St Kilda Mail Boat Found in Norway

Five boys exploring rocks on the coast of Norway have discovered a mailboat sent from the islands of St Kilda. The boys, Mathias Bliko, Elias Engesvik, Kasper Engesvik, Jonas Bliko and Emil Engesvik, were playing on the beach at Karstenoya in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway, when they found the small wooden boat.

The mail boat was launched by a party working on the islands of St Kilda during 2011, in an echo of the only means that St Kilda residents of the past had of communicating with the mainland, before the island was permanently evacuated in 1930. Now and again, old mailboats from the islands which were sent in the years before the evacuation, are found on Norway's beaches.

One of the boys, Elias Engesvik, said of the find: 'We were out walking on the stony beach and found the boat in a ditch.' The sealed wooden boat was painted and decorated with a picture of a Puffin, and the writing on the ship's deck hinted at a promising cargo, which read, “St Kilda Mail Boat. Please open." Inside, the boys found postcards, a letter and money to pay for the return postage of the postcards. The letter explained that the sender was a member of a party working on the St Kilda islands, with workers visiting the islands each year to help retain the archipelago's UNESCO World Heritage status.

For more on the islands which are cared for by the National Trust for Scotland, visit the NTS website.

Read more history and heritage news from around Scotland.

Keep up to date with the latest history news, discoveries and research in every issue of History Scotland and Scottish Memories.

Sign up now for our FREE e-newsletter for more news stories, sneak previews, exclusive content and special offers.