Leith Harbour (), also known as Port Leith, was a

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

station on the northeast coast of South Georgia, established and operated by Christian Salvesen Ltd,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. The station was in operation from 1909 until 1965. It was the largest of seven whaling stations, situated near the mouth of

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. This is partiall ...

. One man prominently involved in setting up Leith Harbour was William Storm Harrison. It is named after

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

, the harbour area of Edinburgh, Christian Salvesen's home town.

History

South Georgia was once the world's largest whaling centre, with shore stations at

Grytviken Grytviken ( ) is a settlement on South Georgia in the South Atlantic and formerly a whaling station and the largest settlement on the island. It is located at the head of King Edward Cove within the larger Cumberland East Bay, considered the b ...

(operating 1904–64), Leith Harbour (1909–65), Ocean Harbour (1909–20), Husvik (1910–60), Stromness (1913–61) and Prince Olav Harbour (1917–31). The Japanese companies Kokusai Gyogyo, Kabushike Kaisha and

Nippon Suisan Kaisha , is a marine products company based in Japan. It had annual revenues of US$5.1 billion in 2014.Until November 30, 2022, the company name will be . The company was established in 1911, and is a commercial fishing and marine product procurement ...

sub-leased Leith Harbour in 1963–65, the last seasons of South Georgia

. In 1912 Leith Harbour was the site of the second introduction of

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 sub ...

to South Georgia, an attempt that failed when the entire herd was killed by an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...

in 1918. Leith Harbour was reconnoitred in 1908 by Henrik Henriksen, a Falkland Islander of German-speaking Finnish heritage and was the first manager of the whaling station. Henriksen was succeeded by Leganger Hansen in 1916. He remained until 1937, earning the unofficial title of 'King of South Georgia'. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the whaling stations were closed excepting Grytviken and Leith Harbour. Most of the British and Norwegian whaling factories and catchers were destroyed by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

raiders, while the rest were called up to serve under Allied command. The resident British

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

s (W. Barlas and A.I. Fleuret) attended to the island's defence throughout the War. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

armed the merchant vessel ''Queen of Bermuda'' to patrol South Georgian and Antarctic waters, and deployed two four-inch guns at key locations protecting the approaches to

Cumberland Bay Cumberland Bay is a bay, wide at its entrance between Larsen Point and Barff Point, which separates into two extensive arms, Cumberland West Bay and Cumberland East Bay, which recede inland along the northern coast of South Georgia. It ...

and

, i.e. to Grytviken and Leith Harbour respectively. These batteries (still present) were operated by

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

from among the Norwegian whalers who were trained for the purpose.

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

visited the settlement in 1957 in the only visit to South Georgia by any member of the Royal Family. The Falklands War was precipitated in March 1982 when a group of around fifty

Argentines Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

, posing as scrap metal merchants, occupied the abandoned whaling station at Leith Harbour. They were understood to have a commercial contract to remove scrap metal at Leith Harbour but they arrived aboard '' ARA Bahía Buen Suceso'', a ship chartered by the Argentine Government. 32 special forces troops from Corbeta Uruguay were brought by the Argentine Navy ship ''Bahía Paraiso'' to South Georgia and landed at Leith Harbour on 25 March 1982. On 25 April 1982 the

damaged and captured the Argentine submarine ''Santa Fé'' at South Georgia. The Argentine garrison in

surrendered without returning fire and so did the detachment in Leith Harbour, commanded by Captain Astiz, the following day.

Today

There is a gun emplacement on the hill behind the station, and another at Hansen Point with the original 4-inch gun still in position. Leith Harbour boasted a hospital, a library, a cinema, and a narrow gauge railway. The centre of Leith Harbour is a graveyard with a second, larger, cemetery to the rear of the station. Due to its nature, the station also contained a factory and a

flensing Flensing is the removing of the blubber or outer integument of whales, separating it from the animal's meat. Processing the blubber (the subcutaneous fat) into whale oil was the key step that transformed a whale carcass into a stable, transpor ...

plan or platform. Since 2010 access to the station has been prohibited due to the dangers posed by asbestos and collapsing buildings. Leith Harbour and the hardships endured by the whalers are the subject of "The Little Pot Stove", a song covered by

Nic Jones Nic Jones (born Nicolas Paul Jones; 9 January 1947) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Regarded as a prominent figure of the British folk revival, he has recorded five solo albums and collaborated with various musicians. Biography ...

and written by the former whaling engineer turned singer-songwriter Harry Robertson.

References

External links

Pictures by Jim McLaren

Friends of the Island of South Georgia (Norwegian only)

Legislation
{{SGSSI Ports and harbours of South Georgia Whaling stations of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Falklands War in South Georgia Former populated places Falkland Islands in World War II

History

Today

See also

References

External links