month, during which a visit to Macquarie Island for the
purpose of landing stores and mail had to be made. Professor T. Flynn
of Hobart University accompanied the vessel in charge of the biological
work.

An interesting discovery was made two hundred miles south of Tasmania.
Here it was proved that a rocky ridge rose like a huge mountain from
depths of more than two thousand fathoms to within five hundred and
forty fathoms of the surface. A great number of soundings were taken
in the vicinity of this rise, subsequently named the Mill Rise, until a
heavy gale drove us far from its situation.

On November 21 we were not far from Macquarie Island and, at 7 P.M.,
sounded in one thousand four hundred and fifty fathoms. As the weather
was remarkably fine for these latitudes we decided to lower the trawl.
Before dark it was being towed slowly towards the east with one thousand
nine hundred fathoms of wire out.

We spent an anxious night hoping that the weather would remain fine long
enough to permit us to get the gear on board again. We had been driving
before a light westerly wind, when the trawl caught on the bottom and
stopped the vessel.

A very heavy strain was imposed on the wire as the vessel rose in the
swell; the dynamometer registering up to seven tons. I decided to wait
for daylight before attempting to heave in the trawl. At 3 A.M. we cast
the wire off the after-block and started to heave away; it was two hours
before the trawl cleared the bottom and the strain was reduced.

At 8 A.M. the trawl was once more on board, the frames being bent and
twisted and the net badly torn. On sounding, the depth was found to be
only six hundred and thirty-six fathoms, so that we had evidently put
over the trawl on to the edge of a steep rise and then drifted across
it.

In view of our position--only thirty miles from Macquarie Island--this
accident might have been expected. But opportunities of trawling had
been so few that risks had to be taken when the weather quieted down for
a few hours. Our only consolation on this occasion was that we recovered
the gear.

The following evening, at 7.30, the anchor was dropped in North-East
Bay, Macquarie Island, and we were immediately boarded by our land party
who were all well. They had become very clever boatmen during their
stay, using a small dinghy to make coastal journeys.

On November 24 we left the anchorage at 9 A.M. and spent the day in its
vicinity. More than one hundr