry Fawsit Skey *

Edward Kidson Edward Kidson (12 March 1882 – 12 June 1939) was a New Zealand meteorologist and scientific administrator. Early life and education Kidson was born in Bilston, Staffordshire, England, on 12 March 1882. his family moved to Nelson, New Zea ...

* C. A'Court Opie Zoology survey *

William Benham William Benham may refer to: *William Benham (priest) (1831–1910), English churchman and writer *William Benham (zoologist) (1860–1950), New Zealand zoologist and biologist *William Gurney Benham Sir William Gurney Benham, FSA, FRHS (; 16 ...

George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a title conferr ...

Edgar Ravenswood Waite Edgar Ravenswood Waite (5 May 1866 – 19 January 1928) was a British/Australian zoologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and ornithologist. Waite was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, the second son of John Waite, a bank clerk, and his wife J ...

Charles Chilton Charles Chilton MBE (15 June 1917 – 2 January 2013) was a British presenter, writer and producer who worked on BBC Radio. He created the 1950s radio serials ''Riders of the Range'' and ''Journey into Space'', and also inspired the stage ...

* George Marriner * James Boxer Mayne *

Harry Borrer Kirk Harry Borrer Kirk (9 March 1859 – 15 July 1948) was a New Zealand school inspector, biologist and university professor. Public life He was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England on 9 March 1859 to Sarah Jane Mattocks and Thomas Kirk. T ...

Expedition

MA I291821 TePapa Prodontria-longitarsis full

departed from Bluff on 14 November 1907, and the expedition arrived at

Port Pegasus Port Pegasus, officially Port Pegasus / Pikihatiti, (formerly South Port) is at the southern end of Stewart Island in New Zealand. From the 1890s to the 1950s, Port Pegasus was the site of a small fishing community. There was also a small tin- ...

on Stewart Island in the early afternoon. Some disembarked for an episode of botanical collecting. The voyage continued at 21:00 that evening with an overnight steam to the

Snares Islands The Snares Islands / Tini Heke, known colloquially as The Snares, is a group of uninhabited islands lying about 200 km south of New Zealand's South Island and to the south-southwest of Stewart Island / Rakiura. The Snares consist of the m ...

, which were reached at 06:00. All of 15 November was spent at The Snares exploring the islands and collecting soil, rock, zoological and botanical specimens. By 16 November, the expedition arrived at Auckland Islands and discovered the

castaway A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade captors or the world in general. A person may also be left a ...

s of the wreck of the . After ensuring that the castaways were supplied with provisions and taking on board one of the castaways to act as a cook for the Campbell Island expedition group, the Auckland Islands expedition party was dropped off at Camp Cove. Campbell Island was reached on 18 November, and the remainder of the expedition was dropped off. ''Hinemoa'' returned and picked up the Campbell Island group on 25 November. While ''Hinemoa'' was away, the Auckland Islands group, who had also been supplied with a whaleboat and crew, were rowed to various locations around Auckland Islands during their ten-day stay. With the return of the ''Hinemoa'' on 26 November, the Auckland Islands group packed up and boarded the vessel. On 27 November, the ship steamed to

Enderby Island Enderby Island is part of New Zealand's uninhabited Auckland Islands archipelago, south of mainland New Zealand. It is situated just off the northern tip of Auckland Island, the largest island in the archipelago. Geography and geology Enderby ...

for further exploration and specimen hunting, before moving on to

Disappointment Island Disappointment Island is one of seven uninhabited islands in the Auckland Islands archipelago, in New Zealand. It is south of the country's main South Island and from the northwest end of Auckland Island. It is home to a large colony of white ...

on 28 November. A number of expedition members collected specimens and samples while Captain Bollons organised the exhumation of the ''Dundonald''s chief mate, Jabez Peters, for reburial at Hardwicke cemetery. The funeral was held that evening. ''Hinemoa'' arrived back in Bluff on 30 November.

References

Sources

Bibliography * * Newspapers * * *

External links

* {{Te Papa, 38266 1907 in Antarctica 1907 in New Zealand Auckland Islands Campbell Island, New Zealand Expeditions from New Zealand History of the New Zealand outlying islands New Zealand and the Antarctic Subantarctic expeditions