Giants?

Governor Sir Brougham Sleight was convinced that Tamba- Tamba, as tiny as it was, might have some role to play in the great industrialisation that was sweeping the world.
For reasons that remain unclear he harboured the strong belief that coal would be found on the island, and in 1850 he instigated an excavation of Gough's Hump, the highlands at the centre of the island.
A cutting was excavated on the south western slope. At a depth of approximately 'one fathom' the workmen uncovered some very large bones. The bones were not an intact skeleton, and no skull was ever found, so it was not possible to tell from what sort of animal they came.
The islanders were quick to decide that the bones had belonged to giants who had inhabited the islands ( Wessel's Island legends spoke of giants). Within two generations every child on the island knew the story of how the diggers had unearthed the Graveyard of Giants and how those involved in the excavation of the bones had met untimely deaths...


A selection of the bones are still kept at the May 15th Museum.
No coal was ever found on Tamba- Tamba.