Opposite is an extract from a letter written by Edward Baldwin and published in the St Helena Independent on 12th December. 

Edward is a regular visitor to St Helena, an erstwhile supporter of the Island’s museum and someone who is a ‘doer’, not just a ‘talker’.

In the December News (note: to be updated in early January) section of this website you will find more on the wharf, the impression it gives to first-time visitors and the fragile built heritage on it which is threatened by thoughtlessness

What happens at the wharf in the coming months can be seen as the benchmark for how much St Helena is prepared to respect its built heritage in the future.

The landing at St Helena should be a moving historical/cultural experience. Boating Ports, as they are called in the trade, have an extra mystique in the cruise world. The arrival should have the “wow!” factor of a truly unique experience. We have all the right ingredients to provide this. We have a unique 18th Century English East India Company seaport surprisingly intact.

Ours is the most complete and original in the World, little changed in over 200 years. As you walk to Town from the
Steps, past beautiful 18th Century buildings under the cliff, past tastefully arranged cannon, batteries with their guns mounted, as well as anchors and other nautical bits and pieces, you are treading the path trod by Edmund Halley, Nevil Maskelyne, the Duke of Wellington, Napoleon and his entourage, Admiral
Cockburn, Captain Cook, Charles Darwin, Dinizulu, The Boers, King George VI and Princess Elizabeth and thousands more.

The stones under your feet breath history, as do the buildings and the rocks. All these people saw much of what you are seeing. The walk along the Seaside to the Arch offers spectacular views of the Wharf, the Bay and the ship that brought you here, gently riding at anchor.

And what is the reality? Rust, decay, dereliction, broken buildings, unsympathetic tin sheds and a ramshackle marquee with lethal guy ropes to negotiate, pinned down with no respect to the road surface, with crowbars. Broken railings and damaged concrete supports stained with rust. Garish traffic barriers drawing attention to the damage. Rusty freight containers pressed into service as temporary buildings. Building rubble (from a demolished listed building, by the way) dumped in the sea.

On reaching the Arch, I would expect deep depression and panic to have set in. It depresses me when I walk that way.

The visitor needs to be excited by the experience, to leave St Helena with pleasant memories, to tell all his friends back home what a wonderful place his ship chanced upon in the midst of the deep ocean. Cruising is a big market, still growing even in a world recession. I accept that the cargo handling on the Wharf is a necessary function, but this is for the most part a well-run operation with state-of-the-art equipment. Even this will impress the visitor. He is not expecting a Disney reconstruction. The discerning visitor wants reality, but decently presented, not a junkyard.

Professional modernity functioning in a historic setting can look great. It won’t cost the Earth to makes things presentable at our front door. I know some work is on hold pending the next phase of the Wharf Improvement Scheme, but neglect accelerates decay.

In the longer term, with the Airport, cargo operations are due to move to Rupert’s. We must look after the historic details of the Wharf, and James Bay as a whole now, for our maritime visitors today and in the future.

Edward Baldwin

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