Discovery of the McDonald Islands by Captain William McDonald, 1854 (1854)

Captain William McDonald sighted the McDonald Islands in the southern Indian Ocean in 1854 while aboard the ship Samarang. He named the archipelago after himself. The islands are uninhabited volcanic peaks located near Heard Island, forming part of an Australian external territory on the Kerguelen Plateau.

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Background and detail

Geographical Context. The McDonald Islands are an uninhabited archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean, situated in the vicinity of Heard Island. They constitute the emergent peaks of submarine volcanoes on the Kerguelen Plateau. Together with Heard Island, they form the Australian external territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, which is managed as a strict nature reserve.

Territorial Status. The islands are part of the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, an Australian external territory. The territory includes Heard Island, Shag Islet, and the McDonald Islands. It is one of seven Australian external territories, located on the Kerguelen Plateau, a large igneous province formed about 130 million years ago.

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