Protection of historical information in the Subantarctic : This is a dissertation submitted to Lincoln College in January, 1980, towards a Diploma in Parks and Recreation

Abstract

Throughout this work, references are frequently made of Campbell Island, one of New Zealand's subantarctic islands, and it may be assumed that the recommendations are directed to that island mainly. What is implied is that the problems of protection of historical information on this island are common to all the islands of the subantarctic. The research leading up to the publication "Marlborough Whalers on Campbell Island 1909 - 1916" is commented on at length because of the problems revealed to the co-editors in their research. It is also worthy to look at the connotations of the title. The use of the word 'Information' in place of 'Evidence’, was done intentionally in that protection of not only artifact and site is considered but also of the written word which is also at risk. The subantarctic islands of the world are little known, existing beyond the everyday sphere of world important events and yet, because of their geology and their unique plant and animal communities, they present very significant scientific value, possessing evidence of evolution of species and hinting at the one time existence of greater continents. In addition to their scientific values, these higher latitude lands have characteristics which are unforgettable once visited. The islands of this region cannot be compared in scenery and in element to those of any other region, except perhaps those of the subarctic. The opportunity to visit the subantarctic islands is available only to those who are scientists or those who wittingly or otherwise sign on for a year at any one of the meteorological stations situated at South Georgia, Macquarie or Campbell Islands. Many people (and there appear to be many), know of the islands' existence but not of their locations or characteristics. Scientific expeditions have produced an increasing amount of information since the Second World War. Little of this work has related to man's history; his interaction with these wild, remote bastions of wind, scudding cloud and forbidding coastline which is somewhat remarkable in that the islands of the subantarctic probably provided man with one of the most gruelling trials in his exploitation of the world’s resources. There is a danger that in time, accounts of the events which occurred there, would become mostly hazed by speculation and fantasy. Other islands the globe, situated in more amenable latitudes and with permanent populations have well documented histories. Some of these histories could be classed as romanticisms but most are chronologically in order and do preserve a strong measure of fact. Historic fact in the subantarctic, perhaps to a more critical degree than in any other part of the world, is a very finite and rapidly diminishing resource and it is the purpose of this dissertation to illustrate the problem and to propose a means by which that information can be protected and preserved.