Micro-Antarctica 🇦🇶❄️

#OTD in 1915, Ernest Shackleton ordered the crew of 'Endurance' to abandon ship. Trapped and drifting in an ice floe since January, the pressure was finally too much and the ship had begun to take on water. Over the next few days, parties were sent back to retrieve as much of the stores and equipment as they could. This included the ship's lifeboats, which would become critical in the eventual rescue of the men. 'Endurance' continued to be crushed by the ice and eventually sank on 21st November 1915. 📸 'Endurance' heeling over to port due to ice pressure. Canterbury Museum #inspire #explore #discover #Antarctica #OTD

#OnThisDay in 1911, Roald Amundsen departed the Bay of Whales on his expedition to the South Pole. Amundsen was accompanied by Sverre Hassel, Oscar Wisting, Olav Olavson Bjaaland and Hilmer Hanssen, with 4 sledges and 52 dogs. Amundsen's expedition party began their historic journey 13 days before Sir Robert Falcon Scott's South Pole Party departed. Their expedition team made excellent progress and by 17 November, had reached the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf facing the Transantarctic Mountains. Amundsen and his men had to find their own route through the mountain range as no party had attempted this course to the Polar Plateau before. After several days of perseverance and climbing to around 1,500 feet (460 m), the expedition party found what appeared to be a clear line to the Polar Plateau. 📸 Roald Amundsen, Nome, Alaska 1923. © Norsk Polar Institute #OTD #inspire #explore #discover #conserve #Antarctica

#OnThisDay in 1877, Norwegian polar explorer and dog sled driver Per John Savio was born at Sør-Varanger, Norway. He was a member of the British Antarctic 'Southern Cross' Expedition 1898-1900 led by Carsten Borchgrevink. Despite being one of the youngest members of the 'Southern Cross', Savio along with Ole Must, were the most experienced in extreme cold climates and brought with them traditional Sami survival skills that had been developed over generations. Their job was to care for and train the dogs, and their skill in handling these half-wild animals was key to the expedition's survival. The 'Southern Cross' arrived at Cape Adare 17 February 1899 whereby Savio and Must were sent ashore first, along with the 75 dogs. They became the first people to spend a night on the Antarctic Continent. Savio was also part of the sled team that was the first to travel on the Ross Ice Shelf, reaching a new Farthest South record of 78° 50′S. Antarctic Heritage Trust is proud to care for Borchgrevink's hut at Cape Adare. The site is important not only for its role in the discovery of Antarctica but is also the only example left of humanity's first building on any continent. 📸 Per Savio and Ole Must. Public Domain #OTD #inspire #explore #discover #conserve #Antarctica

#OnThisDay in 1885, intrepid photographer Frank Hurley was born in Sydney, Australia. Hurley began working as a professional photographer in 1904. Several years later, in 1911, Sir Douglas Mawson employed Hurley as official photographer for his first Antarctic expedition, the Australian Antarctic Expedition (1911-13) and later for the British, Australian, and New Zealand Antarctic Expedition in 1929. Hurley also joined Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic 'Endurance' Expedition (1914-16) where his legacy lives on in the incredible images he captured of the fateful journey of the 'Endurance'. These images documented the ships slow destruction as it was trapped and crushed in surrounding sea ice. He wrote in his diary "We are not sorry to see the last of the wreck"... " an object of depression for all who turned their eyes in that direction". 📸 Frank Hurley, self portrait. Public Domain. #OTD #inspire #explore #discover #conserve #Antarctica