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MEETINGS
ST HELENA
a talk by Mervyn Watson.
Mervyn Watson is the offspring of St Helenans, as were his parents, and so he was eminently suited to give us this talk on the island and its people, especially after he and his wife visited St Helena a few years ago, mainly to do research into his family tree. He illustrated his talk with a lot of photographs of the island, and brought along two books he had published on two branches of his family tree, as examples of the great deal of work he had done. He mentioned that although the books were not professionally printed and published, and he had done a very limited number just for his family, he had gone to the trouble of getting ISBN numbers for them, so that his work would not be lost. This is worth noting for those members who intend writing up their family history.
Mervyn and his wife Lyn had emigrated to Canada from South Africa some years ago, but had now returned to South Africa, following in the footsteps of their 3 children. Apart from being an ace tennis player, Mervyn was a school teacher, principal and Justice of the Peace; his Irish wife was an occupational therapist, and his children had all excelled in their fields - obviously a very talented and achievement oriented family! Or is it the St Helena mix of genes?
Mervyn started with a bit of the history. St Helena is a small island in the South Atlantic, south of Ascension Island and west of the Cunene River (border of Angola).
As everyone knows, Napoleon was exiled to St Helena, and died there. The island was discovered in 1502 by Portuguese sailors and named after the wife of the Portuguese Governor (King?). In 1513 Don Fernando Lopez became the first inhabitant when he escaped imprisonment and hid out on the island. Passing ships would leave food for him, and also a slave, who eventually betrayed him. He was taken back to Portugal to face trial, and sent back to St Helena for another 30 years.
In 1588 Captain Cavendish stopped off there for fresh water, and English pirates used it as a base. In 1592 Portugal abandoned the island. The Dutch then occupied it from 1644 to 1651, until the Cape of Good Hope was established in 1652. The English East India Company then laid claim to the island.
The Duke of Wellington visited in 1805, and in 1815 Napoleon arrived aboard the HMS Northumberland. Napoleon's remains were only taken away in 1840. When the Suez Canal was built in 1859, the number of ships calling at the island for provisions dropped dramatically from 1000 per year as ships took the shorter route. As a result, large numbers of St Helenans left to find work in South Africa, England etc in about 1873.
In 1890 King Dinizulu was exiled to St Helena with his 3 wives and produced many children. The Boer prisoners of war were held there on Deadwood Plain between 1900 and 1902 during the Anglo Boer War. The large number of Boer graves are well maintained. And finally, on 21 May 2002, the 500th anniversary of the discovery of St Helena, the Saints regained their British Citizenship.
The people are a mix of Dutch, Portuguese, English, Slaves, Indonesians, Chinese, Malaysians and Indians. A census taken in mid 1800s showed half the population was British garrison, the other half slaves. Numbers have dropped from 5500 to about 4000, mostly over the age of 60. Jamestown is the only town - and fresh water. RMS St Helena is the only way to get to the island, and only once a year is there a ship to Tristan da Cunha. Mervyn described how people land on the island to this day - catching a wave on a tender boat, and grabbing on to a rope on the quay. The alternative is to go in a cage, which is lifted from the ship by a crane.
Most of the buildings are made of volcanic rock. The biggest money spinner on the island is the beautiful stamps they produce. Mervyn told us a few tales about Napoleon and his life there, and how he (Mervyn) had turned down an invitation to play tennis with the Governor at Plantation House when he saw the condition of the tennis court - covered in weeds! Prince Andrew High School occupies the only flat area for sport. Some parts of the island are very barren (Sandy By in the South East), and Diana's Peak, their mountain, rises 823 m above sea level. Of interest is that originally the Anglican Bishop at the Cape of Good Hope was known as the Bishop of St Helena and South Africa. There are only 2 South African doctors, no vets or dentists.
Six of Mervyn's 8 great grandparents were born on St Helena, one was Swedish, the other unknown origin. Some of his ancestors were English, some were slaves, some worked for the Belcombs in the time of Napoleon.. All the church registers and many of the newspapers on the island have been collected in the Archives. One can either go there yourself, or pay a researcher and they are very helpful.
It was a fascinating talk illustrated with lovely slides, which would make anyone with St Helenan ancestry want to jump onto the next boat going there. David Slingsby thanked Mervyn Watson, and we adjourned for tea.