 The shores of Tristan da Cunha | |
| Date | 27 November 1885 |
|---|---|
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 37°03′44″S12°18′46″W / 37.062141°S 12.312739°W |
| Deaths | 15 |
The Tristan da Cunha lifeboat disaster, which occurred on 27 November 1885, was a tragedy which saw the island of Tristan da Cunha suffer its biggest loss of life during a single event. [1]
Victims of the 1885 Lifeboat disaster:
- Joe Beetham
- Thomas & Cornelius Cotton
- Thomas Glass
- John, William & Alfred Green
- Jacob, William & Jeremiah Green
- Albert, James & William Hagan
- Samuel & Thomas Swain
On 27 November 1885, an iron barque named West Riding approached Tristan da Cunha. The vessel had originated in Bristol, England and was en route to Sydney, Australia. [2] During this time, the island had lost regular trading opportunities which caused the majority of the able-bodied men on the island to board a lifeboat to make contact with the vessel. The lifeboat had been recently donated by the British Government, and although conditions in the South Atlantic Ocean appeared rough, the men sailed and the lifeboat was spotted sailing alongside the West Riding vessel for some time. [3]
The lifeboat, and the men on board, never returned to the island. [4] The ultimate fate of the men has never been proven, a number of theories have been given, such as the men drowning, to reports of them being taken to Australia to be sold as slaves. 15 men in total were lost, leaving behind a number of widows on the island. [5] One of the victims, Thomas Green, was the son of William Glass, founder of the islands settlement Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. [6] [7]
A plaque at St. Mary's Church commemorates the lost men. [8] On 27 November, 2015, the Royal Mail issued stamps to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the disaster. [9]
This article deals with traffic in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, that is all forms of traffic in the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Tristan da Cunha, colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately 2,787 kilometres (1,732 mi) from Cape Town in South Africa, 2,437 kilometres (1,514 mi) from Saint Helena, 3,949 kilometres (2,454 mi) from Mar del Plata in Argentina, and 4,002 kilometres (2,487 mi) from the Falkland Islands.
Tristan da Cunha is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha and has a history going back to the beginning of the 16th century. It was settled by men from military garrisons and ships, who married native women from Saint Helena and the Cape Colony. Its people are multi-racial, descended from European male founders and mixed-race and African women founders.
Inaccessible Island is a volcanic island located in the South Atlantic Ocean, 31 km (19 mi) south-west of Tristan da Cunha. Its highest point, Swale's Fell, reaches 581 m (1,906 ft), and the island is 12.65 km2 (4.88 sq mi) in area. The volcano was last active approximately one million years ago and is now extinct.
Nightingale Island is an active volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean, 3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi) in area, part of the Tristan da Cunha group of islands. They are administered by the United Kingdom as part of the overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Edinburgh of the Seven Seas is the only settlement on the island of Tristan da Cunha, a part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. Locally, it is referred to as The Settlement or The Village.
The governor of Tristan de Cunha is the representative of the monarch in Tristan da Cunha, a constituent part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state.
Ascension Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, part of the wider British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Like other British Overseas Territories, it issues its own postage stamps, which provide a source of income for the island from sales to overseas collectors, as well as being used for domestic and international postage.
Edwin Heron Dodgson was a clergyman in the Church of England and the youngest brother of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He is primarily remembered for his work as a missionary in the island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean, the most remote human settlement in the world.
HMS Yarmouth was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 12 April 1911 from the yards of the London & Glasgow Co. She was part of the Weymouth subgroup.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Saint Helena.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Tristan da Cunha.
The MS Oliva was a bulk carrier launched in 2009. On 16 March 2011, due to the risky navigation of trying to achieve the minimal allowed clearance of Nightingale Island of 10 nmi, and due to human error in navigation reducing the actual clearance to zero, the ship went aground off Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, in the South Atlantic, at 4 am while on a voyage from Santos, Brazil to China with a cargo of soya beans.
The Tristan da Cunha Island Council is the unicameral non-partisan legislature of the island of Tristan da Cunha in the Atlantic Ocean. The Island Council consists of the Administrator of Tristan da Cunha as the presiding officer, plus three appointed and eight elected members. At least one elected member of the council must be a woman.
Conrad Jack Glass is a Tristanian police inspector and civil servant who was Tristan da Cunha's former Chief Islander from 2007 to 2010. Glass is the first islander to have written a book about the island: Rockhopper Copper (2005).
Anne Green MBE is a Tristanian teacher, politician and public administrator from Tristan da Cunha, a remote island in the southern Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. She was the first woman to be elected Chief Islander and also the first woman to be Acting Administrator of the island.
William Glass was a Scottish Corporal and settler. He established the settlement that would become Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, the main settlement on Tristan da Cunha.
The Camogli Hospital is a public hospital located in Edinburgh of the Seven Seas on Tristan da Cunha. The building was replaced by a new build in 2017 to meet NHS standards.
St Mary's School is the only school serving Edinburgh of the Seven Seas on the island of Tristan da Cunha. The school caters for children between the ages of three and sixteen.
This article lists links to articles relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic within Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.