The Volcano, Barren Island

Photograph of a volcano, partially silhouetted against the sky with a valley with steeply ascending slopes on the left.

Barren Island is located in the Andaman sea in south east Asia. The volcano dominates the island which is devoid of vegetation and its first recorded eruption took place in 1787. Oscar Mallitte was part of a British survey party to the Andaman Islands (off the east coast of India) which was tasked with establishing a penal colony for Indian convicts. The party, led by Frederic John Mouat, a British surgeon, landed at Port Cornwallis on 11 December 1857. In one of the photographs, members of the party are shown visiting the ruins of an earlier penal site, which had been set up at Port Cornwallis in 1793 and abandoned in 1796.