Discover

'Campbell Island' (''Motu Ihupuku'') is a remote, sub-Antarctic island of New Zealand and the main island of the Campbell Island group. Campbell Island is located at . Campbell Island covers 115 km² and is surrounded by numerous stacks, rocks and islets like Dent Island, Folly Island (or Folly Islands) and Jacquemart Island, the latter being the southernmost extremity of New Zealand. Campbell Island is mountainous, rising to over 500 metres in the south. A long fiord, Perseverance Harbour, nearly bisects the island, exiting to the sea on the east coast.
Campbell Island was discovered in 1810 by Captain Frederick Hasselburgh and his sealing brig ''Perseverance'', which was owned by the Sydney-based company Campbell & Co. (thence the island's name). It became a seal hunting base, and the island's seal population was almost totally eradicated.
During World War II a coast guard station was operative at Tucker Cove at the north shore of Perseverance Harbour. After the end of the war, the facilities were used as a meteorological station until 1958, when a new station was established at Beeman Cove, just a few hundred meters further east of the old station. This station was manned permanently until 1995 when a fully automatic station was established. Today, human presence is limited to periodical visits of research and conservation expeditions.
In 2001 brown rats (Norway rats) were eradicated from the island 200 years after they were introduced. This was the world's largest rat eradication. The island's rat-free status was confirmed in 2003. [1] Since the eradication, vegetation and invertebrates have been recovering, seabirds have been returning and the Campbell Island Teal, the world's rarest duck, has been reintroduced. [2] Other native landbirds include the New Zealand Pipit and the Campbell Snipe, a race or species of New Zealand snipe only discovered in 1997 and as yet undescribed. The snipe had survived on Jacquemart Island and began recolonising the islands after the rats had been removed.

Contents

Gallery

See also

External links

Gallery

See also

★ Campbell Island Teal

★ Megaherbs

★ Campbell Island group

★ New Zealand sub-antarctic islands

★ List of antarctic and sub-antarctic islands

External links

★ Map of Campbell Island with several surrounding islets, including Jacquemart Island lying south of the main island and Dent island lying northwest of the main island

★ Long description of Campbell Island and especially its history

★ Short description of Campbell Island with a picture

★ Picture of a Southern royal albatross nesting with a chick on Campbell Island with Dent Island in the background

★ Picture of Perseverance Harbor, Campbell Island

★ Picture of Campbell Island

★ Picture of Campbell Island

★ Picture of Campbell Island

★ Picture of the vegetation on Campbell Island

★ Picture of the vegetation on Campbell Island

★ Picture of Campbell Island

★ Picture of Campbell Island

★ 2 Pictures of Campbell Island (very slow connection)