Page 25 - KBHA Bulletin 16

22

The South African Diaspora

Emigration continued during the twentieth century until 1948 when the National Party

came to power in South Africa. Cape Town was always the main destination, but the
other port cities and some inland centres also received sizeable numbers of immigrants.

Britain was also a significant destination. Currently, two-thirds of the workforce on
Ascension Island and ten per cent on the Falklands come from St. Helena.

St. Helenian-born Daniel Yon has researched the experiences of the immigrants in their
adopted countries, describing the hardships of establishing new lives, integrating into

unfamiliar established communities, enduring discrimination, and of banding together to

retain and remember their St. Helenian identity. (Yon 2001a, 2001b, 2007.) The
organization South African St Helenian Heritage Association was formed by Merle

Martin to promote and preserve St. Helena Island Heritage in South Africa. Many
families have researched and published their family genealogies and histories. Saints

today are found in all walks of life and in many countries of the British Commonwealth
and beyond.

Conclusion

St. Helena remains as isolated as ever but this will soon change: the UK Department of
International Development in 2011 allocated £3 billion for the construction of an

International Airport, supposedly in order to unlock the Island’s historic and eco-tourism

potential. This is regarded as the only route to the Island’s solvency as it has no viable
industries. The cultivation of flax ceased in 1966 when the last mill closed. (Figs. 1.10 &

1.11.) At the peak some 400 people were employed making cloth, rope, tow and hemp.
The British Post Office was a major customer for string and rope for tying up letters and

parcels. However, the introduction of Courtauld’s synthetic fibres caused the demise of

the flax market. The only surviving industry is a fish cannery and smoker that is heavily
subsidised. The Island could not survive without its annual UK grant-in-aid of £12

million.