Campbell Island

From Freepedia

For Campbell Island (located at 52°07′ N 128°12′ W) in British Columbia, Canada, see Campbell Island (British Columbia)

Campbell Island is a remote, sub-antarctic island of New Zealand and the main island of the Campbell Island group. Campbell Island is located at 52°32.4′ S 169°8.7′ E. 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 barren and rocky, 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 Sidney-based company Campbell & Co. (therefore the island's name). It became a seal hunting base, and the island's seal population was almost totally eradicated.

Until 1995 a meteorological station near the north shore of Perseverance Harbour was manned permanently. Today, human presence is limited to periodical visits of research and conservation expeditions.

In 2003 the island was declared rat free. [1] This was carried out to allow the bird life to recover without predation by the rats.