Part I: Seals teeth and whales ears - Scott Polar Research Institute ...

Before going further some background information about the history and
environment of Signy Island is called for and of its neighbour, the larger
Coronation Island which dominated our landscapes.
The South Orkney Islands
Discovery and subsequent history. Two sealers, a Briton George Powell, aboard
the Dove from London and the American Nathaniel Palmer, on the James Monroe
from Stonington, USA, discovered and charted the archipelago of the South
Orkney Islands. Powell recounts how on 6 December, 1821, he landed on the
eastern end of Coronation Island; he took possession in the name of King George
IV and "as I imagined it to be the first land discovered since the coronation of
our most gracious sovereign, he named it CORONATION ISLE". Six days later
Michael Mcleod, in charge of the Beaufoy, discovered the islands independently.
He returned in February l822 with James Weddell, aboard the brig Jane, and
landed on the north coast of Coronation Island. Weddell later returned on Jane to
survey the north coasts of the Islands, accompanied by Matthew Brisbane in
command of Beaufoy, who charted the south coast, discovering but not naming
Signy Island.
A French expedition led by J S C Dumont D'Urville, aboard Astrolabe, with C
H Jacquinot on Zelée, twice visited the group during January and February l838,
but during the next 65 years only 6 visits are recorded, including E Dallman on
the Grönland and C A Larsen aboard Jason. W S Bruce aboard Scotia established
the first station on Laurie Island in March l903, which was occupied by the
Scottish National Antarctic Expedition and transferred to Argentina in l904/05.
Whaling activities began in l907/08 when a floating factory Sabraon and two
catchers Puma and Lynx were sent to the islands by the Newfoundland Whaling
Company, but it was not until January l912 that the first whale, a humpback was
taken by Petter Sörlie. He was working for AS Rethval of Oslo, whose floating
factory Falkland was based at Falkland Harbour, Powell Island, under a license
issued by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Government. During l912-13 Sörlie,
aboard Paal, charted the group and named Signy Island after his wife, Signy
Sörlie. Floating whaling factories visited the South Orkney Islands annually until
1914/15, and some 2,000 whales were taken. In February l913, Tioga,
commanded by M T Moe, one of the first factory ships to flense whales at sea,
dragged her anchors in a gale. She was blown ashore at Port Jebsen (on the east
coast of Signy) and wrecked; the remains were still largely visible above water
during my time there. The war intervened but whaling was resumed in l921
when the Tonsberg Havalfangeri established a shore station at Factory Cove. It
ran for four years but ceased to operate in 1925/26. Subsequently, floating
factories anchored in Borge Bay operated until l928/29 and about 3,500 whales
were taken during the period l921-29, when the industry moved to wide-ranging
pelagic whaling from roving factory ships and catchers.
The British Discovery Investigations began in l925 and in l927 their research
ship, the original Discovery (of Captain Scott's 1901-04 expedition), visited Signy
Island. Her replacement was RRS Discovery II, which visited the islands several
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