Scottish Islands Explorer 41: Jan / Feb 2017

ISLANDS BEYOND
Island of and Iceberg off South Orkney. Fotosearch
Tom Aston looks south towards Laurie Island
The image of South Orkney, with an iceberg blocking
some of it, is a reminder of how discovery, mapping,
settling and disputing took place in a vast, inhospitable
region within the past two hundred years. It was in 1821 that
an English- and an American seal-hunter, Captain George
Powell, and Nathaniel Palmer, discovered what was to
become Laurie Island, the second largest in the South
Orkney group.
Powell’s observations were used by Richard Holmes Laurie
to map the island and he was not backward in coming
forward when naming it. James Weddell subsequently
created another map, using an alternative name, Melville.
In 1903, the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, led by
the formidable William Spiers Bruce (1867 - 1921),
produced a third map with ‘Laurie’, as we would say today,
as the username.
Bruce was a Scotsman who aspired to be an acclaimed
naturalist, polar scientist and oceanographer. In fact, he
founded the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory in
Edinburgh. He was keen to set up a transcontinental
Antarctic march via the South Pole, but was unable to arouse
sufficient interest or funds. One of his problems was that he
lacked diplomatic skills and had a habit of creating enemies.
All-Scottish
His voyage to the south was in the Scotia a fully-equipped
research vessel that had been converted from a Norwegian
whaler, Hekla, which set off from Troon on 2 November
1902 with an all-Scottish crew and scientific-team. Money
for the venture came from then long-established textile
company, Coats, that traces its roots back to Paisley weavers
in the late 18th Century.
It was on Laurie that he set up the first permanent weather
station with the stone-built Omond House. is
subsequently incorporated the first post office to be built on
the continent. However, his initiatives were taken too far
when he offered the meteorological facilities to Argentina
who accepted, rebuilt it as the Orcades Base and then claimed
sovereignty of the complete island.
e dispute would still be on-going today, but the
Antarctic Treaty has ensured, here with appropriate
language, that all sovereignty claims are frozen. e achievements
of William Bruce were quite remarkable, but aer a
period of ill-health he died comparatively young and
unrecognised for his work in the development of polar
regions and knowledge about them.
Their Original Presence
In 2014, there were 28 people stationed at Orcades Base,
probably aware that they were continuing the longest
continental tradition of compiling information about
weather. e Argentinian authorities are certain to know
that their original presence there was thanks to Bruce and
through his actions were given recognition as a nation with
Antarctic claims.
It is interesting to speculate how international histories and
events can hinge on the endeavours and whims of individuals.
When this Scotsman was actively setting up advanced
scientific investigations in the Antarctic, Argentina was on
its way to becoming the 5th largest economy in the world. A
prospering nation saw opportunities; as did an explorer with
entrepreneurial instincts.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SCOTTISH ISLANDS EXPLORER 15