Antipodes Islands
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The Antipodes Islands ( or ) are an inhospitable uninhabited island group to the south of—and territorially part of—New Zealand. They lie 650 kilometres to the southeast of Stewart Island/Rakiura.
The island group was first charted in 1800. An attempt to establish cattle on the islands was short-lived (so were the cattle). When the ship Spirit of Dawn foundered on the main island's coast in 1893, the eleven surviving crew spent nearly three months living as castaways on the island, living on a subsistence diet of raw seabird. Ironically, a well-supplied castaway depot was available on the other end of the island.
The group consists of one main island of 60 km² area, Bollans Island of 2 km² to the north, and numerous small islets and stacks.
The group gets its name for its supposed antipodal position to Britain. Although they are the closest land to the true antipodes of Britain, their location is directly antipodal to a point in the sea a few kilometres to the east of Cherbourg on the north coast of France.
References
- Wise's New Zealand Guide (4th ed.) (1969). Dunedin: H. Wise & Co. (N.Z.) Ltd.
External links
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