St Helena's 500th Anniversary
Pamela Spencer introduces the new museum on St Helena and provides a brief insight into the history of the island on its 500th anniversary.
This year is the five hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the South Atlantic island of St Helena, and as part of the celebrations, and also restoration of rights to British citizenship, a new museum has been opened in the capital, Jamestown. Located in The Old Power House, an eighteenth-century stone building repaired and adapted for the purpose, the museum was opened on May 21st (St Helena’s Day) by the Governor, David Hollamby. St Helena was discovered on May 21st, 1502 by the Portuguese navigator, Juan da Nova Castella. Less than 50 square miles in area, this British colony lies 1,700 miles north-west of Cape Town, and has a population of about 5,000.
There is no harbour or airport. Access to the island is via the RMS St Helena, a 7,000-tonne vessel, purpose-built as a supply ship to satisfy transport, mail and cargo requirements of her name-sake island. Making regular year-round scheduled sailings between the UK and Cape Town, and calling at St Helena and Ascension (St Helena’s nearest neighbour, 703 miles away), the RMS has berths for 128 passengers and 2,000 tonnes of cargo capacity.
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