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Coordinates: 54°16′49″S 36°30′27″W / 54.2802°S 36.5076°W / -54.2802; -36.5076
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{{Short description|Institution centered around British South Atlantic history; Shackleton's resting place}}
{{Short description|Institution centered around British South Atlantic history; Shackleton's resting place}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox museum
[[File:Museum in snow (2019). Credit South Georgia Museum.jpg|thumb|378x378px|South Georgia Museum, Grytviken in the snow.]]
| name = South Georgia Museum
The '''South Georgia Museum''' showcases the convergence of nature, adventure and social history. Making history and heritage accessible, even if you cannot visit the remote Southern Ocean island.
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⚫
The South Georgia Museum is situated in [[Grytviken]], once a whaling station settlement, of the [[UK overseas territory]] of [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]]. South Georgia is located in the [[Southern Ocean]], around 1400 kilometres (870 miles) east of the [[Falkland Islands]]. The South Georgia Museum is run by [[South Georgia Heritage Trust]] on behalf of the [[Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]]. The museum was established in 1991 by [[Nigel Bonner]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sgmuseum.gs/index.php?title=South_Georgia_Museum|title=South Georgia Museum - South Georgia Museum|website=sgmuseum.gs}}</ref>
| logo =
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| image = Grytviken museum.jpg
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| alt =
| caption = South Georgia Museum, Grytviken
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| established = {{start date|1991|df=y}}
| location = [[Grytviken]], [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]]
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| founder = [[Nigel Bonner]]
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}}
⚫
The '''South Georgia Museum''' is situated in [[Grytviken]], near the administrative centre of the [[UK overseas territory]] of [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]]. Polar explorers [[Ernest Shackleton]] and [[Frank Wild]] are buried in Grytviken's graveyard. The museum was established in 1991 by [[Nigel Bonner]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sgmuseum.gs/index.php?title=South_Georgia_Museum|title=South Georgia Museum - South Georgia Museum|website=sgmuseum.gs}}</ref>


== History==
== History==
The museum is housed in "the Villa". It was built in 1914, as a residence for the manager of the [[Grytviken]] [[whaling]] station and his family,<ref name=BBC>{{cite news |author=Owen Amos |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60010608 |title=South Georgia: The museum at the end of the world reopens for business |work=BBC News |date=20 January 2022 }}</ref> and was occupied until the station closed in 1964. Grytviken was the first whaling station in South Georgia and was established by Carl Anton Larsen in 1904. The original manager' villa burned down in a fire.
The museum is housed in "the Villa". It was built in 1914, as a residence for the manager of the [[Grytviken]] [[whaling]] station and his family,<ref name=BBC>{{cite news |author=Owen Amos |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60010608 |title=South Georgia: The museum at the end of the world reopens for business |work=BBC News |date=20 January 2022 }}</ref> and was occupied until the station closed in 1964.


The abandoned building suffered from the effects of severe weather, as well as the destructive actions of vandals. Decades later, after Antarctic scientist David Wynn-Williams suggested it be made into a museum, Antarctic and marine mammal specialist [[Nigel Bonner]] and a small team of workers, with funding support from the South Georgia Government, worked to remove environmental hazards at the abandoned whaling station, and renovate and restore the Villa for use as a museum.<ref name= falk>{{cite web |title= Bonner, (William) Nigel 1928–1994 |url=https://www.falklandsbiographies.org/biographies/64 |website=Falklands Biographies |accessdate=26 July 2020}}</ref> Bonner wrote: "If [the museum] causes [visitors] to think a little more deeply about the whaling industry, the management of natural resources, and the society of whalers, I think we shall have achieved our objective."<ref name= falk/>
The abandoned building suffered from the effects of severe weather, as well as the destructive actions of vandals. Decades later, after Antarctic scientist David Wynn-Williams suggested it be made into a museum, Antarctic and marine mammal specialist [[Nigel Bonner]] and a small team of workers, with funding support from the South Georgia Government, worked to remove environmental hazards at the abandoned whaling station, and renovate and restore the Villa for use as a museum.<ref name= falk>{{cite web |title= Bonner, (William) Nigel 1928–1994 |url=https://www.falklandsbiographies.org/biographies/64 |website=Falklands Biographies |accessdate=26 July 2020}}</ref> Bonner wrote: "If [the museum] causes [visitors] to think a little more deeply about the whaling industry, the management of natural resources, and the society of whalers, I think we shall have achieved our objective."<ref name= falk/>


⚫
==Museum==
For several years Tim and Pauline Carr served as museum curators, living on board their yacht ''Curlew'' moored in the Grytviken port.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carr |first=Tim |title=Antarctic oasis: under the spell of South Georgia |last2=Carr |first2=Pauline |date=1998 |publisher=W.W. Norton |isbn=978-0-393-04605-2 |location=New York London}}</ref>
⚫
The South Georgia Museum opened in 1992 as a specialised whaling museum, subsequently expanding its expositions<ref name=BBC/> to include all aspects of the discovery of the island, [[seal hunting|sealing industry]], [[whaling]], maritime and natural history, as well as the 1982 [[Falklands War]].


The museum became a popular tourist venue, visited by approximately 10,000 [[cruise ship]] and [[yacht]] tourists a year until the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name=BBC/>
⚫
==Museum==
The South Georgia Museum exists to protect, document and promote the cultural and natural history of South Georgia. The Museum aims to make this history and heritage accessible both to the visiting public and to those unable to visit this remote region, through exhibitions, education and outreach.


The museum displays include a bronze bust of [[Duncan Carse]] by British sculptor [[Jon Edgar]]. Carse was influential in the mapping of South Georgia and the island's [[Mount Carse]] is named after him. The Bonner Room is named in recognition of Nigel Bonner's work in creating the museum. The Jarvis Room is named after Russell Jarvis, who was Deputy [[Governor of the Falkland Islands]] from 1997 to 2003, for his dedicated support of the museum.<ref>[https://sgmuseum.gs/jarvis-room/ South Georgia Museum website]</ref>
Recently, they updated their website and have made their collections available online.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collections – South Georgia Museum |url=https://sgmuseum.gs/collections/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=sgmuseum.gs}}</ref> They received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for an ambitious project called the Whalers’ Memory Bank in 2023.


[[File:Bronze bust of Sir Ernest Shackleton, South Georgia Museum, Nov 2017 (2).jpg|thumb|Bronze portrait bust of [[Sir Ernest Shackleton]] by Anthony Smith on display at the South Georgia Museum]]
⚫
The South Georgia Museum opened in 1992 as a specialised whaling museum, subsequently expanding its expositions<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-01-20 |title=South Georgia: The museum at the end of the world reopens for business |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60010608 |access-date=2025-04-03 |language=en-GB}}</ref> to include all aspects of the discovery of the island: [[sealing industry]], whaling, maritime, natural history, and social history.
For several years Tim and Pauline Carr served as museum [[curator]]s, living on board their yacht ''Curlew'' moored in the Grytviken port.<ref name="Carr">{{cite book|author=Tim and Pauline Carr|title=Antarctic Oasis: Under the Spell of South Georgia|place=New York & London|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co.|date=1998}}</ref> The museum is now managed by the [[South Georgia Heritage Trust]] and is staffed by three members who are the only non-permanent residents that live in Grytviken. The collection can also be viewed online.<ref>{{cite web|title=South Georgia Museum|url=https://sgmuseum.gs/the-museum/|access-date=30 January 2022}}</ref>


An occasional [[artist-in-residence]] position is supported by the museum. Previous artists to have been resident at the museum include the British sculptor [[Anthony Smith (sculptor)|Anthony Smith]], who in November 2017 delivered a life-sized bronze portrait bust of [[Ernest Shackleton|Sir Ernest Shackleton]] to the Museum, which is now on permanent display.<ref>{{cite web|title=South Georgia Newsletter, September 2013|url=http://www.gov.gs/NewsArchive/newsletters/(h)South_Georgia_Newsletter,_September_2013.html|website=Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands|accessdate=30 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=South Georgia Newsletter, November 2017|url=http://www.gov.gs/nov-17-newsletter/|website=Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands|accessdate=9 January 2018}}</ref>
The museum is managed by the South Georgia Heritage Trust. Staffed by a small team of four members who live in Grytviken for six months during the austral summer. They are the only people who inhabit the settlement of Grytviken.


The museum reopened in December 2021.<ref name=BBC/>
The museum is visited by around 15,000 people every year. They travel to South Georgia by cruise or expedition ships or yachts. The island is only accessible by travel on vessels.


==See also==
==See also==
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==External links==
==External links==
* [http://sgmuseum.gs/ Museum site]
* [http://sgmuseum.gs/ Museum site]
* [https://ais.axiellcollections.cloud/SGHT/search/simple South Georgia Museum collections online]
* [http://ehive.com/account/3408 South Georgia Museum collections online]


{{SGSSI}}
{{SGSSI}}

Revision as of 13:42, 7 April 2025

South Georgia Museum
South Georgia Museum, Grytviken
Map
Established1991 (1991)
LocationGrytviken, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
FounderNigel Bonner

The South Georgia Museum is situated in Grytviken, near the administrative centre of the UK overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Polar explorers Ernest Shackleton and Frank Wild are buried in Grytviken's graveyard. The museum was established in 1991 by Nigel Bonner.[1]

History

The museum is housed in "the Villa". It was built in 1914, as a residence for the manager of the Grytviken whaling station and his family,[2] and was occupied until the station closed in 1964.

The abandoned building suffered from the effects of severe weather, as well as the destructive actions of vandals. Decades later, after Antarctic scientist David Wynn-Williams suggested it be made into a museum, Antarctic and marine mammal specialist Nigel Bonner and a small team of workers, with funding support from the South Georgia Government, worked to remove environmental hazards at the abandoned whaling station, and renovate and restore the Villa for use as a museum.[3] Bonner wrote: "If [the museum] causes [visitors] to think a little more deeply about the whaling industry, the management of natural resources, and the society of whalers, I think we shall have achieved our objective."[3]

Museum

The South Georgia Museum opened in 1992 as a specialised whaling museum, subsequently expanding its expositions[2] to include all aspects of the discovery of the island, sealing industry, whaling, maritime and natural history, as well as the 1982 Falklands War.

The museum became a popular tourist venue, visited by approximately 10,000 cruise ship and yacht tourists a year until the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

The museum displays include a bronze bust of Duncan Carse by British sculptor Jon Edgar. Carse was influential in the mapping of South Georgia and the island's Mount Carse is named after him. The Bonner Room is named in recognition of Nigel Bonner's work in creating the museum. The Jarvis Room is named after Russell Jarvis, who was Deputy Governor of the Falkland Islands from 1997 to 2003, for his dedicated support of the museum.[4]

Bronze portrait bust of Sir Ernest Shackleton by Anthony Smith on display at the South Georgia Museum

For several years Tim and Pauline Carr served as museum curators, living on board their yacht Curlew moored in the Grytviken port.[5] The museum is now managed by the South Georgia Heritage Trust and is staffed by three members who are the only non-permanent residents that live in Grytviken. The collection can also be viewed online.[6]

An occasional artist-in-residence position is supported by the museum. Previous artists to have been resident at the museum include the British sculptor Anthony Smith, who in November 2017 delivered a life-sized bronze portrait bust of Sir Ernest Shackleton to the Museum, which is now on permanent display.[7][8]

The museum reopened in December 2021.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "South Georgia Museum - South Georgia Museum". sgmuseum.gs.
  2. ^ a b c d Owen Amos (20 January 2022). "South Georgia: The museum at the end of the world reopens for business". BBC News.
  3. ^ a b "Bonner, (William) Nigel 1928–1994". Falklands Biographies. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  4. ^ South Georgia Museum website
  5. ^ Tim and Pauline Carr (1998). Antarctic Oasis: Under the Spell of South Georgia. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Co.
  6. ^ "South Georgia Museum". Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  7. ^ "South Georgia Newsletter, September 2013". Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  8. ^ "South Georgia Newsletter, November 2017". Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Retrieved 9 January 2018.

54°16′49″S 36°30′27″W / 54.2802°S 36.5076°W / -54.2802; -36.5076

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