Saving Macquarie Island​

On May 23rd, 2024 I hauled myself out of a stinking, muddy seal wallow thinking I was one of the luckiest of people. Despite having face-planted into this pool of mud and slime, a smell which I will never forget, I was in the most astonishing environment. I was on Macquarie Island at last. 

Since completing my diploma of botanical illustration in 2015 the focus of my work has been native and endemic plants.  During an artist’s residency in Gloucester, Virginia I was struck by the endemic plants in the surrounding woods – tulip trees, pinoaks, dogwoods, oakleaf hydrangeas and many more – all of which have become staples of gardens around the world. Seeing them growing and forming complex relationships and natural growth habits within their home forest was spellbinding. Moving back to Australia from the UK in early 2020, my focus became the native and endemic  plants in the foothills of kunyani/Mt Wellington – a protected area with a wealth of common and unusual native plants. 

It was by chance I first learnt about the work of the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and their program of Arts Fellowships. I was present at a social get-together with David Brett, a long time expeditioner to many Antarctic stations, and Jan and Geoff Wallace, just returned from the Australian Antarctic station, Mawson.  Conversation turned to Macquarie Island, the eradication program and its great success and I became intrigued by the plants found on this island and other subantarctic islands around the southern polar seas.

I applied for an Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship and was successful in my application in late 2020. 

My application was to illustrate the flora of Macquarie Island – the world’s southernmost place where vascular plants grow – and highlight the eradication program and the vulnerability of the island’s environment in the past and in the future. As I prepared my application I learnt more about the extraordinary vermin eradication project and the dedication of the many people involved – scientists, rangers, expeditioners, public servants – who were behind the success of the program. Being introduced to the conservation work at The Royal Tasmania Botanic Gardens (which is home to the only subantarctic house in the world) and gaining their support for my application was a key moment.

2020 was the beginning of great turmoil with the worldwide COVID pandemic and all its restrictions coming into play. This included travelling to the Antarctic region and the AAD wisely put a hold on anything but essential workers going to the stations. The new ship, RSV Nuyina, was also delayed in going into active service so it wasn’t until May 2024 that I was able to journey to Macquarie Island and see the plants in their native state. 

While I waited to journey to “Macca” or “The Green Sponge”, as it is affectionately known, I was granted access to the backup conservation collection of Macquarie Island plants held at the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens. These plants have been collected and propagated to ensure longevity of these species and enable the wider public to view the plants through the subantarctic house. Supported by the then curator of the Sub-Antarctic collection, Lorraine Perrins, I spent three years working regularly at the Garden. I studied and illustrated specimens from their very valuable but finite collection of Macquarie Island plants housed in temperature-controlled containers and in the subantarctic house. Some significant plants such as the endemic Azorella macquariensis, a foundation cushion plant, have not been successfully propagated and the two megaherbs, Pleurophyllum hookeri and Stilbocarpa polaris grow successfully but rarely produce any flowers or seeds. 

In addition to this I had access to the Herbarium collection (Tasmanian Museum and Art gallery) and the many thousands of specimens collected from Macquarie island over the many years by botanists and expeditioners where Dr Matthew Baker was a great support offering advice and his plant knowledge. However seeing the plants in their original home on Macquarie Island was essential to understanding and appreciating their amazing adaptations to survive in the harsh environment of nearly constant wind and rain. 

Journeying to Macquarie Island in May 2024 on the RSV Nuyina was an extraordinary experience. We headed down through the Southern Ocean escorted by many beautiful albatross and petrels and sometimes whales and dolphins. Arriving at the island there was a low mist which hung about for several days making my anticipation great and I was not disappointed when the island, after the fog cleared, appeared in its cloak of astonishing colours unlike any I had seen before. The plants, particularly Poa foliosa and the megaherb, Stilbocarpa polaris, cloak the cliffs facing eastward and merge into the rocks and onto the sea lion strewn beaches below.

I was on the island for four nights and days and during that time I was able to walk through some wonderful plant communities (regenerated due to the eradication programme) and collect specimens to work from when I left the island. My time was brief but packed with extraordinary experiences and despite it being the winter season it was still possible to appreciate and see the different complex communities of plants. 

Jessica Westbury, the newly arrived Parks and Wildlife Ranger, led Pete Harmen, AAD photographer and Bec Hewitt, my AAD ‘minder’ and myself on two wonderful walks.  Almost upon arrival we hiked almost to the plateau to see the herbfields of Pleurophyllum hookeri, Macquarie Island Daisy and Stilbocarpa polaris, the Macquarie Island Cabbage, which even in their winter form show lush and prolific foliage.  The next day was a blizzardy walk west from the station through the ‘featherbed’ plant communities where many tiny plants combine to form a soft, springy habitat surviving in endless rain and wind to form beautiful tapestries of colour and texture.  Near the station, on my third day on the island, Andrea Turbett (Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife) led myself and others up through head height Poa foliosa to see one of the few patches of the endemic Azorella macquariesis cushion plant that is not on the plateau. Up high it is a foundation plant of the ecosystems and is sadly facing a new severe threat causing dieback. Battling gales we also walked along beaches strewn with southern ocean bull kelp, Durvillaea antarctica, and elephant seals jostling or sleeping together in small pods and found another endemic Macquarie island grass Puccinellia macquariensis growing on rocks bordering the sea. 

These were forgettable experiences which were an extraordinary privilege and ones I will always appreciate.

Space was found for me to prepare and study my plant samples both on the island and the ship and I had permission to collect a limited number of plant samples to bring back to my studio.  Much of my work to date has been extensive small studies of each of the plants in the collection – in graphite, coloured pencils, watercolours and black ink.  Delving into each plant is like diving into another world and discovering the intricacies and patterns of the different species whether they are grasses, ferns or herbs. 

The illustrations in this book reflect a combination of working from cultivated specimens, dried herbarium specimens, photographs and collected specimens from Macquarie Island. I use a combination of graphite, watercolour and fine liners in most works and all final illustrations are produced on hot-pressed 100% linen paper which gives an excellent smooth finish. Many hours are spent on preparation drawings and microscope study to understand the plant and all its parts completely.  In some cases this was quite difficult due to the lack of complete specimens or access to the flora.

The experience of the AAD Arts Fellowship has been profound on a personal level. Not only have I encountered the beautiful and resilient flora of the Southern Oceans but I have met the most dedicated people who have made it their business to restore a remote island far away from civilization and to keep this haven of flora and fauna protected and flourishing.