Disappointment Island

Not to be confused with Disappointment Islands.

Disappointment Island

Position relative to New Zealand and other outlying islands
Geography
Coordinates	50°36.25′S 165°58.38′E / 50.60417°S 165.973°E / -50.60417; 165.973
Archipelago	Auckland Islands
Country
New Zealand
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

Disappointment Island (50°36.25′S 165°58.38′E / 50.60417°S 165.973°E / -50.60417; 165.973) is one of seven uninhabited islands of the archipelago Auckland Islands. It is 5 miles (8 km) from the north-west end of Auckland Island and 180 miles (290 km) south of New Zealand. It is home to the White-capped Albatross. About 65,000 pairs - nearly the entire world population - nest on Disappointment Island.^[1] Endemic to the island is the Auckland Rail, once thought to have been extinct, but rediscovered in 1966.^[2]

On 14 May 1866, the General Grant, a full-rigged ship of 1,103 tons, crashed into the towering cliffs on the west coast of Auckland Island. Sixty-eight passengers died. There were fifteen survivors who made their way to Disappointment Island, where they waited eighteen months for rescue.^[3]

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. There were sixteen survivors who waited seven months for rescue.^[4] They survived on supplies gained from the castaway depot on Auckland Island.

See also

• Composite Antarctic Gazetteer
• List of sub-Antarctic islands
• List of islands of New Zealand
• New Zealand sub-antarctic islands
• SCAR
• Territorial claims in Antarctica

References

1. ^ BBC - Science and Nature.
2. ^ Auckland Islands Rail.
3. ^ GOLD, SUNKEN. 'from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 18 September 2007.
4. ^ Wrecked on the Auckland Islands in 1907.