Salt Island is one of the islands of the archipelago of the

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located about 4.7 miles south east (151 degrees true) of

Road Town Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital of the British Virgin Islands. It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 15,000 in 2018. The name is derived from the na ...

, the main town on

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

. It is named after its salt ponds, which were once an important resource. Salt Island is most notable for the wreck of the Royal Mail packet steamer, RMS ''Rhone'' which sank in a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

on 29 October 1867 after she was driven back on Salt Island while attempting to head to safety at sea. Most of the ship's crew were lost. Many of the bodies were buried in a mass grave on Salt Island which is a short walk from the main beach and can be easily seen today. A wide circle of stones is laid upon the grave. The wreck of the ''Rhone'' is one of the best

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

sites in the Caribbean. Some of the underwater scenes in film '' The Deep'' were filmed in and around the wreck. The population of the island hasn't been more than three people since at least 1980. They pay an annual rent to the

Queen of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

, delivered to the Governor, of a one-pound bag of salt. The island is often visited by yachts and gets an occasional smaller cruise ship. Where before there were twenty or more households there are now only three or four derelict houses.

Tributes of Salt

The harvesting of salt was once an annual tradition on Salt Island going back to the days of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

in 1867 when the residents would gather once a year to harvest the salt from the lake on Salt Island.''Island Sun'' news report published on 14 March 2015, "''His Excellency The Governor Meets Her Majesty The Queen''" It became customary for the Administrator of the Virgin Islands and later the

Governor of the Virgin Islands The Governor of the Virgin Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The ...

to send one pound of salt to the Monarch on the Queen's birthday. The tradition subsequently fell away. However, in 2015, Governor John Duncan decided to renew the tradition. For the first time in many years, a pound of salt from Salt Island was presented to the Sovereign. The Governor took the salt to London and presented it to the Sovereign in March 2015. The salt had been harvested specially for the occasion by Calvin "Jandy" Smith of East End, Tortola. At their meeting the Governor gave Her Majesty a pouch of salt from Salt Island as a gift from the people of the Virgin Islands. At the annual parade celebrating the Sovereign's official birthday on 13 June 2015, the Governor announced that the previous tradition of presenting a pound of salt to the Sovereign would be renewed as a tradition in future years.JTV news report: 13 June 2015

References

External links

Salt Island
at BVI Bound {{Lighthouse identifiers , qid2=Q106813341 Islands of the British Virgin Islands Lighthouses in the British Virgin Islands

Tributes of Salt

See also

References

External links