Unique and unspoilt: a year among the natural wonders of Heard Island.

Canberra: National Library of Australia. 2011.
Octavo, paperback, 211 pp. colour photographs.

This book is based on the journals of John Bechervaise during his thirteen months as officer in charge of an Australian scientific base on Heard Island. His journals document the beauty of the isolated island, the tyranny of its harsh climate, and the daily struggle of the handful of men far from their families and loved ones charged with running a scientific base. Bechervaise recorded observations of Heard Islands fascinating fauna and limited flora, the nuances of the changing seasons, and his weather-beaten attempts to scale its volcanic peak, leave us with a remarkable picture of a bleak yet beautiful Antarctic island. The plate section provides unique glimpses of this little-known and rarely-visited island, and its 1953 occupants.