George Enderby was the grandson of Samuel Enderby (1720-1797), founder of Enderby & Sons, a sealing and whaling firm active in both the Arctic and Southern Ocean. On the death of his father, Samuel Enderby Jnr. (1756-1829), George and his brothers Henry and Charles took over, moving the firm in 1830 from Paul's Wharf to Great St Helens in the City of London.
The firm encouraged masters of Enderby vessels to report geographical discoveries and had notable successes with John Biscoe and John Balleny, who between them discovered Enderby Land, Graham Land, the Balleny Islands and the Sabrina Coast. An Enderby captain, Abraham Bristow, had discovered the Auckland Islands in 1806, naming one of the islands Enderby Island. However, by the mid-nineteenth century, the firm's profits were in decline following losses made by the exploring expeditions, and the destruction of the firm's Greenwich rope-making factory by fire in 1845. Whaling vessels, too, required expensive strengthening in order to withstand impact by ice in the Southern Ocean.
Looking for a way to revive the firm's fortunes, Charles Enderby sought government backing to establish a whaling station on the Auckland Islands. In 1849, the Southern Whale Fishery Company was established to manage the enterprise and Charles was appointed lieutenant governor of the islands. However, the colony and whaling station proved financially unsuccessful and the Enderby Settlement was dismantled and closed in 1852. This was the final straw for Messrs Enderby, the firm being liquidated in 1854.
From the guide to the George Enderby collection, 1874, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
