Saving Shackleton Heritage – work on the Villa that played pivotal role in Endurance rescue begins this autumn

Stromness Whaling Station, South Georgia
© Rufus Harper Gow/SGHT

South Georgia Heritage Trust announces the project as it reaches its 20-year landmark working to protect and conserve the wildlife and heritage of South Georgia Island

At Stromness Whaling Station on the remote island of South Georgia, in the Southern Ocean, work is about to start on saving one of the most globally important pieces of heritage relating to Sir Ernest Shackleton – the original Stromness Manager’s Villa. This culturally significant building is where Sir Ernest Shackleton, Frank Worsley and Tom Crean sought help when they reached it on 20 May,1916.

After their vessel Endurance sank in the frozen Weddell Sea in 1914, the crew sledged through the ice to Elephant Island with their lifeboats. From there a few of the men set sail from Elephant Island to South Georgia in the hope of being rescued. This included an epic open boat trip of 800 miles followed by an unmapped journey across South Georgia’s mountainous spine to Stromness Whaling Station. On reaching the Manager’s Villa there, they were able to raise help, and the rest is history for this tale of leadership and courage, as the entire crew of Endurance was saved.

With the end of the whaling industry in the 1960s, these remote and inaccessible buildings fell into disrepair but now, thanks to the work of the South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT) and the Friends of South Georgia Island in the USA (FOSGI), this important piece of heritage from the heroic age of polar exploration will be stabilised and conserved for future generations.

Due to the support of its generous donors, SGHT has been able to commission a team of expert builders and carpenters from Norway and the UK to complete this task. The Norwegian team members formed part of a survey of South Georgia’s whaling stations in 2022 and have restored buildings elsewhere on South Georgia that were originally installed by Norwegians involved in the whaling industry. They bring heritage skills still in use in Norway today which will ensure an authentic version of the Villa is saved for future generations.

South Georgia is part of a British Overseas Territory and is administered by the Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI). Once this stabilisation work is complete, and subject to the relevant permission of GSGSSI, there are plans to create a digital ‘twin’ of the Villa. This will result in a 3D version of the Villa with many possible applications which could range from allowing people to virtually ‘knock’ on the famous door to warming themselves at the virtual fireside. This will help further animate the Shackleton story to a wider audience which is important given the inaccessibility of the Villa within the hazardous whaling station.

Alison Neil, Chief Executive of SGHT said: “As SGHT celebrates its 20^th anniversary, I am delighted to announce the start of this work on the Stromness Manager’s Villa this autumn.

“The Shackleton story is so intrinsically linked with South Georgia and we are delighted that we have been able to raise the funds to stabilise this important building that played such a significant part in the rescue of the entire Endurance crew. The subsequent creation of a digital version of the Villa will have many possible uses in terms of telling the Shackleton story as well as providing access to a global audience. We look forward to working on that in due course.

“This project is a continuation of our work on South Georgia over the last twenty years and we look forward to the next twenty as we strive to shine a light on and support the environmental recovery and cultural heritage of this wonderful island.”

Since 2005, SGHT has worked with partners including GSGSSI to help transform South Georgia’s ecosystem. Through the Habitat Restoration Project, in collaboration with the Friends of South Georgia Island (FOSGI), over £10 million was raised to eradicate invasive species, removing rats and mice – the largest successful project of its kind worldwide. South Georgia has been rodent free for eight years now, allowing seabirds to once again flourish in this important breeding ground.  In recent years, the island has been celebrated by Sir David Attenborough as an ecosystem in recovery, showing nature’s extraordinary ability to heal, with whales making an inspiring return to its now protected waters.

As well as starting work on the Stromness Manager’s Villa this autumn, SGHT will also be installing the first part of a Whale Memorial at the whaling station at Grytviken. South Georgia was the epicentre of the modern whaling industry and to ensure that the world always remembers how close we came to whales becoming extinct in the seas around South Georgia, SGHT commissioned Scottish artist Michael Visocchi RSA to create this major new artwork for the island. The Memorial commemorates the 175,000 whales lost in South Georgia between 1905 and 1965, while celebrating the return of these majestic creatures to the island’s waters. Called Commensalis: The Spirit Tables of South Georgia, the creation of this memorial shows the power of art to confront often uncomfortable histories and offer space for reflection.

SGHT has beautifully revitalised the South Georgia Museum, managing it on behalf of the GSGSSI since July 2006 and engaging the public through its collections, displays, and outreach programmes.

A major project undertaken by the Museum is the Whalers’ Memory Bank which launched in June 2025. Working alongside former whaling communities in Scotland, the Whalers’ Memory Bank has combined new and existing materials from former whalers, which are now captured in one place for the first time. It tells the story of modern whaling and sets the context of why this industry and its products were so important, and an important part of Scottish social history that until now has been untold. https://whalersmemorybank.sgmuseum.gs

Nick Prentice, SGHT Chairman said: “SGHT is a small charity that has achieved a lot over the last twenty years and this milestone has provided a good moment to take stock. What is clear is that we couldn’t have done any of it without the dedication of our staff and trustees and our many loyal supporters and collaborators. In relation to the work on the Stromness Manager’s Villa, I would like to thank Mr & Mrs Barry Lipman, Professor Frederik Paulsen and the late Mr Robert Burton who have been so supportive of our work in so many ways. The Garfield Weston Foundation has generously awarded a grant of £100,000, the RSK Foundation has provided significant in-kind support through the work of RSK Falklands Islands Ltd, and HX Expeditions is helping us get crew down to the island.

“Working with FOSGI in the USA has also been important to our fundraising and project development, as was the case with the successful Habitat Restoration ten years ago. Finally, I would like to thank the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, who administer the Island at part of a British Overseas Territory, for their continued input and collaboration and for allowing these important projects to proceed. I am delighted we are able to begin work on this highly significant Shackleton heritage as part of marking our anniversary.”

The project is also being supported by 60 South Ltd, who have been contracted to provide transport and accommodation for the team throughout the season, onboard their vessel Meredian. Additional vessel support is being provided by Ocean Expeditions onboard their vessel Sola and Larsen Limited who have supported the biosecurity around the project.

You can see a timeline of SGHT’s creation as charity and its achievements in the last 20 years here: https://sght.org/sght-is-twenty/

– ENDS –

For interviews high-res images or for more information, please contact the Culture Communications Collective:

Alison Byard: alison@culturecommscollective.com

Morag Wood: morag@culturecommscollective.com

Notes to Editors:

Available for interview

• Alison Neil, CEO of the South Georgia Heritage Trust

About the South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT)

• For further information visit: http://www.sght.org or fosgi.org
• A short film about the Stromness Manager’s Villa is available on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/871773510/86280f9af3
• SGHT was founded in 2005 to help preserve the sub-Antarctic island’s natural, human and cultural heritage; raise awareness of the island’s endangered flora and fauna through research and public engagement and manage practical conservation programmes to protect native species.
• SGHT and its USA counterpart Friends of South Georgia Island (FOSGI) work closely with the Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Island (GSGSSI).
• In 2018, Scottish-based charity the South Georgia Heritage Trust and the GSGSSI officially declared the Island of South Georgia free of rodents for the first time since humans arrived on the island over 200 years ago, following a decade-long rodent eradication programme carried out by SGHT.
• SGHT and FOSGI raised £10 million in addition to in kind support to finance the Habitat Restoration Project to eradicate invasive rodents.
• Covering 108,723 hectares (1087 km²), the Habitat Restoration Project is more than eight times larger than any other rodent eradication area ever tackled anywhere in the world.
• The legacy of this Habitat Restoration Project is maintaining the rodent free status. Fundraising by SGHT and FOSGI contributes to the work of Samuri (Sammy), Hunter and King the sniffer dogs and a permanent GSGSSI rodent detector dog team, a £90,000 a year programme run by the GSGSSI.
• This globally significant rodent eradication was dependent on the completion of the GSGSSI project to eradicate reindeer from South Georgia (another human-introduced species). The removal of reindeer and improving bird numbers have contributed to a resurgence in invasive plant species. The GSGSSI has recently recommitted to a £250,000 programme of invasive plant management.
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is one of the UK’s most remote and environmentally pristine Overseas Territories and is administered by the GSGSSI. It is internationally recognised for its biological importance, including its biodiversity, breeding populations of seabirds and marine mammals and has featured in BBC series such as Frozen Planet, Frozen Planet II, Blue Planet and Planet Earth.
• SGHT manages and operates the South Georgia Museum on behalf of the GSGSSI. Visit: https://sgmuseum.gs/
• SGHT has also provided support and funding for a number of environmental programmes include the BAS Wildwater Whales research and the Albatross Protection programme run by the RSPB. It will continue to support environmental projects relevant to its charitable aims of protecting and conserving the wildlife of South Georgia.
• SGHT has a YouTube account full of engaging videos about the island and its wildlife. Visit: https://bit.ly/3MnePJC

About the South Georgia Museum

• For further information visit: https://sgmuseum.gs/
• The museum is located in Grytviken, a former whaling station. The museum is housed in a heritage building, once the whaling station manager’s villa.
• The South Georgia Museum was opened to visitors in 1992. In 2006 South Georgia Heritage Trust took over the management of the museum.

About The Whalers’ Memory Bank

• For further information visit sgmuseum.gs
• To create the Memory Bank the South Georgia Museum ran several workshops with whaling veterans where they shared their stories, knowledge and personal collections before they were lost forever.
• The Memory Bank is underpinned by a database of wider collections and stories for those who want to undertake wider research and also links to other books and publications that former whalers have produced.
• The Memory Bank was made possible by National Lottery players with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
• It was also made possible with the support of partners including the Scottish Fisheries Museum (Anstruther), the Scottish Maritime Museum (Irvine), and Dundee Heritage Trust’s Verdant Works. Salvesen Ex-Whalers Club and the Shetland ex-Whalers Association have also been instrumental in sharing their experiences and memories.

About GSGSSI

• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is one of the UK’s most remote and environmentally pristine Overseas Territories. It is internationally recognised for its biological importance, including its biodiversity, breeding populations of seabirds and marine mammals and has featured in BBC series such as Frozen Planet, Blue Planet and Planet Earth.

About the Garfield Weston Foundation

• Established in 1958, the Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-founded grant-maker that gives money to support a wide variety of charities across the UK. The Foundation’s funding comes from an endowment of shares in the Weston family business – a successful model that still exists today. Each year the Foundation gives away its income and donations have continued to grow. Since it was established, it has donated over £1.5 billion, of which over half has been given away in the past ten years. In the most recent financial year the Foundation gave away over £130 million to nearly 3,000 charities across the UK.