Abstract
Remote, isolated, and windswept, the subantarctic islands, between 46˚ and 60˚S, harbour a diversity of plant forms. Although isolated, they have a rich human history: Polynesian, European, and North American exploration, scientific voyages, sealing, whaling, shipwrecked castaways, farming, and settlement attempts. The islands are unique ecosystems, with a relatively high number of endemic species, and have been subject to the longest record of human influence in the southern polar region. My research traces the changing shape of the relationship between people and native and introduced plants in the subantarctic islands, from first European contact in 1775, to present day, the most intensive period of human activity. I examine the context in which a variety of sources, accounts, perspectives, and observers are important and valuable in shaping the evolving botanical understanding of the subantarctic region. Greater knowledge of historical human impacts and environmental change is essential to inform effective environmental management.
My study is distinctive in combining historical human and scientific elements to explore the evolution of botanical thought about the subantarctic islands, utilising the techniques of environmental history. My thesis examines the Antipodes, Auckland, Bounty, Bouvetøya, Campbell, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard and MacDonald, Macquarie, Marion and Prince Edward, The Snares, and South Georgia Islands. I consider these islands together, as part of the subantarctic region, as well as conducting a separate case study of Aotearoa’s Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku. I provide a timeline and thematic analysis of human activities in the region, document the use of subantarctic plants by castaways, examine the environmental and cultural history of introduced plants, explore farmers’ records of grazing, burning, and woodcutting on Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku, and investigate knowledge and use of the antiscorbutic endemic subantarctic plant species Pringlea antiscorbutica and Azorella polaris. I analyse primary sources including diaries, material culture, botanical illustrations, and photographs, as well as herbarium specimens.
Human activities on the islands were sporadic, and varied, but increasingly intensive and sustained, driven by empire, disaster, industry, monetary gain, colonial nation-building, misconceptions, and the developing field of natural history. I find that much of the historical botanical knowledge of the subantarctics has been provided from multiple knowledge systems, often in the absence of formal scientific observation, and during a time of extensive documentation. Castaways were critical observers of the subantarctic flora, with unique practical and cultural uses of plants. Farmers on Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku provide some of the earliest reliable accounts of introduced species on that island. These observers give detailed and accurate records of human modification of the subantarctic vegetation over time. Their personal responses to the landscape and flora add an element which is typically missing from the scientific literature. I advocate for the inclusion of such contributors and sources in future studies, to better represent the diversity of voices, stories, and experiences in the region. This extra dimension can provide a more accurate, comprehensive, and inclusive understanding of subantarctic botany and human association with the islands, with positive implications for conservation, tourism, society, and culture.