South Island

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Lore & Background

The island of South Georgia was first sighted and visited in April 1675 by Anthony de la Roché, a London merchant and Englishman, who spent a fortnight in one of the island's bays. James Cook circumnavigated the island in 1775 and made the first landing, claiming it for the Kingdom of Great Britain and naming it the 'Isle of Georgia' in honour of King George III. Seal hunting began in 1786 and continued throughout the 19th century. In 1904, Norwegian Carl Anton Larsen established the first land-based whaling station and first permanent habitation at Grytviken, operating through his Argentine Fishing Company. The station operated until 1965. In April 1916, Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition became stranded on Elephant Island; Shackleton and five companions set out in a small boat, landing at King Haakon Bay on South Georgia's south coast on 10 May. Shackleton and two others then covered 22 miles (35 km) over the mountainous island to reach help at Stromness whaling station. In January 1922, Shackleton died on board ship while moored in King Edward Cove, South Georgia, and is buried at Grytviken. The Falklands War was precipitated on 19 March 1982 when a group of Argentinians, posing as scrap-metal merchants, occupied the abandoned whaling station at Leith Harbour. On 3 April, Argentine troops attacked and occupied Grytviken. The island was recaptured by British forces on 25 April in Operation Paraquet. In 1985, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ceased to be administered as a Falkland Islands Dependency and became a separate territory.

Reader's Guide

The South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited, and a very small non-permanent population resides on South Georgia. There are no scheduled passenger flights or ferries to or from the territory, although visits by cruise liners to South Georgia are increasingly popular, with several thousand visitors each summer. The United Kingdom claimed sovereignty over South Georgia in 1775 and the South Sandwich Islands in 1908. The territory of 'South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands' was formed in 1985; previously, it had been governed as part of the Falkland Islands Dependencies. Argentina claimed South Georgia in 1927 and claimed the South Sandwich Islands in 1938. Argentina maintained a naval station, Corbeta Uruguay, on Thule Island in the South Sandwich Islands from 1976 until 1982 when it was closed by the Royal Navy. The Argentine claim over South Georgia contributed to the 1982 Falklands War, during which Argentine forces briefly occupied the island. Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands as part of the Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province. The sole official language of the territory is English. The islands' motto Leo Terram Propriam Protegat is in Latin and is translated as 'May the Lion protect his own land'.

Did You Know?

• South Georgia is 165 kilometres (103 mi) long and 35 kilometres (22 mi) wide.
• The South Sandwich Islands lie about 700 kilometres (430 mi) southeast of South Georgia.
• James Cook first landed on South Georgia in 1775 and named it the 'Isle of Georgia' after King George III.
• Ernest Shackleton is buried at Grytviken on South Georgia.
• Argentina maintained a naval station, Corbeta Uruguay, on Thule Island from 1976 until 1982.