South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The territory was formed in 1985; previously they were governed as part of the Falkland Islands Dependencies. The territory consists of the island of South Georgia, which is the largest island in the territory, and a group of smaller islands known as the South Sandwich Islands. There is no native population on any of the islands, and the only inhabitants are the British Government Officer, scientists and support staff from the British Antarctic Survey who maintain a base at the capital, King Edward Point, and museum staff at nearby Grytviken.

Photo by Mel Robinson

The sovereignty of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has been disputed since their discovery. Argentina is the only country to still maintain a claim over the islands. The sovereignty dispute over SGSSI contributed to the 1982 Falklands War and has remained unresolved until today. Argentina maintained a settlement on the South Sandwich Islands from 1976 until 1982, and occupied South Georgia during the Falklands War.

There is an incredible abundance of wildlife on South Georgia and it’s surrounding Islands. It offers a safe nesting ground for over 30 million Southern Ocean sea birds including penguins, albatrosses, petrels, prions, gulls and shags.

The beaches of South Georgia are important breeding sites for elephant seals and fur seals. Fur seals in particular are a happy success story having been hunted to near extinction and now flourishing..

Before the advent of whaling in the early 1900s, hundreds of whales would have been seen on a passage to and around South Georgia, however numbers were decimated to less than 10%. Whales in the Southern Ocean are now protected by the International Whaling Convention of 1974 when the area was designated a whale sanctuary but numbers will take a long time to recover their former levels. However it is still common to see right whales, humpbacks, male sperm whales, killer whales, southern bottle-nosed whales, pilot whales and hourglass dolphins.

Once on the island it is possible to see native birds such as the South Georgia Pipit, the South Georgia Pintail duck and Antarctic terns. Rats and mice can be found in many costal areas, eating the eggs of burrowing birds but they are not native to the island. Whalers also introduced cats, dogs, ponies, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, reindeer, rabbits, fur foxes and a monkey, all that remain are the rats and two herds of reindeer.

The Island of South Georgia was first said to have been sighted in 1675 by Anthony de la Roche, a London merchant, and it was named Pepys Island after Samuel Pepys, the Admiralty Secretary. It was rediscovered in 1775 by Captain James Cook, who after dismissing his find as "not worth the discovery," went on to name it the Isle of Georgia in honour of King George III.

Photo by Mel Robinson

Throughout the 19th century it was a sealers' base and, in the following century, a whalers' base until whaling ended mid-century. The first land-based whaling station, Grytviken, was set up in 1904 and was in operation until 1965. The seven whaling stations, all on the North coast with its sheltered harbours, starting in the West are:

• Prince Olav Harbour (from 1911 factory-ship, land-based station 1916 to 1934)
• Leith Harbour (1909 to 1965)
• Stromness (from 1907 factory-ship, land-based station 1912-1931, repair yard to 1960/1961)
• Husvik (from 1907 factory-ship, land-based station 1960 to 1960, out of operation 1930 to 1945)
• Grytviken (1904 to 1965)
• Godthul (1908 to 1929, only a rudimentary land base, main operations on factory-ship)
• Ocean Harbour (1909 to 1920)

During WW2, a small garrison force of Norwegian soldiers were stationed at South Georgia to protect against a possible invasion by Japanese forces. But due to the remote location of the island, the cold was a worse enemy than the Japanese.

The Falklands War was precipitated on 19^th March 1982 when a group of Argentineans, posing as scrap metal merchants, occupied South Georgia at an abandoned whaling station at Leith Harbour. The commander of the Argentinian Garrison was Alfredo Astiz, a Captain in the Argentine Navy who, years later, was convicted of felonies committed during the Dirty War in Argentina. He renamed the island Isla San Pedro when he proclaimed Argentine authority over South Georgia on 2^nd April. The island was recaptured by British forces on 25^th April (Operation Paraquat).

The research station at King Edward Point, near the former Norwegian whaling station of Grytviken, originally established up in 1949/1950 by the British Antarctic Survey (until 1962 called Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey), became a small military garrison after the Falklands war. This returned to civilian use in 2001 and is operated by the British Antarctic Survey.

• South Georgia Island, the big main island (54°15′00″S, 36°45′00″W)
• Bird Island
• Annenkov Island
• Cooper Island
• Pickersgill Islands
• Welcome Islands
• Willis Islands
• Trinity Island
• Black Rocks

Executive power is vested in The Queen, and is exercised by the Commissioner, a post held by the Governor of the Falkland Islands. An Assistant Commissioner deals with policy matters and is also Director of SGSSI Fisheries, responsible for the issue of fishing licenses. An Operations Manager deals with administrative matters relating to the territory. The Financial Secretary and Attorney General of the territory are appointed and hold similar appointments in the Falkland Islands' Government.

As there are no permanent inhabitants on the islands, there is no legislative council and no elections are held. The UK Foreign Office manages the foreign relations of the territory. Since 1982, the territory celebrates Liberation Day on June 14.

The constitution of the territory, the manner in which its government is directed, and the availability of judicial review were discussed in a series of litigations in 2001 to 2005; in particular Regina v. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Appellant) ex parte Quark Fishing Limited [2005] UKHL 57. Although its government is entirely directed by the UK Foreign Office, it was held that its decisions under that direction could not be challenged as if they were in law decisions of a UK government department; thus the European Convention on Human Rights did not apply.

South Georgia is situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 1390 km south by east of the Falkland Islands, in 54-55°S, 36-38°W. It has a land area of 3756 km², including satellite islands, but excluding the South Sandwich Islands which form a separate island group. The main island itself, also called Pepys Island (San Pedro in Spanish), has an area of 3528 km². It is mountainous, with 11 peaks over 2,000 m high, their slopes furrowed with deep gorges filled with glaciers (Fortuna Glacier being the largest). Geologically, it consists of gneiss and argillaceous schists, with no trace of fossils, showing that the island is, like the Falkland Islands, a surviving fragment of some greater land-mass now vanished, most probably indicating a former extension of the Andean system. The German expedition sent out to observe the transit of Venus was stationed at Royal Bay, on the south-east side of the island in 1882.

The climate in the islands is variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow. Most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia (Pepys Island) is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes. Mount Paget on South Georgia is 2,934 m high. The islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism. The north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 20th century, live on South Georgia.

As there are no native inhabitants, economic activity in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is limited. The territory has revenues of less than $300,000 against expenditures of nearly $500,000. The main sources of income for the territory include fishing, tourism and sale of postage stamps.