Postmarks at the end of the world: A history of South Georgia
The sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia is a Dependency of the Falkland Islands. It rises 3,000m above sea level and is entirely mountainous with numerous glaciers. The lower slopes carry a grass tundra vegetation and the rugged coasts are notable for their prolific birdlife and seals.
The discovery of South Georgia is generally attributed to the Spanish ship ’Leon’ in 1756, though the island may have been sighted by Antonio De La Roche in 1675. The first landing though was by Capt. James Cook who took possession for King George III in 1775.
Following Cook’s account of the discovery, numerous sealing expeditions worked South Georgia between 1778 and 1820. Shore based whaling began with the establishment of a whaling station by Cia. Argentina de Pesca in 1905. Subsequently Norwegian and British companies also operated on the island. The trade continued through to 1965. At its peak there was a transient male population of around 2,000 in the summer whaling season.
The Islands have been a port of call for several notable Antarctic expeditions. The Russian expedition of 1819-21 led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen included the island in its circumnavigation of the Antarctic continent and extended Cook’s survey. In 1882/3 the German International Polar Year Expedition (K. Schrader) wintered at Royal Bay, making scientific observations. The Swedish South Polar Expedition of Otto Nordenskiold spent the winter of 1902 at South Georgia.
The Islands played a dramatic part in Sir Ernest Shackleton’s British Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-16. Following the the loss of ‘Endurance’ in the ice of the Weddell Sea, Shackleton led the epic voyage in an open boat from Elephant Island to South Georgia and made the first crossing of the island to seek help from the whalers at Stromness Bay. In 1921 Shackleton died at South Georgia in the course of the Shackleton-Rowett (‘Quest’) Expedition. Between 1925-39 extensive hydrographic survey and marine investigations were undertaken in the waters of the Falkland Island Dependencies from the Royal Research Ships ‘Discovery I’ and ‘Discovery II’.
Postal facilities were provided at South Georgia following the establishment of the Government Administration in 1909. For many years until the second World War stamps from South Georgia bore stamps from the Falkland Islands. However in in the 1940’s Operation Tabarin was set up. Tabarin was in response to perceived threats of German Naval Activity in the Southern Ocean and of the attempts by Chile and Argentina to try and assert Sovereignty on these Islands. A team of 14 men, Royal Navy Party 475 (RN475) was sent with the task of forming a programme of scientific work, however one of the primary aims was rather more political, and was to establish Post Offices and each base and Island, as the use of the Post Offices was enough to accept proof of Sovereignty. Ultimately many of the bases would receive cancellations of their stamps by Base followed by a letter, for the likes of South Georgia, Graham Land, South Shetlands etc. The early FID’s that had set these operations up later became part of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS)
Stamps of South Georgia were produced, up to the 1970’s and most parts of the region became part of the British Antarctic Territory (BAT), however South Georgia still remained a dependency of the Falklands. With the introduction of the new constitution of 1985 it ceased to be a Dependency, and now issue their own stamps under the guise of South Georgia & Sandwich Islands. For collecting its a relatively inexpensive ‘country’ and with issues from 1986 onwards also modern. The biggest problem will be getting fine used material (not on FDC) with those postmarks from the end of the world!
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