During November 2024, I went on an expedition cruise from Montevideo to South Georgia and Antarctica. South Georgia is a British dependency in the South Atlantic Ocean and comprises a very remote rocky island approximately 100 miles in length and 20 miles in width. Its remoteness makes it a haven for wildlife including king penguins and of variety of seabirds.
It has a darker history though in that between 1906 and 1966 it was home to extensive whaling operations and during that time some 175,000 whales were caught, killed and processed on the island. The operation at Grytviken was on an industrial scale with the blubber, meat, internal organs and bones rendered to extract the oil. Bones and meat were converted into fertiliser. In its heyday, up to 300 men worked annually in their summer, between October and March. A limited maintenance team was kept on for the remainder of the year. Whaling finally ended at the end of 1966 as a result of dwindling whale stocks and the advent of larger factory ships.
Norwegian Captain C. A. Larsen established the whaling station at Grytviken in 1906. Within ten years, six more were brought into use during various periods of time until 1966. The largest of these was at Grytviken with other smaller stations at nearby Stromness Harbour, Leith Harbour, Husvik Harbour, Godthul, Ocean Harbour and further north, Prince Olav Harbour.
There are remains at each location and in some cases they are quite extensive. Most are also in an unsafe condition and access as expressly prohibited by law, with a 200m land and sea exclusions zones applying. An exception is Grytviken where the site has been made reasonably safe and access can be gained to all of the remaining parts of the whaling station. Grytviken is also the home of government representatives, museum, post office science facilities and cemetery.
The photographs below were taken on 9th November 2024 during an afternoon visit to the Grytviken site. An unusual hazard was the presence of seals hauled up on the shoreline. It was a bit early in the season so they didn’t have pups and weren’t aggressive, but it was still wise to maintain a distance.
I did look at posting this in the International section, but notwithstanding it’s 8,000 miles away, it is part of the UK.
I'll post photos from Leith Harbour and Stromness Harbour separately. Both of these sites were visited but only from a distance.
It has a darker history though in that between 1906 and 1966 it was home to extensive whaling operations and during that time some 175,000 whales were caught, killed and processed on the island. The operation at Grytviken was on an industrial scale with the blubber, meat, internal organs and bones rendered to extract the oil. Bones and meat were converted into fertiliser. In its heyday, up to 300 men worked annually in their summer, between October and March. A limited maintenance team was kept on for the remainder of the year. Whaling finally ended at the end of 1966 as a result of dwindling whale stocks and the advent of larger factory ships.
Norwegian Captain C. A. Larsen established the whaling station at Grytviken in 1906. Within ten years, six more were brought into use during various periods of time until 1966. The largest of these was at Grytviken with other smaller stations at nearby Stromness Harbour, Leith Harbour, Husvik Harbour, Godthul, Ocean Harbour and further north, Prince Olav Harbour.
There are remains at each location and in some cases they are quite extensive. Most are also in an unsafe condition and access as expressly prohibited by law, with a 200m land and sea exclusions zones applying. An exception is Grytviken where the site has been made reasonably safe and access can be gained to all of the remaining parts of the whaling station. Grytviken is also the home of government representatives, museum, post office science facilities and cemetery.
The photographs below were taken on 9th November 2024 during an afternoon visit to the Grytviken site. An unusual hazard was the presence of seals hauled up on the shoreline. It was a bit early in the season so they didn’t have pups and weren’t aggressive, but it was still wise to maintain a distance.
I did look at posting this in the International section, but notwithstanding it’s 8,000 miles away, it is part of the UK.
I'll post photos from Leith Harbour and Stromness Harbour separately. Both of these sites were visited but only from a distance.
