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Grytviken - Whaling Abandoned

Amanda Stadther

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September 12th, 2014 - 05:24 PM

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Grytviken - Whaling Abandoned

It was once a bustling South Georgian whaling station at the end of the world.
Nowadays, the deserted settlement of Grytviken is known better for being the final resting place of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and the southernmost place for a shopping deprived cruise passenger to buy a postcard.
Much of this history is frozen in time, as you walk around what is left of the settlement.
Penguins wander around bleached and discarded whale bones scattered all over the foreshore, while seals find a sunny spot on the upper beach between the wooden and rusted whaling boats.
Although the Grytviken Whalers Museum tells a fascinating story of hardworking men making a success of an unpopular industry in a desolate corner of the world, it is outside the museum where you get a real feel for what it was like to make a living in Grytviken.
Over the years the salt and the moisture have taken their toll. From whale oil tanks to ancient boats and chains, to the metal frame of a soccer goal, almost everything is the same color - varying shades of rust.
But standing out from the rust is the clean, white whalers' church. The church was prefabricated in Norway and consecrated in Grytviken on Christmas Day, 1913. Lutheran pastors came and went until 1931 when one admitted "religious life among the whalers left a lot to be desired."
When the last pastor departed, the church was used to store potatoes and show films. Despite frequent repairs, the church deteriorated over the years but in 1995 it was restored to its former glory.
In November 1904 the Norwegians established the first Antarctic whaling station in Grytviken. On two ships came 60 men, a prefabricated factory, accommodation buildings and everything they needed to set up shop in the isolated islands.
By Christmas Eve that year, the first whale was brought to Grytviken for processing and during the next 61 years 175,250 whales were processed.
On the human side, 1000 people were employed at the height of the industry, 13 births were registered, there were six marriages and 200 recorded deaths.
The people came in search of one thing - whale oil.
Whale oil was used for lighting, lubrication and tanning and in later years was turned into margarine and soap. Glycerine was an important whale by-product used in explosives and while whale bones and meat were processed into fertilizer, the meat was frozen for human consumption.
Even in the early days, there was concern the whaling industry would destroy the whale population and in 1906, Falkland Islands governor, William Allardyce introduced a licensing system to regulate whaling in South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. He limited the number of whaling licenses and put measures in place to ensure the entire carcass was used.
It was also illegal to kill Southern Right Whales and mothers with calves.
Unfortunately all Mr Allardyce's good work was undone by the arrival of the factory ships in 1925. Factory ships were equipped with ramps so whales could be processed on board, which was not only more efficient but allowed them to operate outside the license system. In 1930, 41 factory ships were operating in the Southern Ocean and the number of whales killed had increased from 14,219 to a massive 40,201. Not surprisingly, the market was flooded, prices for whale oil plummeted and every whaling station in the Southern Ocean, except Grytviken, closed.
Whalers were forced to diversify and began hunting elephant seals for their oil and despite a quota system, elephant seal operations were profitable.
Too few whales meant the end of the road for the Norwegian-run Grytviken station and it closed in 1962. A Japanese company briefly re-opened the station, hoping to make a success of frozen whale meat but could not make it pay.
Grytviken closed for good in December 1965.

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Carolyn Weltman

9 Years Ago

New York, NY

thanks for sharing all of this very amazing information. i really enjoyed reading your blog.