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South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) is a British Overseas Territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands known as the South Sandwich Islands. South Georgia is 165 kilometres (103 mi) long and 35 kilometres (22 mi) wide and is by far the largest island in the territory. The South Sandwich Islands lie about 700 kilometres (430 mi) southeast of South Georgia. The territory's total land area is 3,903 km2 (1,507 sq mi). The Falkland Islands are about 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) west from its nearest point.
Grytviken is a hamlet on South Georgia in the South Atlantic and formerly a whaling station and the largest settlement on the island. It is located at the head of King Edward Cove within the larger Cumberland East Bay, considered the best harbour on the island. The location's name, meaning "pot bay", was coined in 1902 by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition and documented by the surveyor Johan Gunnar Andersson, after the expedition found old English try pots used to render seal oil at the site. Settlement was re-established on 16 November 1904 by Norwegian Antarctic explorer Carl Anton Larsen on the long-used site of former whaling settlements.
South Georgia is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east–west direction, South Georgia is around 170 kilometres (106 mi) long and has a maximum width of 35 kilometres (22 mi). The terrain is mountainous, with the central ridge rising to 2,935 metres (9,629 ft) at Mount Paget. The northern coast is indented with numerous bays and fjords, serving as good harbours.
Carl Anton Larsen was a Norwegian-born whaler and Antarctic explorer who made important contributions to the exploration of Antarctica, the most significant being the first discovery of fossils for which he received the Back Grant from the Royal Geographical Society. In December 1893 he became the first person to ski in Antarctica on the Larsen Ice Shelf which was subsequently named after him. In 1904, Larsen re-founded a whaling settlement at Grytviken on the island of South Georgia. In 1910, after some years' residence on South Georgia, he renounced his Norwegian citizenship and took British citizenship. The Norwegian whale factory ship C.A. Larsen was named after him.
Jason was a Norwegian whaling vessel laid down in 1881 by Rødsverven in Sandefjord, Norway, the same shipyard which later built Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance. The ship, financed by Christen Christensen, an entrepreneur from Sandefjord, was noted for his participation in an 1892–1893 Antarctic expedition led by Carl Anton Larsen.
The history of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is relatively recent. When European explorers discovered the islands, they were uninhabited, and their hostile climate, mountainous terrain, and remoteness made subsequent settlement difficult. Due to these conditions, human activity in the islands has largely consisted of sealing, whaling, and scientific surveys and research, interrupted by World War II and the Falklands War.
Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen was a Norwegian who was the first person born and raised south of the Antarctic Convergence, in Grytviken, South Georgia in 1913.
Ludwig Kohl-Larsen was a German physician, amateur anthropologist, and explorer.
Jacobsen Bight is a bight 4 miles (6.4 km) wide, indenting the south coast of South Georgia between Larvik Cone and Cape Darnley. The name "Sukkertopp bukta" was used by Olaf Holtedahl in 1929 for the whole of the coast between Cape Darnley and Sandefjord, which was shown on his map as one bay. The name "Zuckerspitzenbucht" was used for the northwestern of two bays shown on this same stretch of coast by Ludwig Kohl-Larsen in 1930. The South Georgia Survey, 1951–52, surveyed this coast in detail and confirmed the existence of two bays. As the names derived from Mount Sugartop are misleading and as none of the existing names for the feature are used locally, the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1957 proposed a new name. Jacobsen Bight is for Fridthjof Jacobsen (1874–1933), who worked at the Compañía Argentina de Pesca station at Grytviken, 1904–21, and later became vice president of the company.
Larsen Harbour is a narrow 2.6 miles (4.2 km) long inlet of indenting volcanic rocks and sheeted dykes known as the Larsen Harbour Formation. It is a branch of Drygalski Fjord, entered 2.5 miles (4 km) west-northwest of Nattriss Head, at the southeast end of South Georgia Island. It was charted by the Second German Antarctic Expedition, 1911–12, under Filchner, who named it for Captain Carl Anton Larsen a Norwegian explorer, who made significant contributions to the exploration of Antarctica. The most significant of these was the first discovery of fossils on the continent, for which he received the Back Grant from the Royal Geographical Society. Larsen is also considered the founder of the Antarctic whaling industry and the settlement and whaling station of Grytviken, South Georgia.
Compañía Argentina de Pesca was initiated by the British-Norwegian whaler and Antarctic explorer Carl A. Larsen, and established on 29 February 1904 by three foreign residents of Buenos Aires: the Norwegian consul P. Christophersen, H.H. Schlieper, and E. Tornquist. Larsen was the company's Manager, in which capacity he organized the building of Grytviken, the first land-based whaling station in Antarctica put into operation on 24 December 1904.
British sovereignty of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is disputed by Argentina. The United Kingdom claimed South Georgia in 1775, annexed the islands in 1908, and has exercised de facto control with the exception of a brief period during the Falklands War in 1982, when the islands were partially controlled by Argentina. The dispute started in 1927 when Argentina claimed sovereignty over South Georgia, and subsequently expanded in scope with Argentina claiming the South Sandwich Islands in 1938. The islands have no indigenous population, and currently only have about 30 inhabitants.
Articles related to the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands include:
Viktor Esbensen was a Norwegian mariner known for exploring the Antarctic region together with his father-in-law Carl Anton Larsen, looking to make a living from whaling. He was killed when his ship was sunk in World War II.
The Viola is a steam trawler built in 1906 in Hull. She is the oldest surviving steam trawler in the world. During her long career, she was known as HMTViola, Kapduen, and Dias. She is currently beached at Grytviken in South Georgia, though there are currently plans afoot to return her to Hull.
The Norwegian Anglican Church, sometimes known as the Whalers Church, and as the Norwegian Lutheran Church, and casually as the Grytviken Church, is a church in Grytviken, South Georgia, built in 1913. The church was part of the Church of Norway for a century, from 1913 to 2013. It was formally handed over to the Church of England in 2013, and is now part of the Anglican Communion's Diocese of the Falkland Islands.
Edward Beveridge Binnie (1884–1956) was the second resident magistrate of South Georgia, serving from October 1914 to April 1927, during which time he resided at King Edward Point.
Sally Poncet is an Australian-born scientist and adventurer who has explored and studied the Antarctic region since 1977. Her specialty is birds and she made extensive studies of albatross and their habitats for the British Antarctic Survey. She has written guidebooks on preservation of the flora and fauna of South Georgia and received numerous awards and honors, including the Blue Water Medal, the Fuchs Medal and the Polar Medal for her contributions to understanding the southern polar region.
There are currently no operational railways in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. However, small industrial railways operated on the quayside of certain ports in South Georgia, to support the whaling industries in the early 20th century, and some of their remains are still present. Most of these were cable railways hauled by fixed steam engines or sometimes manpowered. The railway at Ocean Harbour is the only one definitely known to have used locomotives, but there may have been others. The rusting remains of an 0-4-0 narrow gauge locomotive is still present at Ocean Harbour. A light railway was also provided at the scientific station of Discovery House during its establishment in 1923–1925.
References
- Headland, Robert K. (1984). The Island of South Georgia, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-25274-1
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