Tristan da Cunha: An Island at the Edge of the World

Located in the South Atlantic, directly between Cape Town in South Africa and Buenos Aires in Argentina, the island of Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited place on the planet. It is a windswept place of natural beauty that has been home to a unique community for more than 200 years.

From its discovery to the tumultuous events of the 20th century and beyond, Tristan captures our imaginations and the hearts of those who live there.

A British Overseas Territory, Tristan da Cunha is an archipelago that consists of Tristan da Cunha, Inaccessible Island, Nightingale Islands, and Gough Island far to the south. Only the main island of Tristan Da Cunha is permanently inhabited, while Gough Island is frequented by personnel from South Africa who operate a weather station.

Tristan lies 1,732 miles (2,787 kilometers) from Cape Town, South Africa, to the east and 2,454 miles (3,949 kilometers) from the coast of Argentina to the west. The nearest island to the north is Saint Helena, which is 1,514 miles (2,437 kilometers) away.

The main island is 38 square miles (98 square kilometers) and is home to a population of 250 people who live there permanently in a settlement called “Edinburgh of the Seven Seas.” The main island is also an active volcano, Queen Mary’s Peak, which stands 6,765 feet (2,062 meters) above sea level and has threatened the lives of the islanders, most notably when it erupted in 1961.

Inaccessible Island, 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Tristan da Cunha is the remnant of a volcano, long since dormant. It is an inhospitable place with a few rocky beaches that host colonies of penguins and fur seals.

To the south of Tristan and Inaccessible are three islands known as Nightingale Islands. The largest of the three, Nightingale Island, measures just 1.5 square miles (4 square kilometers). To its north lie two islets, Stoltenhoff Island and Middle Island (also known as Alex Island), which are little more than rocky outcrops.

Tristan has a mild oceanic climate with temperatures rarely exceeding 77°F (25°C). However, it is a windy place that often experiences gale-force winds and dangerous waters that have claimed many ships throughout the centuries.

The islands were first spotted in 1506 by Portuguese sailors under the captaincy of Tristão da Cunha. Strong winds and fierce seas, however, prevented these explorers from landing. Some sources claim that the Portuguese landed there in 1520 in order to obtain water, but these sources are disputed in the historical record.

The first official expeditions to the islands were mounted in 1650 and 1659. The Dutch wanted to turn the islands into a supply base for ships, but the absence of natural harbors convinced them to abandon their efforts.

In the 18th century, the island became popular for the whaling and sealing industries. The island was claimed for Austria by the Société Impériale Asiatique de Trieste, a company founded in 1775. The company, however, did not last long and had to sell its assets, including non-existent real estate on Tristan da Cunha. In 1780, Joseph II, the Holy Roman Emperor, became the sole monarch of the Austrian Habsburgs, and it is very likely he had no idea about Austria’s claim to Tristan.

Either way, the claim went ignored.

In the summer of 1790/91, the island got its first resident in the form of Captain John Patten, an American involved in the seal fur and whale oil industries. Operating from a base of tents, he supplied passing ships with trade items, mostly furs. At this time, Patten and others like him made temporary homes here and never intended to stay.

Early Settlement

The first true settler on Tristan da Cunha was an American named Jonathan Lambert, who, along with two others, intended to build a refreshment station. They were joined by a fourth, but three of the men, including Lambert, died in 1812 after drowning in a fishing accident. The sole survivor of this group was Tomasso Corri, an Italian from Livorno. Lambert had claimed the island as his own independent nation, but the British disregarded this claim (especially since he was dead) and annexed the islands on August 14, 1816.

The pretext for this annexation was that Napoleon had been defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo and was exiled to Saint Helena, arriving there in October of that year. Stationing a garrison on Tristan da Cunha would significantly weaken Napoleon’s (already slim) chance of escaping as he had done before on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean.

Americans had also used the base during the War of 1812 for American cruisers to prey on British shipping. By annexing the islands, the threat of this happening again was mitigated.

By 1817, however, the British Admiralty had decided the garrison on Tristan was no longer necessary and recalled the marines who were stationed there. Corporal William Glass, with his wife and two children, requested to stay on the island. His wish was granted. He and his family were joined in his decision by two others, Samuel Burnell and John Nankivel, who were stonemasons, both originally from Plymouth. The latter two did not stay long, but they left their mark on the buildings, some of which are still standing.

This little community grew over the years as settlers and shipwrecked sailors joined, and a colony began to grow. However, there was a problem in that the majority of the community was made up of men who desired wives. In 1827, five mixed-race women from Saint Helena were convinced to stay on Tristan, and later, African women from the Cape Colony arrived on Tristan and stayed.

In 1836, the community was joined by Peter Groen, a Dutchman who anglicized his name to Peter Green. In 1837, Thomas Rogers joined the colony, and in 1849, Andrew Hagan joined, too, both of whom were American whalemen.

In 1853, William Glass died, and 25 of his family members decided to leave the island. Four years later, another 45 people left the island and settled in the Cape Colony. With only 28 people left on the island, the colony had gone from a thriving community to a lonely handful of people.

In the latter half of the century, the whaling and sealing industries were in decline, and the Suez Canal opened. Tristan was out of the way but not forgotten.

In 1867, Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria, visited the islands. As he was the Duke of Edinburgh, the settlement on Tristan was named “Edinburgh of the Seven Seas” in his honor.

In 1875, the islands were formally declared part of the British Empire, and the British Navy implemented plans for annual resupply. The population recovered but was hit with disaster in 1885. A harsh winter had caused a poor harvest, and a boat that was sent to trade with a ship offshore was lost, with all 15 islanders on board being lost to the waves.

To make matters worse, a plague of rats, survivors from an earlier shipwreck, wreaked havoc in the colony, ruining the few food supplies that were left. The British government was concerned about the settlers’ survival and planned to have them all evacuated to the Cape Colony. However, they decided to send supplies to support the colony instead.

In 1897, the population was just 64 people, but the years that followed brought an end to the food shortage, and the population began to grow once again. In 1892, the colony was joined by two shipwrecked Italian sailors, Gaetano Lavarello and Andrea Repetto. Lavarello brought with him valuable carpentry skills, and in the years that followed, the islanders were able to build seaworthy boats that could take them on fishing and hunting trips to Nightingale Island.

The islanders became so self-sufficient during this time that they still survived even when 400 head of cattle were lost due to overgrazing in dry weather, which coincided with a significantly reduced potato crop.

The first half of the 20th century was a period of isolation for the islanders, with the period of the First World War being particularly significant, as the Admiralty had no ships to spare for supplying Tristan.

In World War II, Tristan da Cunha became an important asset for the British. German U-boats operated throughout the Atlantic, and the British set up a station to monitor their movements. The islanders helped construct the station and were paid in naval goods, as the only currency used on the island was potatoes.

During the war, the island’s first newspaper, the Tristan Times, was founded. Paid employment was introduced in the 1940s with the introduction of a commercial fishery and, in 1949, a canning factory. The plentiful numbers of crayfish that began to be harvested in large quantities were of great importance to the new economy on Tristan.

In the 1950s, the Tristan islanders reached an agreement with the South African government to allow the South Africans to build a weather station on Gough Island. With this agreement came annual visits from the South African Navy.

Evacuation

In August 1961, Tristan’s volcano began to rumble. A fissure opened up in the ground between the settlement and the canning factory, while earthquakes and landslides threatened the town.

The entire population of 264 people was in luck and had enough boats to take them to Nightingale Island on October 10, where they spent an uneasy night. The following day, luck was still on their side, and a Dutch ship, the Tjisadane, arrived at a fortuitous time and was able to ferry everyone to Cape Town. From there, the evacuees were taken on board the RMS Stirling Castle, which then sailed to Southampton.

They were housed at a former RAF camp, and the islanders would have to spend the next two years away from their homes on Tristan. Pressured by the Tristanians’ requests, the UK government eventually sent an exploratory party to the island to assess whether it was safe to return.

When the group of six landed, they set up a base in the house of the island’s administrator. After a few days, a helicopter appeared and landed in the garden. Several Russians exited the vehicle and were surprised to find they were not alone. They promptly got back in the helicopter and left without a trace!

After the island was declared safe again, 198 islanders left England and arrived home on November 10, 1963. A large field of solidified lava covered the area east of the settlement, and the canning factory had been lost, but Edinburgh of the Seven Seas had been virtually untouched.

Throughout the decades following the resettlement, the island became modernized. From 1965 to 1967, a new harbor was built. Roads, a hospital, and sewerage facilities were constructed, and electricity generators were brought in.

The diesel generators were housed in the fishing factory. In 2008, after a fire caused extensive damage, consultants and contractors from South Africa were hired to upgrade the system to modern standards with enough power to provide for settlement growth.

Settlement growth even included a 9-hole golf course established in 1977, which was built mainly for a homesick expat living there at the time. The grass is kept short by cattle as the course is principally a pasture! There are no greens, and the fairways are frequented by live hazards such as cows and chickens.

As of May 1, 2024, there are 238 Tristan da Cunha Islanders. Forty-one of them live overseas, but 26 expatriate workers, families, and other visitors also live on the island, bringing the total to 223. This number fluctuates constantly as visitors and residents come and go.

The entire permanent resident population consists of only ten last names: Bredell, Collins, Glass, Green, Hagan, Lavarello, Repetto, Rogers, Squibb, and Swain.

Today, the community on Tristan thrives. The main crop is potatoes, while sheep are raised for local consumption. The backbone of the economy is the fishing trade, and lobsters from Tristan da Cunha are highly sought after as a delicacy.

Living on a windswept island in the South Atlantic is not an easy life. The community on Tristan has undergone many challenges over the centuries and has emerged stronger than ever before. Unphased by their remote situation, many Tristaners revel in the rugged beauty of their home and their lives away from the bustling metropolises.

Hardy survivors, the people of Tristan are always welcoming of outsiders and eager to promote their love for their very special home at the edge of human civilization.