Three Years in Tristan Da Cunha

by Katherine Mary Barrow

Katherine Mary Barrow. Wife of the Rev. J. G. Barrow, Missionary Clergyman in Tristan Da Cunha and fellow-worker with him on that island

Genres: Memoir, Tristan Da Cunha, Nonfiction

140 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A meticulous diary of life on Tristan da Cunha at the turn of the century by the wife of a vicar stationed on the island for three years. Occasionally humorous but mostly delicate and sensitive depictions of island life in a small community in the south Atlantic ocean. The rhythm of life is described nicely, with cries of 'Sail, ho!' and minor medical issues for Katherine to attend to, reports of the construction of houses, educating the children, visits from passing ships, and expeditions to inaccessible parts of the island and, indeed, neighbouring Inaccessible Island. The text is rarely boring and Katherine's vivid descriptions of day to day life meld nicely with her careful recording of the names of the members of the small community.

My only sadness was that this edition lacks Katherine's photographs which apparently pepper the original. The formatting and corrections are for the most part fine - only a handful of errors and these don't detract from the fascinating text.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty interesting for a book written 100 years ago by a minister's wife. there are still people living on this remote volcanic island in the south atlantic. probably still eeking out a living on potatoes and sheep and what they can barter from passing ships.

[John Gwynant · Rating 2 out of 5]

not a lot

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the joys of reading books is that every so often one stumbles upon an obscure gem which was the case for me with ‘Three Years in Tristan da Cunha’ by Katherine Mary Barrow, published in 1910. Barrow accompanied her husband, a reverend, to Tristan in 1906 and the two remained there until early 1909.
As Barrow writes in the preface: “The aim of the following pages is to give a simple and true description of daily life among a very small community cut off from the rest of the world.”

Ms. Barrow does just that as she aptly reports the couple’s daily life among the 17 Tristan families numbering 70+ inhabitants on the most remote inhabited island in the world, more than 1,750 miles from the nearest land. Barrow was well-positioned to chronicle Tristan life as it was she who became the prime teacher of the island’s children, often ministered to its sick and injured, formed and led a women’s meeting group, and photographed the islanders. Cut off from communication from the world for many months at a time, Tristan life was calibrated by the appearance of passing whalers and steam ships which might carry or receive mail, or from which the islanders could trade potatoes, sheep and lambs for the ship’s sugar, cotton, tea or soap. But visiting ships also brought bouts of flu, measles and mumps, and even thieves. Life could be grueling as when hundreds of cattle died for lack of forage or the islanders battled plagues of fleas, wood lice and rats. The Brit government, which established the colony in 1816 to prevent Napoleon’s allies from using Tristan as a base to spring Napoleon from captivity in St. Helena to the north, wanted to shut the colony down in 1908. But through her 1,000 days there, Ms. Barrow remained focused in her reportage and never lost her cheerful perspective, or perhaps only near the end of her stay with the arrival of three new families who tested Tristan’s cherished community values.

A highly recommended read for anyone headed to Tristan or interested in what life was like on a remote oceanic island 100 years ago.

(I was drawn to ‘Three Years in Tristan da Cunha’ because I will visit Tristan in a few weeks and literature about the island is scarce. Unfortunately, the 37 original illustrations from photographs taken and developed by Barrow were not included in the iBook’s free digital download.)

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a diary of the wife of a missionary to Tristan da Cunha, the world's most remote inhabited island, from the early 20th century. On one level, it's a fascinating slice of history of one of the weirdest places on Earth (I like weird places). On the other hand, it could use more editing.

It's available free for the Kindle, as it is out of copyright. Sadly, the version I read lacked illustrations.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating.