Carl Anton Larsen was born on August 7, 1860, in Østre Halsen, near Larvik, and like many others in the area, he became a whaler. At the age of 25, he had already been promoted to captain.
In 1892, when the whaling industry here was no longer profitable, he captained the «Jason», one of the two ships sent to Antarctica to explore the possibility of whaling there. New land was sighted and on December 4, 1892, he landed on Seymour Island, raised the Norwegian flag and collected the first Antarctic fossils. These discoveries led him to organize a new expedition with three ships and left the port of Sandefjord in the autumn of 1893.
Captain Larsen explored both the west and east sides of the Antarctic Peninsula, and his discoveries have since been described as unparalleled and the most important contribution since Sir James Ross, 50 years earlier.
He discovered new land and named the mainland after the Swedish-Norwegian king: Oscar II Land. Robertson Island, Lindenberg Mount, Christensen Island, Jason Island, Foyn Land, Cape Framnes, and other land areas were named after ships and people associated with the expedition. Larsen's most important discovery was later named Larsen Ice Shelf. Captain Larsen and his second-in-command were also the first to use skis in Antarctica.
An ice shelf is a thick layer of ice that flows from land and extends into the sea over the continental shelf. The ice can be up to 800 meters thick and creates a wall up to 50 meters high facing the sea. The Larsen Ice Shelf is a series of three ice shelves in the northwestern part of the Weddell Sea, stretching along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula from Cape Longing to the area south of Hearst Island. He sailed along this coast in 1893. The area covers 86,000 km², excluding some islands that are covered by ice.
In 1895, Captain Carl Anton Larsen received the RGS Grant Award from the Royal Geographical Society in London for his scientific work during the expeditions with the ship «Jason».
In 1901, as part of the scientific expedition, he sailed south again on the ship «Antarctic» with the Swedish scientist Otto Nordenskjöld as leader. This was the first expedition to winter on the Antarctic Peninsula. The expedition set up a base with a prefabricated cabin on Snow Hill Island off the Antarctic Peninsula. «Antarctic» explored the Weddell Sea, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and Grytviken was discovered and mapped.
On the return trip to Snow Hill Island, the ship was driven into the ice. The crew and scientists were split into two groups, one rescued at Hope Bay, the other at Poulet Island and both managed to survive the winter. On October 30, 1903, five men from the Poulet Island group rowed 180 km through freezing water and reached Snow Hill Island on November 8, just in time to be rescued by the «Uruguay», an Argentinian rescue ship. In the history of Antarctic exploration, it will. November 8, 1903 will always be known as «The Day of the Miracle».
By the time the Nordenskjöld expedition reached Buenos Aires, Captain Larsens had become aware of the whaling opportunities in South Georgia and in 1904 «Compania Argentina de Pesca» was formed with Argentinian funds.
The expedition arrived in Grytviken on November 16, 1904 with the ships «Louise» and «Rolf» as well as the whaler «Fortuna» and they brought with them building structures for a land-based whaling station. The success quickly attracted the attention of other companies, all of which were either directly or indirectly Norwegian. There was a great deal of whaling activity, but also scientific research and a continuous series of meteorological observations. This also marked the beginning of a permanent population of South Georgia with a strong connection to Norway.
Captain CA Larsen's management of Grytviken lasted until 1914. During these ten years, he built up a complete, functional community with social welfare. In 1906, he started the ‘Pesca Fund’. This fund functioned for over 90 years. When the fund was closed, a large sum was donated to the restoration of the whalers' church. As part of his commitment to the welfare of the whalers, Carl Anton Larsen had arranged for a priest to be stationed on site. The priest arrived in 1912, and in April 1913, the idea of building a church was launched. Nine months later, on Christmas Day 1913, the whalers' church was completed. It was consecrated by Pastor Kristen Løken and financed by Captain Larsen.
Grytviken, the first Antarctic whaling station, is now part of the South Georgia Museum, as is the restored church.
From 1923, Captain Carl Anton Larsen was once again active in the Ross Sea region. In 1924, he founded the whaling station on Stewart Island in New Zealand. This was a natural extension of the activities on South Georgia, as Stewart Island is much closer to Antarctica. Larsen was active in whaling expeditions with the floating whaling ship «Sir James Clark Ross» until his death. On December 8, 1924, he suffered a heart attack and was buried in Sandefjord on May 15, 1925.
The whaling station Grytviken was closed down in the mid-1960s due to overfishing of whale stocks. In 2003, most of Grytviken was razed to the ground. The flensing platform was planed away. The collapsed cinema, library, laundry and barracks, including the island's oldest building, were demolished. Fifteen information signs have been erected to explain what you see and what once was.
