Features / Sooth Georgia – “Dey didna fling him far enyoch!” (pairt 3)
Dis is pairt o a series o tree peecis o writeens aboot Sooth Georgia. Sooth Georgia sits oot bi himsel eight-hundir mile fae da Falklands an ower a thoosan mile fae Antarctica. Da island is famed fir its connecshun til explorers an da amazin wildlife tae be fun dere.
Fir maist Shetlanders, da connecshun til Sooth Georgia is trowe da industrial whaleen. Earlier in da simmer South Georgia Heritage Trust launched da Whalers’ Memory Bank.
Ower da past twa year, South Georgia Heritage Trust ir bøn wirkin wi ex-whalers an dir faimilies tae big up a bank o informashun aboot whit life wis lik fir fokk at da industrial whalin, writes Helen Balfour.
Fae da projict started in 2023 w’ir hed warkshops, gaddered stories, photos, films, mementos an objicts. Some o hit, nivver afore shared sae widely.
Dis projict started fae an idee at wis hed trowe da Covid-19 pandemic. Da curator o wir museum, Jayne, wis lookit fir infurmaishun aboot da whalers bit cudna fin hit fae dir pirspectiv. Shø evently fan apø Gibbie Fraser’s compilashun “Shetland Whalers Remember…” Dis book tells da stories, idda whalers ain wirds, o dir time at da whaleen. Shø wis vexed at dis wisna mair aesily available an pat tagidder a bid fir fundeen fae da National Lottery Heritage Fund fir da projict.
Online, you will fin twartree differint pairts o da story. Spaekin aboot Da Story o Whaleen, dis is aboot why it cam tae be at Sooth Georgia wis da plaess fir da whaleen. Hit spaeks aboot why it wis important til Briteen’s Waar effort. Whal oil wis øsed baith fir maetin an powerin da nashun. Da oil wis øsed in margarine, cakes an biscuits as weel as maet extract an fir maetin animals an aa.
Da nixt pairt spaeks aboot Da Whalers’ Story an dat wis covered idda last piece fir da Shetland News. Whit life wis lik idda differin pairts o da plaess. Wheddir wirkin idda factory, apø catchers or factory ships – life widda bøn interestin wi dem aa.
Idda Storeroom, you’ll fin objicts fae da Sooth Georgia Museum. Dis objicts spaek ti differin pairts o da history. Een o my favourites bein da Harpoon replica (1996.4.244). Dis wis maed bi a Norsk engineer, likly trowe da winter whin dey widda hed a peerie bit mair time ti demsels. Hits boany maed, oot o brass an highlichts da wye at da harpoons wirked. It helps tae shaa da talent o da folk wirkin i Sooth Georgia.
Da Whalers’ Memory Bank is still beein wirkit apün. We’ll be addin material til it whinivver wi git it. Hoopfully, mair fokk will add ti wir Whalers’ Gallery – whar we hoop tae big up a list o eens at gid tidda whaleen in Sooth Georgia. Dis projict wid a nivver happened ithoot da support, interest an steereen fae da ex-whalers demsels.
Tanks fir readin dis pieces. I sood end wi a peerie fun – laek hoo da whalers wid! Hockin trowe screeds o mindeens fae whalers left tidda Sooth Georgia Museum, we cam across a good yarn. Translated here fir you of coorse. Ee man says, ‘Sooth Georgia is da ferdist flung corner o da Breetish Empire,’ dat promptit fae his freend: ‘Yae an da ….. dat did, niver baald hit far enyoch!’
Fin oot mair at https://whalersmemorybank.sgmuseum.gs/
Pairt 1 an 2:
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