South Georgia Island

The history of this small island is no less intoxicating than the wildlife and scenery, steeped as it is in the history of both Antarctic exploration and the earlier sealers and whalers.

Discovery

South Georgia appeared on maps with the first sighting in 1675 by London merchant Antoine de la Roche. Then in 1775 Captain James Cook circumnavigated the island and made the first landing, claiming the territory for Great Britain, thereby beginning a long relationship which continues to this day.

The Sealers

Passing observations made in Cook’s reports of significant numbers of fur and elephant seals attracted the unwanted attentions of 18th-century sealers who triggered the first bloody chapter in the island’s history. By the 1830’s the fur seal population had been decimated almost to the point of collapse, leading to the decline of the unchecked sealing industry itself.

The Whalers

This wasn’t the last time though that South Georgia’s natural bounty would fall foul to commercial gain. The establishment of the first land-based whaling station at Grytviken in 1904 provided whalers with their first toe-hold on the island, after which operations expanded with further stations, and it became a base for whaling operations.

Fuelled by Europe’s growing appetite for the oils that whales could provide - mostly for margarine and soap - the whalers headed south. It's estimated the subsequent bonanza over six decades led to approx.1.6 million whales being killed in the Southern Ocean. It wasn’t until 1965 that the whaling stations doors were finally closed forever and left to decay.