Disappointment Island
Disappointment Island is one of seven uninhabited islands in the Auckland Islands archipelago, in New Zealand. It is 475 kilometres (295 mi) south of the country's main South Island and 8 kilometres (5 mi) from the northwest end of Auckland Island. It is home to a large colony of white-capped albatrosses: about 65,000 pairs – nearly the entire world's population – nest there.[1] Also on the island is the Auckland rail, endemic to the archipelago; once thought to be extinct, it was rediscovered in 1966.[2]
 A photo taken of the island in 1909. | |
 Position of the Auckland Islands relative to New Zealand and other outlying islands | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°36.25′S 165°58.38′E |
| Archipelago | Auckland Islands |
| Area | 3.0 km2 (1.2 sq mi) |
| Length | 3.35 km (2.082 mi) |
| Width | 1.53 km (0.951 mi) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
| Pop. density | 0/km2 (0/sq mi) |
History
On 7 March 1907, the Dundonald, a steel, four-masted barque, sank after running ashore on the west side of Disappointment Island. Twelve men drowned and sixteen survivors waited seven months for rescue.[3] They survived on supplies from the castaway depot on Auckland Island. The island was visited by a scientific expedition in November 1907.[4]
Etymology
The etymology of Disappointment Island is unclear; however, the naming of islands that lacked resources—such as the Disappointment Islands—may have been a contributing factor in its naming.[5] Or, indeed, the occurrence of frequent shipwrecks.[6]
Important Bird Area
The island is part of the Auckland Island group Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because of the significance of the group as a breeding site for several species of seabirds as well as the endemic Auckland shag, Auckland teal, Auckland rail, and Auckland snipe.[7]
See also
- Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
- Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
- New Zealand subantarctic islands
- List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
- List of islands of New Zealand
- List of islands
- Desert island
References
- BBC – Science and Nature Archived 5 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine.
- Auckland Islands Rail.
- Wrecked on the Auckland Islands in 1907.
- Cockayne, L. (3 December 1907), "Disappointment Island. A new field. The first scientific visitors. Animals and plants on the island.", The Lyttelton Times, retrieved 20 August 2020
- Evans, Andrew. "A journey to the Disappointment Islands". BBC. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- Kaushik. "The World's Most Depressing Place Names". Amusing Planet. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Auckland Islands. Downloaded from "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) on 2012-01-23.