Chapman. — On the Islands south of New Zealand. 497 



Enderby Island on the extreme north, Boss Island on the 

 west, Ewing Island on the east, and Ocean Island within the 

 harbour. With the smaller islands, these three i^artly close 

 the mouth of a deep inlet called Laurie Harbour, or more com- 

 monly Port Koss. It is completely sheltered, and the islands 

 which shut it in leave a magnificent ship-entrance on the 

 eastern or sheltered side, with smaller entrances for smaller 

 vessels. These small islands are all flat, rough, and scrubby. 

 I landed ou Eoss Island and Ewing Island, and others visited 

 Enderby Island, but there was not time to cross it and visit 

 the scene of the wreck of the " Derry Castle." To continue 

 the general description of the group, the main island is the 

 same shape as the group — viz., a triangle. The base of the 

 larger triangle is Adam's Island, a long island running from 

 east to west along the south side of the group, shutting in 

 Carnley Harbour, which cuts right into the heart of the main 

 island. Adam's Island is high land, being a ridge 2,000ft. 

 above the sea, and occasionally higher. The main island is 

 very rugged, and has peaks said to rise up to l,60pft. or 

 1,800ft., but I think probably higher. In the whole group 

 there are no less than ten fine harbours, one of which, Carnley 

 Harbour, in the south, with its main entrance in the east, is 

 divided into three branches, and would shelter all the Queen's 

 ships at once. Port Koss was called, I think, by Dumont 

 d'Urviile the first harbour in the world. Carnley Harbour is 

 in no way inferior, and is vastly larger. 



A map of the islands, reduced from the Admiralty chart 

 planned by the officers of H.M.S. "Blanche" in 1870, is 

 attached to this paper (PI. XLYI.) ; and, by permission of 

 the Director of the Geological Sm-vey, I am able to give a 

 number of excellent illustrations of the coast scenery of the 

 group, which were lithographed some years ago by Mr. John 

 Buchanan, F.L.S., formerly draughtsman to the Geological 

 Survey Department (PI. XLVII.-XLIX.). 



Our course before entering Port Eoss took us close past 

 the Derry Castle Eeef, the extreme north point of the 

 island, on which a ship of that name went to pieces in March, 

 1887. A few survivors dragged their way through the brush- 

 wood to the side nearest the harbour, and there spent five 

 months, until, finding an old axe-head, they made a punt, with 

 which they reached the depot, which lay in sight five miles 

 off. They might have got there sooner had they used the 

 skins of the numerous sea-lions to make a boat. We could 

 see numbers of them on a sandy beach as we neared the 

 entrance. 



Passing through the fine eastern entrance, we anchored off 

 Ross Island, also a flat piece of peaty land about a mile and a 

 half each way. Here Captain Fairchild introduced us to the 

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