CAMPBELL ISLAND 



261 



Sill pi iMiigij large and beautiful flowers grow on Campbell Island, especially species of 

 CompositeB. Very striking is Pleurophyllum speciosum; tall stems, rising from enormous 

 leaves, bear up to a score of flower heads. 



Elephant seals are widely distributed throughout the circumpolar, sub- 

 Antarctic region. Along with whales, they have been hunted for centuries 

 on account of their blubber, as fitting out ships was more profitable than 

 growing oleaginous plants. But on Campbell Island they were rare, when 

 they occurred at all, and the present stock of a couple of thousand is a 

 fine example of the results of protection. In 1916, Tasmania began to 

 protect the heavily reduced stock on the Macquarie Islands, some 400 

 kilometres south-west of Campbell Island. In the course of these 35 years 

 the number has grown rapidly, and it is believed to be the surplus popula- 

 tion from there which has settled on Campbell Island. 



You notice them as soon as you enter Perseverance Harbour. Some lie 

 like shapeless lumps beneath the extensive ledges of rock formed by the 

 erosion of the sea, others resemble wet boulders among sea-shore rocks 

 smoothed and rounded by the sea, while others again are camouflaged 

 so as to resemble sea-serpents among the tangle of brown algae growing 

 some 5 — 10 metres long on the shores. But most of them seem to be on 

 the banks of the inner sound. Through field glasses they can be seen lying 

 close together, partly concealed among the tussocks. 



