Sunday Is.
p. 39 · Read in the full issue
Interesting, Fertile Spot is Now Weather Station
AGAIN and again, world-weary people have sought a refuge upon beautiful, fertile, well-watered Sunday Island, in the Kermadec Group, mid-way be tween New Zealand and Tonga. Life there is easily sustained, and one’s isolation is not endangered, because there is no harbour, and ships can anchor off the rocky coasts only in quiet weather.
The little colonies do not last, however.
Sometimes they give one reason for their collapse, sometimes another: but the real reason is that, however sick the colonists may be of the sight of other human be ings, after a year or two they find they cannot stand the loneliness.
Recently, as part of the South Pacific meteorological network for the trans pacific airways, the New Zealand Govern ment established a weather station on Sunday Island, and the following descrip tion of the place is supplied by Mr. H.
Lukins, a meteorologist, who spent several months there. We predict that, since a permanent weather station and staff mean that Sunday Island must now be a regular steamer call. Sunday Island soon will be regularly colonised.
Sunday Island is a volcano. Its crater is about two miles in diameter, and contains three lakes. The island, about 7,000 acres, is very much broken with precipices and ravines. Rainfall is about* 60 inches a year. Summer temperatures range be tween 80 and 90 degrees.
Passion fruit, bananas, oranges, cape gooseberries and tomatoes grow wild all over the island. Norwegian rats, immi grants from a wrecked ship, have over run the island and ousted the native rat.
Cats, too, abound having originally been left on the island by whalers. The cats have so many birds to eat that they hardly trouble to catch the rats. The goats still number between 1,000 and 2,000. They play havoc with the vegeta tion. There are thousands of tuis and many European birds, such as blackbirds linnets and* starlings. Mutton birds have riddled the island with their holes. God wits, grey duck on the lakes and birds from the tropics occassionally appear.
Petrels are exceedingly numerous. The eggs provide free and easily accessible food for the rats, and young birds dainty meals for cats and rats, and yet the bird popu lation does not seem to be affected. Fish up to 180 lb. in weight are caught off the rocks. Turtles are also taken. The rock pools teem with small fish.