Stromness (South Georgia)
Encyclopedia
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
station on the northern coast of South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic. Its historical significance is that it represents the destination of Ernest Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
's epic rescue journey in 1916. See also Stromness Bay
Stromness Bay
Stromness Bay is a bay wide, entered between Cape Saunders and Busen Point on the north coast of South Georgia.Stromness Bay, like Leith Harbour takes its name from a location in Scotland, Stromness, on the Orkney Mainland...
It is the central of three harbours in the west side of Stromness Bay
Stromness Bay
Stromness Bay is a bay wide, entered between Cape Saunders and Busen Point on the north coast of South Georgia.Stromness Bay, like Leith Harbour takes its name from a location in Scotland, Stromness, on the Orkney Mainland...
, South Georgia. The name "Fridtjof Nansen" or Nansen appeared for this harbour on some early charts, but since about 1920 the name Stromness has been consistently used. The name Stromness comes from the town of that name
Stromness
Stromness is the second-biggest town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the south-west of Mainland Orkney. It is also a parish, with the town of Stromness as its capital.-Etymology:...
in Orkney, UK.
History
In 1907 a "floating factory" was erected in Stromness Harbour; the land station being built in 1912. Stromness operated as a whaling station from 1912 until 1931. In 1931 it was converted into a ship repair yard with a machine shop and a foundry. It remained operational until 1961 when the site was abandoned.
James Caird (boat)
The voyage of the James Caird was an open boat journey from Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands to South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean, a distance of...
. Shackleton along with Tom Crean and Frank Worsley
Frank Worsley
Frank Arthur Worsley DSO and Bar, OBE, RD was a New Zealand sailor and explorer.After serving in the Pacific, and especially in the New Zealand Post Office's South Pacific service he joined Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of...
then trekked across South Georgia's mountainous and glaciated interior in an effort to reach help on the populated northern shore of the island.
After 36 hours of crossing the interior they arrived at the Stromness administration center which also was the home of the Norwegian whaling station's manager. This building has been dubbed the "Villa at Stromness" because it represents relative luxury compared to its surroundings. All men were rescued from Elephant Island.
In the decades following its closure, Stromness has been subject to damage from the elements and many of its buildings have been reduced to ruins. However, recent efforts have been made to restore the "Villa" and clean up debris from the rest of the site in order to make it safe for visitors.
Outside of Stromness is a small whalers' cemetery with 14 grave markers.