South Georgia Museum

Motto: The Museum at the End of the World
South Georgia Museum, Grytviken
Established	1991 (1991)
Location	Grytviken,South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Founder	Nigel Bonner

TheSouth Georgia Museum is situated inGrytviken, near the administrative centre of theUK overseas territory ofSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Polar explorersErnest Shackleton andFrank Wild are buried in Grytviken's graveyard. The museum was established in 1991 byNigel Bonner.^[1]

The museum is housed in "the Villa". It was built in 1914, as a residence for the manager of theGrytvikenwhaling 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 specialistNigel 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]

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 1982Falklands War.

The museum became a popular tourist venue, visited by approximately 10,000cruise ship andyacht tourists a year until theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[2]

The museum displays include a bronze bust ofDuncan Carse by British sculptorJon Edgar. Carse was influential in the mapping of South Georgia and the island'sMount 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 DeputyGovernor of the Falkland Islands from 1997 to 2003, for his dedicated support of the museum.^[4]

For several years Tim and Pauline Carr served as museumcurators, living on board their yachtCurlew moored in the Grytviken port.^[5] The museum is now managed by theSouth 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 occasionalartist-in-residence position is supported by the museum. Previous artists to have been resident at the museum include the British sculptorAnthony Smith, who in November 2017 delivered a life-sized bronze portrait bust ofSir Ernest Shackleton to the Museum, which is now on permanent display.^[7][8]

The museum reopened in December 2021.^[2]

• History of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• Norwegian Lutheran Church (Grytviken, South Georgia)

• Museum site
• South Georgia Museum collections online

54°16′49″S36°30′27″W / 54.2802°S 36.5076°W /-54.2802; -36.5076

• Museums established in 1916
• Museums established in 1991
• Museums in Antarctica
• Whaling in the United Kingdom
• Buildings and structures in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• Local museums
• History of South Georgia
• 1991 establishments in Antarctica
• 1991 establishments in dependent territories of the United Kingdom
• Whaling in Antarctica
• Museums in dependent territories of the United Kingdom

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