This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/29/sandy-island-whaling-ship-origin
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Sandy Island: whaling ship behind land that proved not ahoy | Sandy Island: whaling ship behind land that proved not ahoy |
| (4 months later) | |
| It was a remarkable story: the "undiscovery" of a Pacific island which had made its way on to navigational charts and even Google Earth. Last week a group of Australian scientists announced they had sailed to the spot where Sandy Island is supposed to be, in the shimmering Coral Sea, only to discover it wasn't there. | It was a remarkable story: the "undiscovery" of a Pacific island which had made its way on to navigational charts and even Google Earth. Last week a group of Australian scientists announced they had sailed to the spot where Sandy Island is supposed to be, in the shimmering Coral Sea, only to discover it wasn't there. |
| Now museum staff have identified the source of the original error: a 19th-century whaling ship. According to Shaun Higgins, a pictorial librarian at Auckland Museum in New Zealand, the Velocity first "spotted" the island back in 1876. | Now museum staff have identified the source of the original error: a 19th-century whaling ship. According to Shaun Higgins, a pictorial librarian at Auckland Museum in New Zealand, the Velocity first "spotted" the island back in 1876. |
| After returning from a voyage in the Pacific, the ship's master reported two unusual features. The first was a series of "heavy breakers", the second some "Sandy Islets", or Sandy Island. Both then appeared in an Australian maritime directory for 1879. It noted the islets extended north and south "along the meridian 159º 57' E" and "between lat 19º 7' S and 19º 20' S." | After returning from a voyage in the Pacific, the ship's master reported two unusual features. The first was a series of "heavy breakers", the second some "Sandy Islets", or Sandy Island. Both then appeared in an Australian maritime directory for 1879. It noted the islets extended north and south "along the meridian 159º 57' E" and "between lat 19º 7' S and 19º 20' S." |
| Higgins said the captain was not entirely convinced of his findings, with the islets regarded over a century ago as somewhat suspect. Rummaging through the museum's extensive collection of maps, the librarian found the island first recorded in a 1908 admiralty chart. Sandy's existence continued unchallenged until last week, with Google Earth erroneously recording it as a dark sliver. | Higgins said the captain was not entirely convinced of his findings, with the islets regarded over a century ago as somewhat suspect. Rummaging through the museum's extensive collection of maps, the librarian found the island first recorded in a 1908 admiralty chart. Sandy's existence continued unchallenged until last week, with Google Earth erroneously recording it as a dark sliver. |
| In an email to the Guardian, Higgins said: "Sandy Island itself, although relatively large, is drawn with a dotted edge [on the 1908 chart], more akin to the way that reefs have been recorded." He added that the chart did offer a disclaimer of sorts, and came with the warning: "Caution is necessary whilst navigating … several details have been collected from the voyages of various navigators extending over a long series of years; the relative position of the many dangers, may, therefore, not in all cases be exactly given: while it is possible there may be others undiscovered." | In an email to the Guardian, Higgins said: "Sandy Island itself, although relatively large, is drawn with a dotted edge [on the 1908 chart], more akin to the way that reefs have been recorded." He added that the chart did offer a disclaimer of sorts, and came with the warning: "Caution is necessary whilst navigating … several details have been collected from the voyages of various navigators extending over a long series of years; the relative position of the many dangers, may, therefore, not in all cases be exactly given: while it is possible there may be others undiscovered." |
| Higgins said: "From the information we do have, it appears as if the island was sighted (or at least they saw fit to record something hazardous) with no further investigation. Perhaps the mistake has been perpetuated ever since the 1876 recording, pending any other mention of the island in association with a vessel." | Higgins said: "From the information we do have, it appears as if the island was sighted (or at least they saw fit to record something hazardous) with no further investigation. Perhaps the mistake has been perpetuated ever since the 1876 recording, pending any other mention of the island in association with a vessel." |
| One of the scientists who "undiscovered" the island, Dr Maria Seton from the University of Sydney, said her team of scientists had been puzzled by the discrepancy between Google Earth and navigational charts. "It's on Google Earth and other maps so we went to check and there was no island. We're really puzzled. It's quite bizarre. How did it find its way on to the maps? We just don't know, but we plan to follow up and find out." | One of the scientists who "undiscovered" the island, Dr Maria Seton from the University of Sydney, said her team of scientists had been puzzled by the discrepancy between Google Earth and navigational charts. "It's on Google Earth and other maps so we went to check and there was no island. We're really puzzled. It's quite bizarre. How did it find its way on to the maps? We just don't know, but we plan to follow up and find out." |
| The museum has now posted the 1908 chart on its website. In a blogpost, Greg Meylan writes: "How it managed to appear, disappear and reappear onto various maps and charts is a mystery of the sea. No doubt some out there will believe the island is still there, or has simply moved south for the summer." | The museum has now posted the 1908 chart on its website. In a blogpost, Greg Meylan writes: "How it managed to appear, disappear and reappear onto various maps and charts is a mystery of the sea. No doubt some out there will believe the island is still there, or has simply moved south for the summer." |
| Meylan admits this isn't the first case of maps showing islands that aren't there. The museum's 1650 map of the Pacific is spectacularly wrong, with its string of large islands extending from the tip of South America to a point not far from where Auckland ought to be. | Meylan admits this isn't the first case of maps showing islands that aren't there. The museum's 1650 map of the Pacific is spectacularly wrong, with its string of large islands extending from the tip of South America to a point not far from where Auckland ought to be. |
| The identity of the captain who first spotted Sandy Island is not known. Lloyd's Register of Shipping for 1874-5 records five different ships called the Velocity. | The identity of the captain who first spotted Sandy Island is not known. Lloyd's Register of Shipping for 1874-5 records five different ships called the Velocity. |
| • This article was amended on 30 November 2012. The original credited the museum blogpost to publicist Melanie Cooper rather than Greg Meylan. This has been corrected. | • This article was amended on 30 November 2012. The original credited the museum blogpost to publicist Melanie Cooper rather than Greg Meylan. This has been corrected. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |