Half a century ago, the residents of the tiny South Atlantic volcanic island of Tristan da Cunha were forced to evacuate when the volcano, which had been believed to be dormant, began to erupt. They were taken to England as refugees but within two years the majority of them had returned because of homesickness and ill health due to the British weather.
Earth Tremors Signaled Start of Tristan da Cunha Eruption
October 5, 2011 marks 50 years since The Times [subscription required] newspaper reported on the tiny island of Tristan da Cunha, some 1,750 miles from Cape Town, and how ” … continuous earth tremors have been recorded on this lonely South Atlantic island since last Friday.” It was on Sunday October 8, 1961 that some villagers, returning to their homes after Evensong, found doors and windows would not close and cracks had appeared in floors and the ground.
The next afternoon, a volcanic cone had begun to grow and by early Tuesday morning the decision was made to evacuate the island. The 260 or so residents used longboats to transfer to the Tristania and Frances Repetto fishing vessels. They were taken to Nightingale Island some 18 miles away.
But, there was no permanent water supply and only very basic shelter on Nightingale so the Dutch Liner Tjisadane was dispatched to take them to Cape Town. As they passed the settlement, which had been their home, they saw that there were now three cones all belching out smoke and rocks.
Tristan da Cunha Evacuees Arrive in Cape Town
“As the people gazed at what had been their homes … there were many tears” the island chaplain, Rev. Charles Jewell, told The Times after their arrival in Cape Town on October 14, 1961. The refugees were then transferred to the Stirling Castle ready for their journey to England. The liner arrived at Southampton some 24 days after the islanders abandoned their homes.
The evacuees were then taken to temporary accommodations at the abandoned Army base of Pendell Camp near Merstham, Surrey, where they stayed until late January 1962 when permanent homes at a recently closed RAF Camp on the edge of Southampton Water at Calshot near Fawley, Hampshire, were made available to them.
Homesick Evacuees Ask Permission to Return to Tristan de Cunha
But, six months later, poor health in the form of bronchitis and chest infections caused by the damp British weather, as well as homesickness, prompted the community to ask the Colonial Office for permission for a dozen men to return to the island to “... prepare the homes, look after the crops and tame the cattle.”
Their request was granted and The Times reported that the volcano was still emitting a little bit of smoke when the first 12 men arrived back at the island on September 8, 1962. Their observations on the state of the island and its now quiet volcano, as well as the progress of their repairs over the next three months, led to all those refugees aged 21 and over, on December 2nd 1962, voting to return to the island by a majority of 148 to five.
On March 17, 1963, 51 islanders boarded the Amazon liner at Tilbury on the start of their journey home and the remaining 198 Tristan Islanders who wished to return finally left Britain on the Bornholm sailing from Southampton on October 24, 1963 – just over two years since they had first evacuated their homes.
Elaine Findlay - An expert cook, Findlay's passion for food is evidenced by the size of her kitchen and her library of old recipe books
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