Inventory Reference 9/2/113/0002 Relevant Heritage Authority SAHRA Formal Gradings Grading Grade I Grading Date 11/03/2015 GradingComment Grading by: South African Heritage Resources Agency Statement of Significance The Prince Edward Islands are South Africa’s most southerly and only remote territory. Originally discovered as early the 17th century, the PEIs have a history starting as early back as the 19th century when the first landfall was made on Marion Island by whaling and sealing parties coming from Cape Town and as far away as England, North America and Scandinavia. The islands are representative of a history that spans across South Africa’s colonial, apartheid and post-apartheid periods with archaeological sites that are representative of both national and international communities. The PEIs also represent a rare natural heritage that is significant for they possess a natural landscape that is in most respects pristine and minimally impacted by human development.