Origins of 'undiscovered' island discovered: historic traces of 'phantom' Sandy found on chart

By Nicky Phillips
Updated December 4 2012 - 4:13pm, first published 4:00pm
Mystery ... a ship called Velocity discovered Sandy Island in 1876.
Mystery ... a ship called Velocity discovered Sandy Island in 1876.
The reference to Sandy Island has been removed from Google Earth.
The reference to Sandy Island has been removed from Google Earth.
How Sandy Island was highlighted on Google.
How Sandy Island was highlighted on Google.

The mystery of when and how a phantom island in the Pacific came to be first marked on a map may have been solved by a New Zealand librarian.

Get the latest St George news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.