ON THE WAY TO THE SUMMIT. THE APOSTLE AND MT. ROWETT BEHIND
Photo: Dr. Macklin
THE GLEN ANCHORAGE FROM THE HIGHER SLOPES
In 1811 it was sighted by H.M.S. Nereus under Captain Heywood. He effected a landing, described as being safe and easy, and discovered the remains of two huts which apparently had been set up some time previously by sealers. The height of the summit of the island was estimated by him at 4,380 feet. American sealers landed in 1825 but soon left. Morrell visited it in the Antarctic in 1829, and came to anchor in twelve to fourteen fathoms in a cove on the north side, where he was able to water his ship. H.M.S. Royalist arrived in 1887, and a survey was carried out by Lieut. J. P. Rolleston from which the Admiralty Chart (2228) was made. Towards the end of the same year an American schooner, Francis Alleyn, left a party of five sealers for six months who met, however, with little success. Amongst them was George Comer who kept a diary. He seems to have been a keen observer very interested in natural history, and his diary contains a complete daily record of weather conditions during his stay. One of the party was frozen to death whilst attempting to cross over the island, and his grave was marked by a board bearing the inscription, “José Gomez perished in the snow.” Another sealer, the Wild Rose, visited the island at the beginning of 1891 and landed a party which remained for about a year. They had little luck in the sealing. A harbour known as Snug Harbour is described by one of them as being situated at the southern end of the island lying between two large rocks known as Castle and Battery Rocks, suitable, however, only for small vessels and boats. Landing is said to be not difficult, and the higher ground easily accessible at this point.
On only one occasion previous to our arrival had scientific investigators landed: in 1904 Dr. Bruce and members of the staff of the Scotia succeeded in effecting a landing. They were ashore for one day only, and bad weather and the necessity of “standing by” for a sudden recall prevented their going far afield. Nevertheless they made full use of their time and succeeded in collecting a number of new specimens of both animal and plant life. Accounts had shown the island to be difficult of access, but I was particularly anxious to allow the naturalist and geologist with their assistants as many chances as possible for the collection of specimens and the examination of its natural features. This being mid-winter I feared that weather conditions might not be altogether propitious.
We passed along the coast, keeping a close look out for an anchorage for the ship and good landing-places for the boats. Through binoculars we saw that the island was covered with vegetation, of which tussock grass, tree ferns and island trees were the most distinguishable. In most places the land rose steeply from the sea, and down the face of the cliffs numerous waterfalls, long and thin, resembling mare’s tails, fell in long cascades. Every now and then they had the appearance of being cut abruptly in half, the wind in strong gusts catching the lower portions and blowing them away in fine, almost invisible, spray. The rocky outline of the island was marked with numerous caves and chasms, and striking features of its formation were pinnacles which stood up distinct, bold in outline, some smooth and tapering, others jagged and irregular. Steep rocky islands, sharply cut off from the shore and separated from it by narrow channels, rose sheer and straight from the sea, some bare, some crowned with a mass of vegetation, most of them so steep as to be quite inaccessible.
Of bird life we saw very little as we passed along the coast. A few sea-hens flew out at our approach, while here and there on the rocks, usually near the entrance to some cave, we could distinguish the white bodies of terns.
We rounded in turn West Cape, South West Cape, South Cape and South East Cape. Snug Harbour on the east side of South West Cape much belies its name, for “snug” it is not. Indeed, it can hardly be said that there is a harbour there at all. Although it offers a lee and a useful anchorage during high westerly winds, with no swell from south or west, to obtain any real shelter it is necessary to lie very close in to the shore, closer than is safe for any but the smallest of craft. As we passed there was a heavy swell and strong surf which made it quite unsuitable.