Rockall

Abstract

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The last outpost of Empire: Rockall and the Cold War

“…16 The exaggeration, if such it was, originates in the early seventeenth century with Blaeu and other European cartographers. 17 Late in the twentieth century, however, Hall's observation would be superseded by G. S. Holland and Brigadier R. A. Gardiner of the Royal Geographical Society who produced the first detailed map above the waterline, at a scale of 1:100. 18 The first written mention of 'Rockol', at the end of the seventeenth century, is found in Martin Martin's account of a voyage to St Kilda, where he marks the site as a place where a company of French and Spanish sailors lost their ship and who later escaped to St Kilda, whose inhabitants called it 'Rokabarra'.…”

“…When Miller Christy observed that 'its nature, its position and its surroundings are of a quite romantic kind', this must be seen as constitutive of, rather than in addition to, its scientific interest. 30 That scientific and aesthetic knowledge were indivisible is also evident in a renewed awe for the extraordinary depth that was discovered to separate Rockall from Britain. There is a sense too that the sublimity of the ocean was emphasised by being interrupted by 'this last speck of a lost continent' 31 ; that it was the very smallness of Rockall that created the necessary perspective to see the ocean as a vast and unending theatre.…”

“…Notwithstanding the practical problems with the idea of building, maintaining and staffing a meteorological observation station on Rockall, Miller Christy thought that such an 'early warning' post could be valuable in forecasting the British weather. 27 Arguably, the most significant outcome of the expedition was the first successful photograph of Rockall by Rev W. Spotswood Green of the Fisheries Board of Dublin, and his son Mr C. Green, which gave a more modest perspective of Rockall's stature than earlier sketches.…”

“…His correspondence with the Scottish naturalist John A. Harvie-Brown and the Irish ornithologist R. M. Barrington led, in the summer of 1896, to 'the only expedition ever despatched for the sole purpose of examining Rockall from the scientific point of view'. 23 As one of the pioneers of the emerging geographical science of animal distributions, Harvie-Brown had taken a close interest in outlying islands and was sufficiently keen to make the trip to Rockall that, along with Barrington, he contributed one quarter of its total cost. 24 His primary interest in the birds of Rockall foundered somewhat on the discovery that, contrary to prior expectations, it was doubtful if the rock held any breeding bird populations at all.…”