Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | ||
---|---|---|
Overseas territory of the United Kingdom | ||
Administrator of Tristan da Cunha Philip Kendall [2] | | |
Julie Thomas | ||
Calling code | +290 (Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha) +247 (Ascension) | |
UK postcode | STHL 1ZZ (Saint Helena) ASCN 1ZZ (Ascension) TDCU 1ZZ (Tristan da Cunha) | |
ISO 3166 code | SH | |
Internet TLD | ||
Website | www |
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha[5] is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha (including Gough Island). Its name was Saint Helena and Dependencies until 1 September 2009, when a new constitution came into force, giving the three islands equal status as three territories, with a grouping under the Crown.
History
Of volcanic origin, the islands of Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and Tristan da Cunha were all formerly separate colonies of the English crown, though separately discovered by several Portuguese explorers between 1502 and 1504.
Portuguese discovery
The
English colonisation
In 1657, the English
The
The political union between these colonies began to take shape on 12 September 1922, when by letters patent Ascension Island became a dependency of Saint Helena. Lightly populated Tristan da Cunha, even today little more than an outpost with a population of less than three hundred, followed suit on 12 January 1938. The three island groups shared this constitutional relationship until 1 September 2009, when the dependencies were raised to equal status with St. Helena and the territories changed its name from "Saint Helena and Dependencies" to "Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha".
World War II and subsequent military presence
During the
The United Kingdom and the United States still jointly operate the airfield (
Geography
The territories stretch across a huge distance of the South Atlantic Ocean with the northernmost island, Ascension, having a latitude of 7° 56′ S of the equator and the southernmost island, Gough Island, at 40° 19′ S. Between Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha is the Tropic of Capricorn. The distance between the northern tip of Ascension Island and the southern tip of Gough Island is 2,263 miles (3,642 km) (an equivalent distance between London and the Dead Sea). The three territories lie in the Western Hemisphere and have the same time zone: Greenwich Mean Time. Daylight saving time is not observed.
Although all three territories were formed by volcanic activity, only the Tristan da Cunha group of islands are volcanically active at the moment.
The highest point of the territories is
Climate
Because of the massive distance from north to south (over 3,600 km (2,200 mi)), the territories have various climates. Ascension has a warm, arid climate, with temperatures all year long reaching above 20 °C (68 °F). St Helena is more moderate (and arid near the coasts). Tristan da Cunha, being closer to the Antarctic Circle, is much cooler and a lot wetter. The uninhabited southernmost Gough Island is wetter and has freezing winter temperatures.
Territorial waters
The
Part | km2 | sq mi |
---|---|---|
Ascension Island | 441,658 | 170,525 |
Saint Helena | 444,916 | 171,783 |
Tristan da Cunha | 754,720 | 291,400 |
Total | 1,641,294 | 633,708 |
An application was made in 2008 by the United Kingdom to the
Administrative divisions
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2014) |
Administratively, each territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is governed by a council. The Governor of the territory presides over the Saint Helena Legislative Council, and an Administrator on Ascension Island and an Administrator on Tristan da Cunha preside over these two areas' Island Councils. See Constitution section below.
Administrative area |
Area km2 |
Area sq mi |
Population[3] | Administrative centre |
---|---|---|---|---|
Saint Helena | 122 | 47 | 4,534 | Jamestown |
Ascension Island | 88 | 34 | 806 | Georgetown |
Tristan da Cunha | 207 | 71 | 293 | Edinburgh of the Seven Seas |
Main island | 98 | 39 | 293 | |
Inaccessible Island | 14 | 5 | 0 | |
Nightingale Islands | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0 | |
Gough Island | 91 | 35 | 0 | |
Total | 394 | 152 | 5,633 | Jamestown |
The island of St Helena is then further divided into eight districts.[10]
Constitution
The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 (an
Part | Crown representative | Council |
---|---|---|
Saint Helena | Governor of Saint Helena | Legislative Council of Saint Helena |
Ascension Island | Administrator of Ascension |
Ascension Island Council |
Tristan da Cunha | Administrator of Tristan da Cunha |
Tristan da Cunha Island Council |
Saint Helena also has an Executive Council. The Governor of Saint Helena is the
Police and defence
The Royal Saint Helena Police Service is responsible for policing on the islands.[13] Defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, though no military forces are stationed on either Saint Helena or Tristan da Cunha. The Royal Air Force maintains a staging base at Ascension Island as part of British military forces in the South Atlantic.[14]
Education
Saint Helena has multiple schools, including Prince Andrew School. Ascension has Two Boats School. Tristan da Cunha also has its own school.
Religion
Most residents of St. Helena belong to the Anglican Communion through the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and are members of the Diocese of St Helena, which has its own bishop and includes Ascension Island.
Catholics are pastorally served by the
Currency
In 1821 a copper halfpenny was struck specifically for use in St. Helena, which subsequently intermingled with British coinage.
Saint Helena used sterling currency as in the United Kingdom until 1976, when it began to issue its own banknotes at par with sterling. In 1984, the territory also began to issue its own coinage for both St. Helena and Ascension Island, with the same sizes as the coinage of the United Kingdom. Also similar to British coinage, Queen Elizabeth II is found on the obverse, but the reverse have quite different designs referring to the territory. Whereas the coins are struck with "Saint Helena • Ascension", the banknotes only say, "Government of St. Helena". Commemorative coins are struck separately for the two entities and say either just "St. Helena" or "Ascencion Island". The Saint Helena pound also circulates on Ascension Island, but not in the other territory, Tristan da Cunha, where UK currency circulates.
The Currency Commissioners, part of the
Communications
Telecommunications
Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha and Saint Helena all issue their own postage stamps, which provide a significant income. The three territories each have their own Royal Mail postal code:
- Ascension Island: ASCN 1ZZ
- Saint Helena: STHL 1ZZ
- Tristan da Cunha: TDCU 1ZZ
Flags
The
Saint Helena
The flag of Saint Helena was adopted on 4 October 1984. It is a defaced (i.e. differentiated) Blue Ensign, i.e. a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the shield from the coat of arms of Saint Helena centred on the outer half of the flag. The shield features a rocky coastline and a three-masted sailing ship, with a Saint Helena plover, also known as a wirebird, atop. It was updated in 2018 to depict a more realistic-looking wirebird.
Ascension Island
The flag of
Tristan da Cunha
The flag of
The flag is a
Transport
Maritime transport
Each of the three main islands has a harbour or small port, situated in the islands' chief settlements (Georgetown, Jamestown, and Edinburgh). In addition, St. Helena has a 118 m long permanent wharf facility, built as part of the airport project, in Rupert's Bay for bulk, containerised, and general cargos, as well as for passenger landings.[19]
Airports
St. Helena Airport received its first scheduled commercial flight on 14 October 2017.[20] Commercial flights, operated by Airlink using an Embraer E190, are scheduled from OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg each Saturday, returning the same day (or Sunday when the extension to Ascension Island is operating).
Commercial flights between St. Helena and Ascension Island operate on the second Saturday of each month, with the aircraft returning to St. Helena on the Sunday, before continuing on to Johannesburg.[21]
There is a military airfield on Ascension Island (RAF Ascension Island), though potholes on the runway resulted in the April 2017 cancellation of all but essential personnel/supply flights as well as emergency medical evacuations.[22][23] Regular RAF flights connected Ascension with RAF Brize Norton in the UK and RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands, a transport link called the South Atlantic Air Bridge. The flights are mainly to transport military personnel, though the RAF did allow fare-paying civilians to use them. Ascension Island is also used by the US military (which supply the base using MV Ascension) and was a designated emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle program.
The islands of Tristan da Cunha can only be accessed by sea due to the lack of an airport.
Location | ICAO | IATA | Airport name | Runway length |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ascension Island | FHAW | ASI | RAF Ascension Island | 3,054 metres (10,020 ft) |
Saint Helena | FHSH | HLE | Saint Helena Airport | 1,950 metres (6,400 ft) |
Vehicular traffic
See also
- Bibliography of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
- British Overseas Territories
- List of towns in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
- Public holidays in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
References
- ^ Saint Helena Act 1833" (Schedule Preamble)
- ^ "Philip Kendall sworn-in as Tristan Administrator".
- ^ a b "Census 2016 – summary report" (PDF). St Helena Government. June 2016. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^ "Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha • Country facts". PopulationData.net. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ "St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009, see "EXPLANATORY NOTE"". Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
- ^ Drake and St Helena, privately published by Robin Castell in 2005
- ^ "History: St. Helena homepage". Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
- ^ Seaaroundus.org Archived 29 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Summary of recommendations re: Ascension Island
- ^ "Census 2016 – summary report" (PDF). St Helena Government. June 2016. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^ "Constitution of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Order 2009". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^ The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 Archived 11 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine The Constitution (in the Schedule to the Order).
- ^ Krill, Lindsey (30 July 2018). "Riding with the St. Helena Police, getting an inside look at SHPD". St. Helena Star. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ "PJOBS – British Forces South Atlantic". Permanent Joint Headquarters. Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ "The Bank of Saint Helena". Sainthelenabank.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha (country code +290), International Telecommunication Union, 15 May 2015
- ^ Ascension (country code +247) Communication of 08.V.2015:, International Telecommunication Union, 8 May 2015
- ^ "First Ever Ascension Flag to Fly". Ascension-Island.gov.ac. Ascension Island Government. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ Donaldson, Warwick; Patel, Sahil (May 2016). "Design of new permanent wharf at Rupert's Bay, St. Helena" (PDF). Civil Engineering. The maritime transport is the only possibility to bring loads and passengers to Tristan da Cunha since this island does not have its own airport.
- ^ "A HISTORY MAKING WEEKEND FOR ST HELENA". St Helena. 16 October 2017. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- ^ "FIRST COMMERCIAL FLIGHT TO ASCENSION ISLAND". St Helena. 14 November 2017. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- ^ "South Atlantic Airbridge ops at Ascension Island suspended". ch-aviation. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
- from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
- ^ CIA World Factbook St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Further reading
- Barrow, K. M. – Three Years in Tristan da Cunha.
- Booy, D. M. – Rock of Exile: A Narrative of Tristan da Cunha.
- Brander, J. – Tristan da Cunha, 1506-1902.
- Brinck, Per – Coleoptera of Tristan da Cunha.
- Chaplin, Arnold – Thomas Short (Principal Medical Officer of St. Helena). With Biographies of Some Other Medical Men Associated with the Case of Napoleon From 1815-1821.
- Christopherson, Erling – Tristan da Cunha, the Lonely Isle.
- Christopherson, Erling and R. L. Benham – Tristan da Cunha, the Lonely Isle.
- Crawford, Allan – Tristan da Cunha and the 'Roaring Forties'.
- Gane, Douglas M. – Tristan da Cunha: An Empire Outpost and Its Keepers. (complete transcription online)
- Gill, Mrs. – Six Months in Ascension 1, Vol., 12 mo
- Gosse, Philip – Helena, 1502-1938.
- Hall, Basil, Captain – Voyage to the Eastern Seas in the Year 1816; Including an Account of Captain Maxwell’s Attack on the Batteries at Canton; And Notes of an Interview with Bonaparte at St. Helena, in August 1817.
- Kemble, James – St. Helena During Napoleon’s Exile: Gorrequer’s Diary.
- Kiser, C. V. – A Study of St.-Helena Islanders in Harlem and Other Urban Centers.
- Mackay, Margaret – Angry Island: The Story of Tristan da Cunha, 1506-1963. (complete transcription online)
- Martineau, Gilbert and Frances Partridge – Napoleon’s St. Helena.
- Masson, Frederic and Louis B. Frewer – Napoleon at St. Helena, 1815-1821.
- Munch, Peter A. – Crisis in Utopia: The Ordeal of Tristan da Cunha.
- Munch, Peter A. – Sociology of Tristan da Cunha: Results of the Norwegian Scientific Expedition to Tristan da Cunha, 1937-8, No. 13.
- Munch, Peter A. – The Song Tradition of Tristan da Cunha.
- Rowlands, Beau W., Trevor Trueman, Storrs L. Olson, M. Neil McCulloch, and Richard K. Brooke – The Birds of St. Helena.
- Shine, Ian and Reynold Gold – Serendipity in St. Helena: A Genetical and Medical Study of an Isolated Community.
- Stewart, C. S. – A Visit to the South Seas in the United States' Ship Vincennes, during the Years 1829 and 1830, with Scenes in Brazil, Peru, Manila, the Cape of Good Hope, and St. Helena.
- Stonehouse, Bernard – Wideawake Island: The Story of the B. O. U. Centenary Expedition to Ascension.
- Wace, N. M. and M. W. Holdgate – The Vegetation of Tristan da Cunha.
- Weider, Ben and Sten Forschufvud – Assassination at St. Helena Revisited.
- Zettersten, Arne – The English of Tristan da Cunha.
External links
- government Website of Saint Helena
- Government Website of Ascension Island
- official Tristan da Cunha Website
- St Helena Online (UK-based news website, in partnership with the St Helena Independent)
- Tristan da Cunha on Thayer's Gazetteer
- Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.