CAMPBELL-RAOUL ISLA'NDS' ASSOCIATION (INC.)
NEWSLETTER NO.10 MARCH 1971
Association Officers 1970-71
Patron
Air Vice Marshall A.H. Marsh C.B.E
President
Peter Ingram
| Secretary | Treasurer | |
| Richard Lovegrove | John Caskey | |
| Committee | Honorary Members | |
| Ed de Ste Croix | M. Butterton | |
| Tony Bromley | H. Carter | |
| Robin Foubister | H. Hill | |
| Tom Taylor | I. Kerr | |
| Ian Bailey | C. Taylor | |
| Dave Thorp | ||
| Dave Leslie | ||
| Ralph Hayes | ||
| Bob Rae |
THE PRESIDENT NOTES THAT: THE SECOND PHASE: -
in the upgrading of the Newsletter is now due after the subject came under discussion at the last committee meeting, The names must topple from the title page, and in future, the newsletter following the A.G.M. will show who these fellows are, with a list somewhere within. This area on the title page will be replaced by something artistically tasteful in modern and decorative lettering. Beneath this heading would come the 'cover photograph' with short caption and photo credit.
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THE GENTLE ART OF PHOTOGRAPHY -
Can reach extraordinary levels with the dedicated amateur in the field. Being more to the point, just what did you do with all those first class black and white shots you took out on the islands? The committee would be grateful to receive copies of these nostalgic scenes (Jumbo size is ideal) for inclusion within the newsletters. Points to remember for would be contributors; photos must contain good and clean contrast for reproduction; plenty of information concerning the occasion written on a separate sheet of paper so as not to damage photo surface; and unless otherwise instructed, the committee will hold each photo afterwards for Association records, Thanks to Les Attwood of Auckland for setting the ball rolling with his outdoor shots of Campbell Island.
'UNFORTUNATELY' -
the prefix 'un' was attached to the adverb 'fortunately', half way down page 6 in my historical article of the last newsletter. Just a small typist's error which was enough for me to condone the cruelty of the Peruvian Government's enslavement policy of 1861. The project was as ghastly as that experienced by the negroes of the African continent in the previous century and which is still a source of shame in man today.
AN AMAZING HISTORICAL DISCOVERY -
is still possible on either island, should expedition members not be deterred by the undergrowth on or near sites of earlier settlements. We would certainly not encourage excavations similar to those carried out by archaeologists in the Old World, but interesting objects from the past must still be lying around. Past expedition members may be even more invaluable by locating clues and uncovering historical facts in newspapers, periodicals or books that they chance to read. Whatever it may be - please let us know about it too.
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ON THINGS HISTORICAL
The following article is from Ian Kerr's History of Campbell Island
and deals most fully with the legend of the Lady of the Heather.
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In October 1891, Mr Robert Carrick was a passenger in the Government steamer Hinemoa on one of her southern cruises. On his return, Mr Carrick wrote an account of the trip and the islands entitled 'New Zealand's Lone Lands' and, in the section on Campbell Island, devoted much space to what he called, "a romantic if not a stirring episode has been manufactured in connection with this place," Mr H. Armstrong who visited the island in 1868 in the “Amberst” was said to have discovered several graves including that of a Frenchwoman. Since then, Carrick said, there had been much speculation as to who the Frenchwoman was and a distinct narrative which he went on to give "for what it is worth," had evolved.
Here is the story told by Carrick:
"Although a Frenchwoman by birth, she was a Scotswoman by extraction, being the daughter of one Meg Wilkinshaw and 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' of '45 celebrity. This Meg Wilkinshaw, it is known, attracted attentions at the hands of the illfated Prince during the memorable festivities which took place at Holyrood both before and after his battle at Prestonpans. It is also known that, after he returned to France, Miss Wilkinshaw was induced to follow him. His associations with the lady occasioned complications between him and the remnant of the Jacobite party, the latter having reason to think he was in communication with the Government, and acted as a spy on their movements. Charles Edward, however, disbelieved the reports, and maintained relations with her until her death. She left a daughter, who assumed the place in her father's regards theretofore occupied by the mother. The suspicions attaching to the mother now fell on the daughter, and, in order to get rid of her, the Jacobites entered into a plot for carrying her out of the country. A seaman named Stewart is next brought upon the scene. He is first heard of in New Zealand history as discoverer of the fact that Stewart Island - named after him - was separate and distinct, and not an integral part of the South Island. Stewart made it his boast that he had drunk burgundy and been otherwise upon familiar terms with the Prince and his immediate followers.
Now for the denouncement to these details. Acting in the interests of his party, Stewart carried off Miss Wilkinshaw, and brought her in his ship on a buccaneering cruise to the South Seas. Arriving there he lost his ship, took up his quarters on the coast of New Zealand, where he distinguished himself as a discoverer, as already recorded. Having lost his ship, Mr Stewart next set himself to the task of losing Miss Wilkinshaw, and this he accomplished by making her over to a brother tar of his own type, who took her away to Campbell Island, where she died and was buried.
That is the story as told, and, as it fits in with certain scraps in authentic history, and the 'Frenchwoman's' Grave is still to be seen, the narrative, as given, had better be taken and not shaken."
The narrator was at pains to cast doubts on the authenticity of the story although the inconsistencies in it are sufficient to cast more than doubt. At the same time he implied that it had grown gradually in the manner of a legend, from one simple, supposed truth. It is, however, highly likely that the story as given was in its entirety Carrick's own invention. In the first place, Armstrong did not record finding a Frenchwoman’s grave although he may have said so in conversation to Carrick. In his official report, Armstrong did not mention graves at all but, in an article written for "The Leisure Hour" twenty years later he said that be had found six shallow graves and the skeleton of a man nearby. There was no suggestion that one of the graves was that of a Frenchwoman. It was, of course, Sir James Clark Ross who reported finding her grave in 1840. Secondly, it is surprising that nothing of this subject about which speculation was supposed to have been so rife had previously appeared in print. Thirdly, Carrick is known to have been a lover of romantic, dramatic or melodramatic tales and to have had no qualms about inventing them to fill gaps in our factual knowledge of events. The last statement can be proved.
In 1907, Carrick wrote a letter to the Otago Daily Times in which he gave the name and 'true' history of the woman's grave. He had become aware that the Jacobite story would not hold water because Miss Wilkinshaw's daughter by Prince Charlie died in 1789 and Stewart did not come to the New Zealand scene until early in the nineteenth century. The woman, said Carrick, was Elizabeth Parr (Farr) who was drowned when Hasselburgh's boat overturned. This can be accepted as a possibility if we supposed that Ross made a mistake in saying that the grave was that of a Frenchwoman, but Carrick had to elaborate. He related that the Curator of the Hobart Museum had placed at his disposal a manuscript copy of the diary of a Guard Officer, which contained a very complete history of Norfolk Island as a convict settlement. Among other items of information, he found a highly interesting account of the young woman. The letter went on to give her history at some length. Diverting though it is, it is not relevant here. What is relevant is that in 1952 the Reference Librarian of the Turnbull Library wrote to the Hobart Museum inquiring about the manuscript to which Carrick referred, The reply was that nothing was known of any such manuscript, nor of any correspondence with Carrick.
Another instance of Carrick 1 s penchant for yarn-spinning is to be found in an article in the Otago Daily Times and Witness in November 1898. In this article he told of a report written by Hasselburgh on 10 August 1810 while at Easy Bay, Stewart Island and sent to his employers by another of the firm's ships. The report announced the discovery of Campbell Island and told how the discovery had been made. It appears that the island and the course to steer to reach it were revealed to Hasselburgh in a dream. We now know that Campbell and Co. must have known of Hasselburgh's discovery in April 1810 and that on 10 August he was five days out of Sydney on his return direct from Macquarie Island. The Easy Bay report was obviously a figment of the imagination.
Holding the same view of the origin of the story, a contributor to the columns of the Dominion in May 1950 claimed to have known Carrick and to have been with him when he received a cheque for a magazine article. This article was our Jacobite story and Carrick was reported to have derived great satisfaction from the fact that he had been paid for a journalistic hoax.
In April 1905. Mr M. Fraser, was among the Hinemoa's passengers when she made one of her southern cruises and, according to the account which he wrote for The Red Funnel, much of the passengers' time at Campbell Island was devoted to looking for signs of the lady's sojourn on the island, The crumbled down peat sod walls of a hut and the remains of its fireplace were found, and also winding down to the shore, a path covered with "crystal pebbles and small, water-worn, flat stones. There would be no mistaking this as the work of a woman with much time on her hands". Nearby, Mr Fraser and Mr Duncan found an open space, which they took to be a grave. It was covered with heather. Whalers and sealers were reported to have seen the exile roaming the hillsides clad in Royal Stuart Tartan and a glengarry with a sprig of heather.
The hut and the path certainly existed; Captain Bollons said that he seen them forty years before but the path was now (1924) overgrown. The windows of the hut boasted lace curtains according to one account. The heather was also there. A piece was brought back as late as 1950, but in 1953, the Hon. T.L. McDonald was able to find only one small plant struggling for existence. These facts do not, of course, prove that an exiled woman lived alone on the island; the path, the curtains and the heather do not even prove the presence of a woman, although women not infrequently accompanied the sealers and whalers. All that is to be seen of the hut today is a remnant of the fireplace.
From time to time other details have been added to the story and other versions given. For example, in one the woman was Flora McDonald; in another, sealers found the body of the woman, dead from starvation, in the hut a year after she had been left there. The originator of the latter variation quite forgot that the germ of the legend lay in the report of the existence of the grave of a woman who had been drowned in the harbour. Unfortunately, those who have attempted to discredit the tale have not always been too accurate in their own assertions. A suggestion that has appeared several times in print, was that confusion had arisen because a woman was drowned in the harbour in 1810 and a Frenchman died there in 1874; that the adjective "French" has been transferred to the woman. Since Ross's statement was published in 1847, many years before the Frenchman's death, the absurdity of the suggestion is patent.
The culmination was Will Lawson's romantic novel, "The Lady of the Heather", published about 1945. It was averred, however, that the novel was based on fact, the fact that a woman was marooned, lived and died on Campbell Island about the third decade of the last century. The article in the Dominion asserting that Carrick was responsible for the legend was seen by Mr Lawson and drew a reply from him. After quoting from the foreword of the novel, he adds the following information. "When I was in Hobart in 1936 …… I met Captain William McKillop, a New Zealander who had spent a lifetime whaling, a fine gentlemanly man and a famous whaler. He told me he knew men well who had seen this woman but she was dead when he first went there - and when he died ten years ago he was 77, so that the legend originated long before Carrick ever visited Campbell Island." This was written in 1950, so a little arithmetic shows that Captain McKillop would have been about 28 when Carrick visited Campbell Island. Since, at over 70, the Captain could hardly be expected to remember exactly when he first heard the tales of his fellow-whalers, Mr Lawson's last statement is hardly justified. Will Lawson's letter went on to say that there were two graves, one near the hut and the other on the hillside. "The daughter of the Captain of the Perseverance …….. was drowned at sea and taken to the island to be buried. When the grave at the hut was opened some years ago, silver jewellery, including a crucifix, was found. This may have belonged to the Captain 1 s daughter or the Lady of the Heather ......" There is no confirmation of the opening of a grave.
It is too much to expect that this fairly full discussion of the history of the legend will put a stop to the idea that it has a substantial basis of fact, but the foregoing mixture of facts, unsubstantiated statements, improbabilities, conflicting and erroneous statements should convince all but the most romantic that it has not.
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A BOOK REVIEW
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"The Lady of the Heather" - by Will Lawson
Published Angtns & Robertson (1945)
So it was all a myth, a legend from the previous century and the sighing in the tussock must merely have been an asthmatic seal elephant over the hill. At least author Lawson does state that his effort is a novel, but the few facts on Campbell Island are seriously in error and his Victorian prose is all but suffocating after 160 wasted pages.
One is borne away on an incredible Cook's Tour in the very first page, where Marie Armand, Our Lady of the Heather, paces the sand of North-West Harbour as she looks across the waters of Perseverance Inlet to the high rocks above Monumental Harbour - no mean feat. Nor should the reader lose his way as he is forced to run through the tea-tree and around the base of the black cliffs which tower above him.
His 'rough' seamen are kindly, shy and well mannered creatures and a crisis is narrowly averted in a later chapter: "A dull anger glowed in her heart; if it had not been this kindly captain to whom she spoke, she would have been rude." Alores - such wickedness of heart might well have soiled our image of this fragile goddess.
All is not lost however, if one progresses no further than the flyleaf, where a simple but picturesque extract from a poem by Henry Kendall appears:
Down in the South, by the waste without sail on it -
Far from the zone of the blossom and tree -
Lieth, with winter and whirlwind and wail on it -
Ghost of a land by the ghost of a sea.
Wild is the cry of the sea in the caves by it -
Sea that is smitten by spears of the snow -
Desolate songs are the songs of the waves by it -
Down in the South, where the ships never go.
then close the book and put it back on the shelf.
Footnote:
There never was a North-West Harbour. The author refers to either East Harbour or North-West Bay, the latter a later title for Monumental Harbour, so named due to the structure of Dent Island. The legend does however, correctly revolve around Perserverance Harbour.
Pierre
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After six months of correspondence to various Government Departments, the necessary permission was granted to travel to, land on, and spend nine days on Raoul Island with a three man National Film Unit camera team. With food stores camera equipment, personal gear, and camping equipment stowed below, H.M.N.Z.S. Endeavour edged out from Devonport Naval Base on 16 November, the quarterdeck seemi.ngly populated by more civilians than naval personnel .
Let us take a look at the "Endeavour", our home for a few days, and also our travelling companions.
"Endeavour" is a Patapsco class tanker launched in the United States in 1944. She served in the U.S. Navy as U.S.S. Namakagon and was placed in reserve afte r the war. In 1962 she was brought from reserve and refi tted for Antarctic service, She was renamed Endeavour and commissioned in the Royal New Zealand Navy at San Francisco early in October, before sailing for N.Z, where she arrived late in No'vember 1962. In N.Z, her primary work is to supply Scott Base at McMurdo Sound. She began this work in the summer of 1962/63, with two voyages to the Antarctic.
New Zealand's second Endeavour retains the ship's crest used by the first. This shows a sextant against a background of the Southern Cross. The sextant is symbolic of the exploration and charting carried out by the various Endeavours, while the Southern Cross, besides being embodied in New Zealand's flag, is the constellation which points the way to the great Southern continent.
She has a displacement of 1,850 tons (light), and 4,440 tons fully laden with 80 tons of dry cargo and 500,000 gallons of tank stored fuel. The diesel-electric 3,500 b,h,p. twin screw units provide the 310 foot hull with a rating of 16 knots.
In addition to the normal ship's complement of 6 Officers and 65 ratings, nine midshipmen undergoing navigational training joined the vessel for the voyage. Over and above the ship's company were 17 civilians, from various departments, visiting the Kermadecs for a variety of reasons. A scientific team of six comprising:
Brian Bell: Leader, Internal Affairs, Snr. Conservation Officer.
Dr Gordon Williams: Internal Affairs, Controller, N.Z. Wildlife Service.
John Yaldwyn: Assistant Director, Dominion Museum.
Bill Sykes: Botanist, D.S.I.R. Botany Division.
Bob Simpson: Internal Affairs, Wildlife Trainee.
Wim Speikman: Taxidermist, Dominion Museum.
A National Film Unit Camera Team of five comprising:
Derek Wright : Film Director.
Lynton Diggle: Cameraman.
Brian Shennan: Sound Recordist.
Peter Ingram: Location attachment.
Richard Lovegrove: Location attachmen.
A Forest Service team of two:
Keith Purdon: N.Z. Forest Service, Senior Forest Ranger.
Russ Schofield: N.Z. Forest Service, Forest Ranger.
A Lands and Survey team of two:
George McMillan: Assistant Director, National Parks and Reserves.
John Brent: Lands and Survey, District Admin Officer, Auckland
Inspecting Officers:
Mort Midgeley: Ministry of Works, Mechanical Engineer.
Ted Eadie: Forecaster, Meteorological Service.
Immediately after clearing the harbour a heavy ground swell was encountered in the Hauraki Gulf. The dreaded "mal-de-mer" took its toll, particularly among the Midshipmen. After "life raft station drill" the rest of the day was spent in sorting bedding, and preparing dormitories in the laboratory, passengers' mess, and in the Battery charging compartment.
The familiar 'cape pigeons' took their leave from us duriing the first night out, and the following morning we were greeted by a trio of Wandering Albatross gliding and criss crossing the ship's wake effortlessly, alighting from time to time to scoop up remnants from the galley.
With little to do and the overhead conditions not conducive to sunbathing the day was spent round the card tables, writing Christmas Cards or discussing plans and proposed activities of the various groups. Peter Ingram was able to utilise the resource personnel to obtain information for articles to be published in your future newsletters.
Wednesday morning brought a noticeable increase in the temperature, and French Rock, (L'Esperance) a definite projection on the horizon.
Messrs. Sykes, Bell, Simpson, Yaldwyn, Speikma, and Williams were landed by Endeavour's motor whaler, and spent three hours observing and collecting marine bird, and plant life specimens. Ice-plants were virtually the only form of plant life on French Rock - no wood plants of any description. A starling and an Asiatic Whimbrel were sighted during the brief visit. Whilst everyone satisfied their sharpened appetite the ship proceeded on to Curtis and Cheeseman Islands.
Stores, fresh water, and camping gear were loaded into the motor-whaler, and the six man team left to make landing and camp overnight. Unfortunately the weather was squally, seas moderate, and landing was not possible. The boat returned to the ship, stores were unloaded, and the drenched occupants departed for the showers. By this time, the crew had mastered the launching and retrieving of the motor whaler, and the davit winches were working easily with the frequent use.
During the night the ship steamed due west from the islands on a “course of comfort", then did an about turn shortly after midnight to retrace its course to Curtis and Cheeseman Islands. With a following wind and sea these were the most pleasant cruising conditions experienced in Kermadec waters. The ship was surfing, and for an hour at a time no movement could be detected. The gentle pulsating throb of the twin screws and the high pitched "ping" of the echo-sounder every thirty seconds were like a mother's lullaby.
Thursday morning 19th November found us hove to about a mile off the Stella passage running between Curtis and Cheeseman. Lowering and loading of the boat was carried out in good time and the six man Wildlife team made a successful landing on Curtis Island where they spent three hours. The agile Bill Sykes was the first one to be sighted on the summit through binoculars. Bill was fortunate to have seen Curtis at close quarters in July, 1969, and he confirmed that the island is still very active volcanically. The party was then moved across to Cheeseman Island for the afternoon. Lynton Diggle, apart from being a very proficient cameraman, is also an avid snorkel spearfisherman1 and the "stooging around" in such renowned fishing grounds was too much. Donning wet-suit, flippers and mask he went into the clear blue sea off Cheeseman, and struggled to the surface minutes later with a 45 pound Kingfish impaled on his spear. In rapid succession there followed a 45 pound Bass, a 64 pound Kingfish, a few smaller unusual varieties, then three of the prized "yellow fish" known to all Raoul boys, but never having been caught. The fish is bright yellow, of the Drummer family, measured 16 to 21 inches, and weighed from 4 to pounds. As it is a "weed-feeder" this explained why they had never been hooked previously at Raoul. The specimens were deep-frozen and subsequently presented to Jock Moreland, the Icthyologist at the Dominion Museum. As the Kermadecs fall within New Zealand Lynton may well be able to claim several new records, and could spearhead future private charter launch visits to the southern Kermadec waters. When asked his impressions of fish life that he saw, his comment - "It was orgasmic,"
Another dog-leg course during the night and Friday morning brought us to the familiar plateau of Macauley Island with its glistening white cliff5. The day was spent ferrying the six Wildlife members ashore at Sandy Bay, with their tent, stores, fresh water, radio, and 12 foot dinghy complete with outboard motor. They were to remain here for ten days camped fifteen feet above high water, and sheltered from westerly weather by the one hundred foot plus sheer pumice cliffs less than twenty yards from their tents.
The repetitive west/east course during the hours of darkness brought us well within radar-range of Raoul, but no land could we see. Gradually the grey blanket shrouding the island lifted, and hundreds of porpoise frolicked along side the ship's bows, leading us from Hutchison Bluff to the Fishing Rock anchorage. Nostalgia was written all over the faces of those who had known Raoul more intimately over previous years. Derek Wright's brow was deeply creased in thought, and one could hear him muttering "How the hell are we going to make a story out of this tree-covered rock that will appeal to the public?" The sun succeeded in separating itself from the watery sky as we felt in our hands the security of the cane basket at Fishing Rock, and the inevitable dunking in the briny before swinging in onto the Pacific paradise.
Greetings exchanged, introductions over, we found ourselves at the top of the Foxway with lungs and hearts trying to break free of the confining rib-cages. Oh, to be fit again !
In the following days filming was carried out at Denham Bay, Low Flat, Mount Moumaukai, Trig 5, the farm, Hutchison Bluff, Green Lake, Boat Cove, Fishing Rock, and around the camp, workshops, and Met, Office. Midway through the stay an R.N.Z.A.F. PB3 Orion aircraft carried out an Airdrop of mail and supplies, The National Film Unit kindly loaned copies of their recent productions for screening on the island. The aircraft also carried another Film Unit cameraman to obtain aerial views of the island.
Approximately 7,000 feet of 35 mm Eastman colour film was shot, and the edited version, which will be shown around the cinema circuit, should provide viewers with an excellent insight to the island, its history, the Island Expedition, their work and recreational pursuits.
While the filming was being carried out, the two Forest Service Forest Rangers made trips to D'Arcy Point, Denham Bay, Hutchison Bluff and into the Crater. The purpose of their visit was to ascertain the possibility of eradicating the goats on Raoul Island, the cost involved, the number of hunters required, and how best to tackle the problem.
From the top of Moumoukai one regards with awe the devastation wreaked by the 1964 Raoul eruption. A walk round Green Lake and into the excavated chasm reveals the unpredictable forces of nature required to hurl thousands of yards of rubble into north-western Green Lake. A limited amount of plant regeneration had taken place along "Devastation Ridge" and the northern fiats of Green Lake.
The levels and temperatures of Blue and Green Lakes had fluctuated through the predictable seasonal changes, although the thermal volcanic areas appeared to have become more active over the last twelve months.
The story of the visit to Raoul would be incomplete if some of the highlights were not recorded.
During the course of interior filming one evening, one of the boys produced the Monopoly set, together with bottles of Bacardi, Whisky, Gin, and Beer. The game commenced in orderly fashion but quickly developed into a comedy. While the filming was being carried out the sound recordist was busily taping the rattle of dice and the verbal reactions of players upon descending on the Mayfair Block. Lip-reading experts should have little difficulty filling in the conversation gaps in the film.
The last night was a calm balmy evening and the total population adjourned to a hangi on Low F1at. While most preferred the "conducted trip" on tractor and trailer some attempted to navigate by the stars and rode bicycles through the bush road to· the site of revelry. After many exciting deviations (including riding through the surf) everybody gathered to sample the delicious aroma when the pit was uncovered. Everyone consumed double their normal intake of food, followed by fresh "Maori bread" cooked in the embers, and ice-cream. To over come the lethargy Scottish Dancing under the canopy of pohutukawa commenced, to the accompaniment of Ian Lavin (Met.Observer) on his bag-pipes.
As if enough activity hadn't already been packed into the week, while the "Endeavour" was lying off Fishing Rock, a 72 foot ocean launch ''Hamutana" arrived for a brief visit, with its crew of eleven.
With all personnel on board Endeavour departed on the evening of 30 November. The following morning the party was collected from McAulay Island, and the course set for Auckland where we arrived on Thursday 3 December.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sincere thanks to Ron Craig and members of the 1970/71 Raoul team for their tremendous hospitality and valuable assistance in all phases of the filming. Thanks to the Medical and Administration sections of Ministry of Transport, and the Parks and Reserves section, Lands and Survey, for permission to visit Raoul. Thanks to the R.N.Z.A.F. Maritime Squadron for laying on the "supply drop"and transporting the cameraman for aerial filming sequences.
Our grateful thanks to the Navy Office, Ministry of Defence, for liaison, and to Commander Silk and crew of H.M.N.Z.S. Endeavour To all others not mentioned but whose contributions made the film possible, we thank you.
Richard Lovegrove
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"SNIPS"
H.M.N.Z.S, Endeavour is making a return visit to Raoul Island, departing Auckland 8th April. If anyone has magazines, paperbacks, etc., I'm sure these would be appreciated by the boys.
Mailing Address:
"The Boys on Raoul Island"
Via C.P.O., Auckland.
Mail closing date 5 April.
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The positions of Expedition personnel for Raoul and Campbell Islands for the 1971/72 year were advertised in metropolitan newspapers on Tuesday 23 March. For the interest of Association members the following details apply:
Officers in Charge: $4,316
Mechanics: $3,303
Telecommunications Technician: $3,669
Electronics Technician: $3,669
Cooks: $3,219
Farmer: $3,504
Maintenance Officer: $2,909
Ionosphere Observer: $3,669
Allowances: Campbell Island Raoul Island
Married $1,131 $758
Single $1,012 $638
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The first fifteen days of March brought almost 23" of rain to Raoul. While this is a fair drop, it apparently still falls short of the 28" recorded in one month.
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An attractive lass with shoulder-length hair has been seen round Wellington recently extolling the unspoiled beauty to be seen in the Kermadecs. I believe the girls name was Candy, and she spent a week at Raoul from Christmas to New Year, on the yacht "Maraenui".
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Early Warning - This years film evening will be held at the Kelburn Weather Office, Saturday, 17 July.
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Heard a little story the other day. Two clean-shaven Kiwis travelling from Wellington to Picton on the ferry "Aranui" spent the greater part of the trip glancing surreptitiously at each other. In the end their curiosity got the better of them, and one approached asking if they hadn't met somewhere before. The two guys -Peter Julius and Phil Owens, members of the 1969/70 Campbell Island Expedition, minus their beards.
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Keith Masters (Ministry of Works) on his third visit to Campbell Island, spending two months on electrical inspection of the camp and installations.
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United States Ice Breaker "Burton Island" scheduled to lay on a helicopter mail drop to Raoul Island about 10th March. A strong possibility there could be some mysterious packages for delivery.
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H.M .N.Z.S. Endeavour should be in Perseverance Harbour about the same day the choppers are at Raoul.
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It has been heard on good authority that Mr Muldoon has suggested the closing down of the Met. Stations on Raoul and Campbell, as the Ministry of Transport contribution to reduced Government expenditure for the current fiscal year. This being the case fellas our Association will become a dying race.
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Good representation of ex-Islanders at the Eddie de Ste Croix wedding recently - in fact we were almost outnumbered by the Kelburn clan. Among those seen - Max Butterton, Colin Capper, Peter Ingram, Charles Grbic , Fred Buitenkamp, Dave Leslie, Warwick Fergusson, Ian Johnson, Graeme Smith, and Hera Poppleton (the foster mother to any Islanders residing at, or passing through Tokoroa. Telegrams also received from both islands.
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Editor's apologies for inadvertently omitting the caption for the photograph which appeared in the December newsletter. Picture featured the 1970/71 Raoul team - standing: Ron Dahl, sitting at rear, Ian Lavin; middle row; Bob Adkin, Bob Huck, Bob Taylor, Tony Veitch, Ron Craig; in front, Fred Knewstubb, John Weir.
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A scene at Fishing Rock, Raoul Island, taken about 1949. The vessel at anchor is probably the "Golden Hind". The schooner and rowing boat contrast sharply with the contemporary "Holmburn" and powered surf-boat. Sheep are being brought ashore in the wicker-basket with their legs tied. The trolley mounted hand operated derrick has since been replaced by a tripod swivel boom and mechanical winch. The clinker dinghy is possibly the same as the one whose rotted timbers laid on the northern edge of Blue Lake durring the early 1960's.
Photo Credit: George Bourn
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ARTICLE RECEIVED FROM DEREK LAWS
O.I.C. CAMPBELL ISLAND
3 MARCH 1971
After only for four months on Campbell Island, planning has already commenced for next years party. Stores orders are being compiled and in the case of the food order, completed and dispatched. The tasks that the 1969/70 Expedition could not complete due to lack of materials1 have now been completed - namely the laying of hardwood timbers for the wharf decking. Other work carried out include the erection and wiring of additional street lighting, mast maintenance, erecting a roof over the garden area, rewiring in the hydrogen shed, building maintenance, and laying new carpet in the hostel lounge.
Visitors have been fairly frequent, the first being the yacht AWAHNEE, en route from Bluff to circumnavigate the world on latitude 60 degrees. The Awahnee arrived on the morning of Christmas Day and the crew of six came ashore as soon as they were securely anchored. The party we had on Christmas night will be remembered for a long time. The Awahnee sailed away at 6p.m. on Boxing Day.
The United States Coast Guard Cutter "Staten Island" headed into Perseverance Harbour at 5 a.m.on Boxing Day, bringing us supplies and mail which were quickly unloaded by two helicopters and a boat. The Staten Island got under way at 10 a.m. the same day. It was a pleasant sight to see two vessels, the Ice-breaker and the yacht, in the harbour together.
H.M.N.Z.S. "Endeavour" called on 30 January 1971, bringing a small quantity of stores and mail. Also arriving on the Endeavour was a Wildlife party of eight who are living in Tucker Camp and they stay with us until 11th March.
Two days after Endeavour we welcomed the M.S."Lindblad Explorer" carrying 75 passengers. All of the passengers and some of the ship's crew were shown around the albatross colony by Expedition members. Everybody joined forces to provide a barbeque ashore, and this blessed by fine weather was a tremendous success. Taking the 100 visitors plus Wildlife team and Expedition this may possibly have been an all time record Campbell Island population. During the afternoon the passengers were taken around the harbour in boats and they returned to the ship about 5 p.m. All the Campbell staff were invited aboard for cocktails and dinner, and the "Lindblad Explorer" sailed down the harbour at 8 p.m.
One week later the "Lindblad Explorer" made a return visit, and although the weather wasn't so kind, sight-seeing trips were carried out. The weather was more like the normal Campbell Island, so they saw everything in its true environment. Once again the Campbell boys were invited aboard and a most enjoyable evening was had by all.
Aboard the ship were many distinguished people, including Mr Peter Scott (the British ornithologist and painter), Keith Shackleton (a relative of the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton), Dr Roger Peterson of the U.S.A., (a well known ornithologist and Wild life photographer), Dr Francisco Enrize from Buenos Aires, (a celebrated author of books on South American birds)
This time the ship stayed until nearly midnight, enabling our boys to round off their dinner with some dancing in the convivial company - surely the social highlight of our year.
After the hustle and bustle of Christmas Day and Boxing Day our own Christmas Dinner was delayed until 27 December. This was a superb spread - we wined and dined in great style. Hasty movement and unnecessary noise could not be tolerated the next day.
On 13 February a sonobuoy container filled with magazines and newspspers was recovered from Perseverance Harbour in the vicinity of Garden Cove . This was dropped by a R.N.Z.A.F. Orion on 15 May 1970.
On 11 March our last ship is scheduled to call in and we can then settle down for the Winter, and the many tasks yet to be done. We have had plenty of excitement recently and all of us look forward to the colder weather optimistically.
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ARTICLE RECEIIJED FROM RON CRAIG
O.I.C., RAOUL ISLAND,
18 JANUARY 1971
With much muttering from the Bridge, directed at a certain gentleman on the wharf, and in the face of the 100 odd wharfies who had stopped working the adjacent ship, the "Holmburn" departed Glasgow wharf 1310 M on October 20th, carrying the 1970/71 Raoul Island Expedition. For those who had not been down Wellington Harbour before, a suitable commentary with a glass and microphone was provided by one of the A.B's.
The whole trip to Raoul was very smooth and the weather was fine. 0n the first morning out while crossing Hawkes Bay the shorts and Campbell Island "lily-white" legs appeared. Two days were spent on maintenance of the surf boat. This year it was decided that "Uncle Don" would be recognised, and with a suitable replica painted on the famed duck, Captain Peter King christened the "Uncle Don" with a well-shaken can of Blue Label Leopard, Thank heavens he didn't waste a can of Red Label!!
The remainder of the trip was taken up with the usual ship board activities, and inevitable festivities. Farmer John Weir was a willing hand ·when it came to hosing down the deck, and all other personnel within nozzle range. Curious Inspecting Officers hid behind the deck house.
1700 M on October 23rd Holmburn anchored off Fishing Rock. Two trips, one in the dark, were required to get all ashore. A bit of a swell gave some that wet feeling. The noisy puffing up the Fishing Rock track soon sorted out the "city slickers".
Two days fine weather with favourable sea conditions saw the servicing go off very smartly1 with the old party getting the usual farewell. A large fellow was seen to be having trouble getting into the boat. Holmburn departed with blasts on the hooter and our year had commenced.
The following few days were spent sorting out ourselves and the servicing cargo. November opened with a contest to name the little "Black Monster," a Raoul Island kitten, Tiny Taylor wins with "Piggy Muldoon" and carried off the prize – a silver painted converted beer can trophy, and an all expenses paid holiday to Denham Bay.
The first Airdrop came on 11th November, when two Canberras flew in close formation dropping papers and books. This was to be our last look at the "grey-winged warrior" as the squadron was to be disbanded shortly after. The water supply caused a few head-aches until all the leaks had been located and repaired. "Shower-with-afriend" posters made their appearance around the hostel.
On 21st November the Navy supply ship "Endeavour" arrived and off-loaded eleven visitors at Fishing Rock. An Orion aircraft roared over five days later dropping three 'chutes and a number of containers. The two Forest Service hunters destroyed 81 goats during their stay.
The night of 28th November the cook (Ron Dahl) prepared a magnificent hangi down on Low Flat as a farewell to the visitors, who departed on "Endeavour" 29th November. The motor vessel "Haumutana" arrived the same day and spent six hours at the island.
December made a good entry with half the party going down with colds. In future all foreigners will be checked out by the Port Medical Officer.
Weather revealed its sunny side again on 8th December, so a barbeque was prepared. Fred decided to provide some free entertainment and couldn't understand why he had a sore shoulder next day. A surprise Airdrop on the 13th brought a fresh supply of newspapers. The Christmas Airdrop delivered 15th by Bristol freighter, with many large parcels descending from the sky. The first earthquake felt by all on the 19th, and about this time the water supply began playing up again.
The biggest hoax pulled off so far this year was when Bob put batteries, glasses, small string singlet, and a variety of Oriental goods down on the beach. There was much speculation as to how the Japanese had landed on the beach.
On Christmas day a yacht was sighted north-east of the island. The yacht "Maraenui" came in and anchored at Fishing Rock. For one crew member, Gary Dalton (U.S.A.), it was the third visit to Raoul, each time on a different yacht, over a period of eighteen months. Not every Christmas Dinner table on the Islands is shared by an attractive Canadian lass. Candy was escorted to most of the scenic spots on the island during her visit. A trip around Meyer and Napier Islands yielded a large haul of fish, and while diving in Boat Cove some black coral was found at about 80 feet. The first yellow fish was speared at Raoul on this same trip, also the heaviest groper caught in the current expedition year – a 70 pounder.
A quiet party heralded the New Year, and the Met. Set on Raoul first-footed on their Campbell counterparts. We bow out, hoping for some fine weather soon.
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G.P.O. Box 3557, Richard Lovegrove
WELUNGTON, Editor
