THE VASCULAR FLORA OF MACQUARIE ISLAND.—CHEESEMAN. 
7 
There is no harbour, or even moderately sheltered bay, although several anchorages 
can be used on the eastern, or lee side of the island, from which, in ordinary weather, 
landing can be effected without much trouble. On the western shore an almost con¬ 
tinuous swell constantly breaks, and even in the finest weather landing is a difficult 
if not a dangerous matter. It can hardly be said that there is any fiat land near the 
coast, save on the north-west side, where a broad belt of raised beach exists, forming 
a peaty and swampy stretch, on which are numerous small lakelets. Elsewhere the 
beach is composed of huge waterworn boulders, or loose gravel or shingle, amongst 
which the streams coming down from the hills often lose themselves. 
Within a comparatively short distance from the shore, both on the eastern and 
western sides of the island, the shore plunges abruptly into deep water, a sounding of 
over 2,000 fathoms having been obtained from the “ Aurora ” at a distance of only 
8 miles. In fact, the soundings taken during the various cruises of the expedition show 
that on all sides, and for considerable distances, the ocean has a depth varying from 
2,000 to 2,500 fathoms. It is not until within 200 miles of the Antarctic Continent 
that much shallower water is met with. These soundings have definitely proved that 
Macquarie Island has no connection with the shallow plateau that joins New Zealand 
with the Auckland and Campbell Islands, over which the average depth does not exceed 
400 fathoms. The significance of this fact will appear when we come to discuss the origin 
and history of the Macquarie Island florula. 
As it is hoped that a report on the geology of Macquarie Island will shortly appear, 
it is not necessary, for the purposes of this memoir, to do more than direct attention 
to two salient facts. First, that the geological structure of the island is purely volcanic, 
and that no rocks were collected by the expedition except those of volcanic origin. 
Secondly, that within comparatively recent times, the whole island has been over-ridden 
by an ice-sheet travelling from west to east. Previous writers, influenced by the 
descriptions of the physical features of the island given by Dr. Scott and Mr. A. Hamilton, 
had surmised that it had been heavily glaciated within a recent period, and possibly 
covered by a continuous ice-sheet. It is therefore satisfactory to find that the observa¬ 
tions made and data obtained by the Mawson Expedition have proved the correctness 
of this view. How far it affects the history of the vegetation will appear later on. 
The climate of Macquarie Island largely governs the character of its vegetation, 
and must be taken into account in any inquiry that may be made into its history and 
origin. I must therefore express my thanks to Mr. H. N. Hunt, Commonwealth 
Meteorologist, for supplying me with various weather statistics taken on the island 
for the years 1912 to 1915. Part of these are from the register kept by Mr. Ainsworth, of 
the Mawson Expedition, the remainder are from records obtained by two Commonwealth 
observers, who resided on the island during the years 1914 and 1915. From these I 
have extracted the following table, showing the temperature, velocity of the wind, and 
the rainfall. 
