This day in history: The S.S. Gamtoos sails to build South Africa’s first weather station on Marion Island in 1948

Following South Africa’s annexation of Marion and Prince Edward Islands at the turn of the year, the S.S. Gamtoos, the Department of Commerce’s coastal steamer, left Cape Town on 12 January 1948 with hut sections aboard to build Marion’s first weather station.  Also shipped were an extra 100 tons of coal in bags to add to the 160 tons in the bunkers, to give the ship an extended endurance of 25 days.

Under the captaincy of Wally Finlayson, previously a Lieutenant-Commander, the small ship (797 grt, launched 1937) had a complement of 95. Other than the crew, the Gamtoos carried 20 experienced boatman used to working the guano islands with a decked motor boat Aqua and two double-ended “flat boom” boats aboard, 33 army sappers under Lieutenant W.L.C. Bond of the South African Engineer Corps and two PWD carpenters to erect the new base, several governmental representatives, and two from the media: newsreel filmer Ken Sara of the African Mirror and journalist and author John Marsh.

The journey south through the “Roaring Forties” experienced bad weather: nearly all the army men were seasick.  On 20 January the Gamtoos arrived at Marion Island to come to anchor in Transvaal Cove, joining the frigate H.M.S.A.S. Natal that had arrived at the island a week earlier under Lieutenant-Commander Richard Paul Dryden-Dymond (b. 26 July 1912).  Landing personnel and stores from the Gamtoos commenced on the day of its arrival.

Featured photograph: the S.S. Gamtoos steams out of Cape Town docks

Selected References:

Dryden Dymond, R.P. 1948.  Report of Proceedings of H.M.S.A.S. “Natal” from 7th January, 1948, to 2nd February, 1948.  Pretoria: South African National Defence Force Documentation Centre.  9 pp.

Marsh, J.H. 1948.  No Pathway Here.  Cape Town: Howard B. Timmins.  200 pp.

John Cooper, Principal Investigator, Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University