Myggbukta, meaning "Mosquito Bay" in Norwegian, was a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
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 industry ...
,
meteorological
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
and
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
station (Myggbukta Radio/LMG)
[Jan S. Krogh.''Nęrmere beskrivelse av kystradiostasjonene'']
/ref> located on the coast of Eastern Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
in present-day King Christian X Land
King Christian X Land ( da, Kong Christian X Land) is an area of northeastern Greenland.
History
This area was named after King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland (1870 – 1947), who rose to the throne in 1912. At the time of the Three-year E ...
.
The site is located at the head of Mackenzie Bay
MacKenzie Bay is a relatively small embayment of the western extremity of the Amery Ice Shelf, Antarctica, about northeast of Foley Promontory. On 10 February 1931 the British Australian New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) sighte ...
, in the area of the isthmus
An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...
of Hold with Hope
Hold with Hope is a peninsula in eastern Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park zone.
Geologically Hold with Hope is a place of great interest.
Geography
Hold with Hope is located between Loch Fyne in th ...
. Administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park
Northeast Greenland National Park ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq, da, Grønlands Nationalpark) is the world's largest national park and the 10th List of largest protected areas in the world, largest protected area (the only large ...
.
History
The station was established by Johan A. Olsen in 1922, who named the place appropriately, for it is located in one of the worst mosquito-infested areas of Eastern Greenland ( no, mygg). However, on the way back to Norway in 1923, the Norwegian sealer ANNI 1 which had brought the expedition to Greenland in 1922 was crushed in the offshore pack ice and all men on board perished. Thus the station was discontinued after only one year of operation.
In 1924 Myggbukta station was repaired by Gunnar Isachsen and it was manned by the Foldvik expedition in 1926. In 1930 was completely rebuilt and operation was continuous, sending daily weather reports from the site. On 27 June 1931 five Norwegian hunters with Hallvard Devold
Hallvard Ophuus Devold (8 November 1898 – 10 September 1957) was a Norwegian Arctic explorer, trapper and meteorologist. He was instrumental in the attempt to establish Eric the Red's Land in 1931. His brother Finn Devold (1902–1977) share ...
annexed Erik the Red's Land
Erik the Red's Land ( no, Eirik Raudes Land) was the name given by Norwegians to an area on the coast of eastern Greenland occupied by Norway in the early 1930s. It was named after Erik the Red, the founder of the first Norse or Viking settlemen ...
to Norway from the station, proclaiming:
Myggbukta thus served as ''de facto'' capital of this short-lived Norwegian territory, although ''sysselman'' ("Governor") Helge Ingstad
Helge Marcus Ingstad (30 December 1899 – 29 March 2001) was a Norwegian explorer. In 1960, after mapping some Norse settlements, Ingstad and his wife archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad found remnants of a Viking settlement in L'Anse aux Meadows ...
overwintered at the more southerly station Antarctic Havn
Antarctic Haven ( da, Antarctic Havn) is a bay in King Christian X Land, Northeastern Greenland.
Administratively it lies in the Northeast Greenland National Park area.
History
This natural harbour was named ''"Antarctics Hamn"'' by Swedish Ar ...
.
Together with Jónsbú Station
Jonsbu was a Norwegian hunting and radio station (Jonsbu Radio/LMW) located on the coast of Eastern Greenland in present-day King Christian X Land.
Administratively the area where the hut stood belongs now to the Northeast Greenland National Par ...
in Hochstetter Foreland
Queen Margrethe II Land ( da, Dronning Margrethe II Land) is a peninsula in the northern limit of King Christian X Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the NE Greenland National Park area. History
The peninsula was named aft ...
, as well as Storfjord
Storfjord ( se, Omasvuotna ; fkv, Omasvuono) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hatteng. Other villages in Storfjord include Elvevoll, Oteren, and Skibotn.
T ...
, Torgilsbu
Torgilsbu was a Norwegian hunting, meteorological and radio station (Torgilsbu Radio/LMQ) located on the King Frederick VI Coast, Southeastern Greenland.
Administratively the area were the hut stood belongs now to the Kujalleq municipality.
The ...
and Finnsbu
Finnsbu was a Norwegian hunting, meteorological and radio station (Finnsbu Radio/LMX) located on the King Frederick VI Coast, Southeastern Greenland.
Administratively the area were the hut stood belongs now to the Sermersooq municipality.
The s ...
further south,[Recent Norwegian Expeditions to Southeast-Greenland, Gunnar Horn](_blank)
/ref> Myggbukta became part of the Norwegian contribution to the International Polar Year
The International Polar Years (IPY) are collaborative, international efforts with intensive research focus on the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor in 1875, but died before it first occurred i ...
1932–33. During World War II
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 opposin ...
, in September 1940, patrol boat Fridtjof Nansen of the Free Norwegian Navy, destroyed the radio equipment, leaving Myggbukta in bad condition. The station was rebuilt in the summer of 1946, resuming operation until 1959 when Norwegian state subsidies were withheld forcing the station to close down.
Bibliography
*Spencer Apollonio, ''Lands That Hold One Spellbound: A Story of East Greenland'', 2008
See also
*Antarctic Haven
Antarctic Haven ( da, Antarctic Havn) is a bay in King Christian X Land, Northeastern Greenland.
Administratively it lies in the Northeast Greenland National Park area.
History
This natural harbour was named ''"Antarctics Hamn"'' by Swedish A ...
*Arctic Trading Co. Arctic Trading Co. ( no, Arktisk Næringsdrift) was a Norwegian company founded on 24 June 1929.
The company had commercial interests in East Greenland in the areas of fishing, hunting and trapping. It also operated the Myggbukta radio and meteorol ...
References
External links
*
Site with photo of Myggbukta
Ruins in Greenland
1931 in Norway
1922 establishments in Norway
History of Greenland
{{greenland-geo-stub