Macquarie Island

In his planning for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) Douglas Mawson included a base on Macquarie Island. Situated about 850 miles (approximately 1,370 kilometres) south of Hobart and about halfway to Antarctica it was a good site for a wireless relay station.

The AAE arrived at Macquarie on11 December 1911, assisted in erecting some accommodation and the wireless masts and left five men on the island before continuing on to the Antarctic continent to establish the main base and a western base. George Ainsworth (meteorologist) was the leader of the small group of men on Macquarie Island. The group also included Leslie Blake, cartographer and geologist; Harold Hamilton, biologist; Charles Sandell, wireless operator and mechanic and Arthur Sawyer, wireless operator.

The base was established on a narrow spit at the northern end of the island; this provided the best anchorage for the off-loading of supplies. The masts for the wireless were erected on the hill at the northern end of the spit.

Despite strong winds, which damaged the wireless masts and necessitated almost continuous repairs, contact was eventually established with ships approaching Australia and even with Fiji. Wireless communication from Mawson's base at Commonwealth Bay was sporadic at best due to the extreme conditions there. Later nightly communication would be set up with the meteorology office in Wellington giving details of Macquarie Island weather which was of assistance in predicting New Zealand daily forecasts.

There was, however, much to occupy the men. Ainsworth established his meteorological screens and began recording weather conditions. Blake began his survey of the island and was assisted by Hamilton, who was able to collection specimens and record the flora and fauna at the same time. With the assistance of a small party of sealers still operating on the island they also began gathering some of the history of the island in the way of shipwrecks and survivors.

Macquarie Island had been discovered in 1810 by Captain Hasselborough in the ship Perseverance. He was employed by Campbell and Sons of Sydney and was looking for sealing grounds. Indiscriminate slaughter of fur seals followed and, subsequently, of penguins which were rendered down for their oil. The island was visited by a number of explorers en route to the Antarctic and small collections taken: Thaddeus Bellinghausen in 1821; Charles Wilkes in 1840; Captain Scott in 1901 and Captain Davis from Shackleton's Nimrod expedition in 1909.

The AAE would, however, make the first detailed study of the island's geology, biology and meteorology and a survey. The rugged terrain, exposed conditions and the weather hampered work but the men persisted. Evidence of glacial and volcanic activity was found and three earthquakes were experienced. The southern end of the island was shown to be considerably different from the existing charts. Boots were worn out in the conditions which involved much tramping through boggy country. The Aurora, under Captain Davis's command, took soundings around the island and these disclosed that the land falls away rapidly with a depth of 2,000 fathoms (12,000 feet or 6,650 metres) just eight miles from the east coast.

Following the AAE Mawson lobbied for Macquarie Island to be made a wildlife sanctuary. This eventuated in 1933, and in 1997 the island was granted World Heritage status. In 1948 ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions) established a base on the island which has been maintained continuously since then.

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