Leith Harbour, also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station on the northeast coast of South Georgia, established and operated byChristian Salvesen Ltd, Edinburgh. The station was in operation from 1909 until 1965. It was the largest of seven whaling stations, situated near the mouth of Stromness Bay. One man prominently involved in setting up Leith Harbour was William Storm Harrison. It is named after Leith, the harbour area of Edinburgh, Christian Salvesen's home town.
History
was once the world's largest whaling centre, with shore stations at Grytviken, Leith Harbour, Ocean Harbour, Husvik, Stromness and Prince Olav Harbour. The Japanese companiesKokusai Gyogyo, Kabushike Kaisha and Nippon Suisan Kaisha sub-leased Leith Harbour in 1963–65, the last seasons of South Georgia whaling. In 1912 Leith Harbour was the site of the second introduction of reindeer to South Georgia, an attempt that failed when the entire herd was killed by an avalanche in 1918. During the Second World War the whaling stations were closed excepting Grytviken and Leith Harbour. Most of the British and Norwegian whaling factories and catchers were destroyed by Germanraiders, while the rest were called up to serve under Allied command. The resident British Magistrates attended to the island's defence throughout the War. The Royal Navy armed the merchant vesselQueen of Bermuda to patrol South Georgian and Antarctic waters, and deployed two four-inch guns at key locations protecting the approaches to Cumberland Bay and Stromness Bay, i.e. to Grytviken and Leith Harbour respectively. These batteries were manned by volunteers from among the Norwegian whalers who were trained for the purpose. Prince Philip visited the settlement in 1957 in the only visit to South Georgia by any member of the Royal Family. The Falklands War was precipitated in March 1982 when a group of around fifty Argentines, posing as scrap metal merchants, occupied the abandoned whaling station at Leith Harbour. They were understood to have a commercial contract to remove scrap metal at Leith Harbour but they arrived aboard ARA Bahía Buen Suceso, a ship chartered by the Argentine Government. 32 special forces troops from Corbeta Uruguay were brought by the Argentine Navy ship Bahía Paraiso to South Georgia and landed at Leith Harbour on 25 March 1982. On 25 April 1982 the Royal Navy damaged and captured the ArgentinesubmarineSanta Fé at South Georgia. The Argentinegarrison in Grytviken surrendered without returning fire and so did the detachment in Leith Harbour, commanded by Captain Astiz, the following day.
Today
There is a gun emplacement on the hill behind the station, and another at Hansen Point with the original 4-inch gun still in position. Leith Harbour boasted a hospital, a library, a cinema, and a narrow gauge railway. The centre of Leith Harbour is a graveyard with a second, larger, cemetery to the rear of the station. Due to its nature, the station also contained a factory and a flensing plan or platform. Since 2010 access to the station has been prohibited due to the dangers posed by asbestos and collapsing buildings. Leith Harbour and the hardships endured by the whalers are the subject of "The Little Pot Stove", a song covered by Nic Jones and written by the former whaling engineer turned singer-songwriter Harry Robertson.
