Ayer & Longyear’s inaugural coal expedition to what later became Longyear City was led by William D. Munroe, arriving in Advent Fjord on June 2nd, 1905. Accompanied by 25 miners and equipment on the SS Ituna, Munroe discovered a superior seam 700m east of the Trondelag coal company’s established shaft. A 1,250-meter railway, operated by horses and people, was laid from the sea through a mountain cut known today as Skjäringa.
This area, the first named in present-day Longyearbyen, now combines residential homes, the government district, and telecommunications infrastructure.
