ABSTRACT
On Wednesday, March 26, 1800, Captain Henry Waterhouse of HMS Reliance, which was sailing from Port Jackson, New South Wales, to Deptford on the Thames for repairs during “strong gales, and squally” weather, recorded his sightings at 49˚ 51” south and 180˚ 5” east. His log book relates the following: “discovered land on our lee beam about 2 miles distant, hauled to the wind, which proved to be a desolate, mountainous, and barren Island, scarce any verdure to be seen upon it.” The Reliance sighted another small island to the north, but the crew was unable to fi nd suitable harbor anywhere, and they were driven off by the wind. Nevertheless, given their nautical position around the globe from the Royal Dockyards in London, they named the island group The Penantipodes, which would later become The Antipodes Islands.1
