CAMPBELL ISLAND.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 9204, 22 July 1901, Page 3

CAMPBELL ISLAND.

THE HOME OF THE ALBATROSS. H.M.S. Archer returned to Wellington last' Thursday from Campbell Island. She was at the island on the 10th inst., and delivered the stores shipped by her from Lyttelton to Mr Gordon and party. Mr Gordon appears to be very pleased with the progress of matters there. He says the sheep have thriven uncommonly, and the mortality is under a dozen, except among the Lincoln rams, of which five out of 25 sent have died. The party on the island had run short,, of flour, sugar, and tobacco, and were reduced to smoking dried dock leaves. They have now plenty of all those things, and from the tone of their letters seem to be in very cheerful spirits. Mr Gordon says they have had several falls of snow ; on one "occasion five inches fell, but it thawed before long. In January rain fell on eight days, February fourteen days, March eighteen days, April twenty-four days, May twenty-one days, June twenty days ; but the rain is usually light showers and sleet, quite the opposite of tropical rains. They have explored the northern part of the island, and find it quite answers expectations. A deposit of pure hematite has been found, which they are using for painting the woolshed, which has been enlarged, so as to contain a season's shearing. A few more rough sheep have turned up. Neither seals nor sealers have yet put in an appearance. Their fences are sod walls, about 2ft 6in high, with three wires run along the top. The men have been living lately on young albatross, which are now very fat and about five months old. They live on land near the top of the hills, being fed by their parents daily. They are now covered 1 with down, and are just little balls of white fluff. The albatross lays one egg only, about December ; this is hatched out by both parents, sitting alternately day and day about' for about two months, and the young remain on land until about November, when they are taken out to sea by their parents and set to shift for themselves; and the parents then devote themselves to hatching out another egg. At this slow lute of increase, there is no chance- of the country being overrun by albatrosses. The only land birds found v on the island are the little blight bird (or white eye), the green linnet, the ground lark, and, perhaps, the thrush ; the latter has not yet been seen, but it is said its song has been heard.