The Wreck of the SS Solglimt

Name: The Wreck of the SS Solglimt
Start: 2025-09-17T19:00:00+02:00
Location: 36 Belper Road, Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa

Schedule

Wed, 17 Sep, 2025 at 07:00 pm

UTC+02:00

Location

36 Belper Road, Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa | Cape Town, WC

When: Wednesday, 17 September 2025 – pre-ordered food served from 18:15 until 18:45, talk starts at 19:00
Where: False Bay Underwater Club, 36 Belper Road, Wynberg
Please RSVP your attendance so we know how many seats to set out (optional).
RSVP & food orders: https://forms.gle/yXKX4nxgpanXXmC29
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FOOD ORDERS
Place your order for pre-ordered food before 10:00 on Wednesday, 17 August 2025:
• Beef lasagne with fresh garden salad (Allergens: gluten, dairy)
• Lentil lasagne (vegetarian) (Allergens: gluten, nuts)
R100 per portion
[Halaal friendly, vegan & other dietary restrictions available on request – [email protected]]
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THE TALK
What to expect
Step into an extraordinary tale of survival, discovery, and adventure on remote Marion Island in the Sub-Antarctic.
In 1908, the Norwegian seal-hunting vessel Solglimt met disaster, striking an uncharted rock and leaving more than 70 crew members stranded in a lonely bay. Against the odds, these men built a makeshift village among the wild elements and endured three months before rescue arrived.
Over a century later, archaeological expeditions have unveiled new secrets from both the survivor camp and the sunken wreck. Join us as we delve into the gripping history and remarkable archaeology that bring this haunting story from the far South vividly to life.
About the presenter
Jaco Boshoff has been involved in the museum world and archaeology since 1988. He has participated in several excavations on land and underwater. He holds a Master’s Degree in Archaeology and a postgraduate diploma in Museology.
Since 1991, he has been employed as Curator Scientist at Iziko Museums of South Africa, overseeing the Maritime Archaeology and Historical Archaeology collections. He was principal investigator on the wreck of the Brunswick (1805) British East Indiaman and served as museum representative and inspector for wrecks including the Brederode (1785), Colebrooke (1778), and Brittania (1822).
He has also worked internationally, including on the wreck of the Pandora (1790) on the Great Barrier Reef, and with the US National Park Service Submerged Resources Center in Florida’s Biscayne Bay and Dry Tortugas.
A major past research project was the search for the Dutch slave ship Meermin (1766), the subject of a PBS and History Channel documentary Slave Ship Mutiny. He also led the NRF-funded project Archaeologies of Antarctica, which investigated seal hunting sites on Marion Island.
His current main project is the Slave Wrecks Project, which he co-originated. This international collaboration includes the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, George Washington University, Dive With a Purpose, and the US National Park Service, with research conducted in the US, South Africa, Mozambique, Senegal, and Brazil.
As part of this project, he is co-principal investigator on the wreck of the Portuguese slaver Saõ Jose, which wrecked at Clifton, South Africa, in December 1794.