Theme 01

The first people

Carsten Borchgrevink’s shore party were the first people ever to live on the mainland of the Antarctic continent.

With an average age of just 26, and little exploration or leadership experience, these men faced a huge challenge in an unknown land.

Southern Cross expedition scientific staff

Canterbury Museum 1975.205.1. No known copyright holder

Carsten Borchgrevink 34 commander Norwegian

Norwegian Polar Institute 01221. All Rights Reserved

CARSTEN BORCHGREVINK, 34

Commander, Norwegian

Borchgrevink grew up in Oslo and was a childhood friend of Roald Amundsen (who, in 1911, led the first party to the South Pole). Borchgrevink had been a surveyor and teacher in Australia and left behind a wife and 6 month-old baby.

Louis Bernacchi 22 astronomer physicist and photographer Australian

Canterbury Museum 1975.205.1. No known copyright holder

LOUIS BERNACCHI, 22

Astronomer, physicist and photographer, Australian

Bernacchi was in charge of the magnetic and meteorological observations which would become the expedition’s chief contribution to science.

William Colbeck 27 ccartographer and magnetic observer British

Canterbury Museum 1978.207.102. No known copyright holder

WILLIAM COLBECK, 27

Cartographer and magnetic observer, British

Colbeck had joined the Royal Navy in 1886 and was a Master Mariner.

Kolbein Ellefsen 23 cook and general assistant Norwegian

Canterbury Museum 1978.207.7. No known copyright holder

KOLBEIN ELLEFSEN, 23

Cook and general assistant, Norwegian

Ellefsen was a sailor who joined the shore party at the last minute, from the ship’s crew.

Hugh Blackwall Evans 23 assistant zoologist British

Canterbury Museum 1975.205.1. No known copyright holder

HUGH BLACKWALL EVANS, 23

Assistant zoologist, British

Evans had lived in Canada where he worked as a cattle hand. He had been in Antarctic regions before, on a sealing expedition to the Kerguelen Islands in 1896.

Anton Fougner 28 general scientific assistant Norwegian

Canterbury Museum 1975.205.1. No known copyright holder

ANTON FOUGNER, 28

General scientific assistant, Norwegian

Fougner was a whaler and experienced sailor, and also a skilled skier.

Nicolai Hanson 28 head zoologist Norwegian

Canterbury Museum 1975.205.1. No known copyright holder

NICOLAI HANSON, 28

Head zoologist, Norwegian

Hanson was a zoology graduate from Oslo, with experience in Arctic field collecting and taxidermy. He married shortly before joining the expedition and leaving his pregnant wife in Norway.

Herlof Kløvstad 30 medical officer Norwegian

Canterbury Museum 1975.205.1. No known copyright holder

HERLOF KLØVSTAD, 30

Medical officer, Norwegian

A doctor, Kløvstad had most recently worked at a hospital for the mentally ill.

Ole Must 20 dog handler Sami

Norwegian Polar Institute 01224. All Rights Reserved

OLE MUST, 20

Dog handler, Sami

Must and his friend Per Savio were from an indigenous community in the far North of Norway. They had worked as reindeer drivers, providing a taxi service for locals.

Per Savio 19 dog handler Sami

Norwegian Polar Institute 01224. All Rights Reserved

PER SAVIO, 19

Dog handler, Sami

The youngest members of the expedition, Savio and Must were also the most experienced in extreme cold climates. They brought with them traditional survival skills which had been developed over generations.

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The Southern Cross expedition

The first buildings

BREAKING THE ICE

Before the world had heard of Scott and Shackleton, another explorer hatched a plan to spend a year in Antarctica. He was Carsten Borchgrevink, and he and his team proved it was possible for humans to survive the Antarctic winter.

Southern Cross ship leaving Hobart, Tasmania

01

01

The Southern Cross expedition

Carsten Borchgrevink and nine others spent a year in Antarctica, cut off from the rest of the world.

Southern Cross expedition scientific staff

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02

The first people

Carsten Borchgrevink’s shore party were the first people ever to live on the Antarctic mainland.

Cape Adare huts credit Richie Hunter

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03

The first buildings

Cape Adare is one of Antarctica's harshest places, but the expedition's buildings have survived for more than a century.

Ole Must, William Colbeck and Persen Savio with puppies

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04

The first dogs

The Southern Cross was the first expedition to use dogs in Antarctica.

Anton Fougner, Hugh Evans and William Colbeck at work in huts on Southern Cross expedition Cape Adare

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05

The first winter

The men of the Southern Cross lived through 72 days of total darkness.

Louis Bernacchi taking readings during Southern Cross expedition

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06

Science

The Southern Cross scientists assembled data from a part of the Earth that was then largely unknown.

Ridge above Cape Adare

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07

Exploration

The expedition's attempts to explore the ice taught them about Antarctica's deadly storms and fickle sea ice.

Terra Nova Northern Party members Victor Campbell, George Murray Levick and Raymond Priestley prepare to leave Cape Adare, 1912

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08

A Second Team at Cape Adare

In 1911, Cape Adare became home to the Northern Party of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova expedition.

Torb Prytz at Cape Adare C AHT Lizzie Meek

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Antarctic Heritage Trust

Antarctic Heritage Trust is a New Zealand-based charity with a vision of inspiring explorers.