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| Island | |
| |
|---|---|
| Name | Isle of Bratislava That Wodate Oster |
| Language(s) | English, Oceana |
| State | Oceana |
| Archipelago | City Archipelago |
| Highest point | (low tide) Melany Johnson Flat (0.6 m) (historically) Sustorcheny Gord (57 m) |
The Isle of Bratislava (Oceana: That Wodate Oster) was one of the three islands off shore near Hurbanova, Oceana. Together with the Isle of London and Isle of Frisco, it formed the City Archipelago. It had been the only inhabited island, until it sank after the 1903 earthquake which caused heavy floods. All people survived the earthquake, but the island was once transformed into a mudflat. The Oceana people call this nowadays That Wodate Oster, the wet island. Nowadays, none of the isles is inhabited.
The island was heavily being mined for its guano, causing the island to become lower and thus more vulnerable to storms. Human activity at the coast inflicted damage to the dunes, which further increased the island's susceptibility to floodings. Since the mining started at the end of the nineteenth century, the island slowly eroded and was eventually made uninhabitable after the 1903 Oceana earthquake. The highest point of the island, Sustorcheny Gord, was a coastal arch that collapsed due to the earthquake.
Discovery and hamlet[]
The island was discovered by the Slovak Anton Hlinka in 1889, who was one of the first inhabitants of Hurbanova (founded in 1881). He sailed with his ship towards the City Archipelago and discovered a third island, which had been unknown until then. He named it after his place of birth, the current Slovak capital.
When he arrived back in Hurbanova, he rapidly went to the Hurbanovan Town Hall and told to Mayor Chelvas Malkoný his breaking news. Malkoný described in his diary that a "dirty and tired Hlinka announced the existence of a third, fertile and useful island"[1]. Hlinka said that the Hurbanovans should necessarily consider the construction of a harbour and the exploitation of the island to gain new natural resources and to strengthen the Hurbanovan economy.
However, the Hurbanovan Town Hall voted against this proposal with a small majority (54%)[2], because there would have been a lack of money and interest[3]. Malkoný decided not to start the exploitation, but a year later, in 1890, we can notice that his opinion had changed. Together with a couple of local businessmen, he started the construction of a hamlet, named Vlaška, in the south east bay. Vague estimations tell us that at its top in 1901, there would have lived around 60 people. Approximately 80% of these 60 inhabitants would have been working men, living there temporarily.
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