Enderby Island is perched on the Campbell Plateau and is composed of eroding volcanic remains from eruptions that occurred between 25 and 10 million years ago.

Archaeological excavations revealed their presence at Sandy Bay, in a sheltered and relatively hospitable location, accessible to seal colonies.

[2] Excavated earth ovens contained the bones of seals and sea lions, fishes, mussels, albatrosses and petrels.

[3][4] After the Polynesians departed, the Auckland Islands were uninhabited until they were rediscovered by Abraham Bristow aboard the whaling ship Ocean in 1806.

On 20 March 1887, Derry Castle, an iron barque registered in Boston, Massachusetts, ran aground off Enderby Island nine days into its journey.

The ship was en route from Geelong, Victoria to Falmouth, Cornwall and was crewed by a complement of twenty-three sailors.

On 21 September 1887, a 45-ton steamer, the Awarua, arrived in Hobson's Bay, Victoria, Australia, returning from an illegal sealing expedition in the Auckland Islands.

However, during World War II, the ship's figurehead was resurrected by coastwatchers stationed on the islands in the Cape Expedition programme.

[11] Rabbits are not indigenous to the island; their ancestors were brought from Australia in October 1865 to serve as food for shipwreck survivors.

Enderby Island rabbits are predominantly silver-grey in colour but a recessive gene ensures that a small percentage is cream or beige.