A Chart of Liar’s harbor; or Yanky har.[bo]r from actual survey, by Capt C Barnerd & Do[nald] Mackay . Lat 62 31’ S. Lon. 60 W.
"Manuscript in ink (in the hand of Donald Mackay) on wove paper measur-ing approx 220 by 330mm. Scale 10cm to 1 mile. A couple of closed tears and small chips, removed from an album. Yankee Harbour, Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands, 15 February, 1821. Rare and important: one of the earl...
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| Format: | Map |
| Language: | unknown |
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Manuscript
1821
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| Online Access: | https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~340586~90108837 https://media.davidrumsey.com/MediaManager/srvr?mediafile=/Size4/RUMSEY~8~1/195/15036000.jpg |
| Summary: | "Manuscript in ink (in the hand of Donald Mackay) on wove paper measur-ing approx 220 by 330mm. Scale 10cm to 1 mile. A couple of closed tears and small chips, removed from an album. Yankee Harbour, Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands, 15 February, 1821. Rare and important: one of the earliest manuscript maps of the South Shetland Islands from the earliest period of nineteenth-century Antarctic exploration. This map was drawn less than two years after the islands were discovered by William Smith in February 1819, and just five months after Bellinghausen became the sec-ond European to cross the Antarctic circle.Word of Smith’s discovery spread quickly among the sealing community in England, New England, and New York. Several ships were dispatched and, sailing on the Aurora under Captain Robert Macy, was the Pacific veteran Donald Mackay. They left New York in July 1820 and returned in May 1822. They evidently reached Yankee Harbor in February 1821. Situated on the south coast of Greenwich island, with its long peninsula, it affords natural protection to sealers. It is inhabited by gentoo penguins, skua, and Antarctic fur seal. The Southern elephant seal, and the Weddell seal are also found in its waters.This map shows the harbour in its entirety. Glaciers lining the shore are noted as “ice bergs”, and there are four “low beaches” and two “naked rocks” on the inner harbour. Mount Ephraim is identified on the west and Ragged Point on the east and there are several soundings (from two to twenty-five fathoms) noted in the harbour. A large compass rose sits in the centre.In addition to those in Mackay’s own journal (held at the Nantucket Historical Association), there are only a handful of comparable charts in institutions. Charles Willet Poynter was a midshipman on the Brig Williams. His logbook (held at the National Library of New Zealand) covers the period of 16 December 1819 to 16 April 1820 and includes three small charts. The first is a general chart: New South Britain, as surveyed by officers from ... |
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