The Nimrod Islands were a group of islands first reported in 1828 by Captain Eilbeck of the ship ''Nimrod'' while sailing from

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ...

around

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

. Their reported location was east of Emerald Island and west of

Dougherty Island Dougherty is the name of a phantom island that was believed to be located in the extreme south of the Pacific Ocean, roughly halfway between Cape Horn and New Zealand. It is named for Captain Dougherty of the ''James Stewart'', an English whaler, ...

, at approximately . They are now considered

phantom islands A phantom island is a purported island which was included on maps for a period of time, but was later found not to exist. They usually originate from the reports of early sailors exploring new regions, and are commonly the result of navigati ...

. The explorer

John Biscoe John Biscoe (28 April 1794 – 1843) was an English mariner and explorer who commanded the first expedition known to have sighted the areas named Enderby Land and Graham Land along the coast of Antarctica. The expedition also found a number of is ...

in the brig ''Tula'' searched for the Nimrod Group without success in 1831 during the

Southern Ocean Expedition The Southern Ocean Expedition (1830–1833) was an expedition to Antarctica. Background In 1830, the English whaling company Samuel Enderby & Sons appointed John Biscoe master of the brig ''Tula'' and leader of an expedition to find new seal-hunt ...

John King Davis John King Davis (19 February 1884 – 8 May 1967) was an English-born Australian explorer and navigator notable for his work captaining exploration ships in Antarctic waters as well as for establishing meteorological stations on Macquar ...

, sailing aboard a different ''

Nimrod Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...

'', searched the location in June 1909 following Shackleton's famous

Nimrod Expedition The ''Nimrod'' Expedition of 1907–1909, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, was the first of three successful expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton and his second expedition to the Antarctic. Its main target, ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

, and the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

vessel ''Norvegia'' outfitted by

Lars Christensen Lars Christensen (6 April 1884 – 10 December 1965) was a Norwegian shipowner and whaling magnate. He was also a philanthropist with a keen interest in the exploration of Antarctica. Career Lars Christensen was born at Sandar in Vestfold, No ...

searched again in 1930; both expeditions reported empty seas. Captain J.P. Ault of the magnetic survey vessel '' Carnegie'' attempted to approach the location in December 1915 but was deterred by weather.

References

{{reflist Phantom subantarctic islands

See also

References