Skip to main content
Advanced Search
The Voyage of the Discovery, volume one
The Voyage of the Discovery, volume one

The Voyage of the Discovery, volume one

Author (1868 - 1912)
Date1905
Object number00056357
NameBook
MediumPaper, plastic, string, cloth
DimensionsOverall (Book): 245 × 170 × 65 mm
Overall (Map): 625 × 594 mm
Overall (Card): 60 × 100 mm
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Glenn Alfred Thorpe
Description‘Voyage of the Discovery’ by Robert Falcon Scott. Two volume first edition published by Smith, Elder, & Co, New York & London, 1905. Presented to Lyttelton harbour pilot Alfred Thorpe by Charles William Rawson Royds, First Lieutenant DISCOVERY on the British National Antarctic Expedition. A calling card belonging to Lt. C.W. Rawson Royds RN is pasted inside the front endpaper of Vol. I with the handwritten inscription ‘With best wishes from your friend in the Old DISCOVERY HMS King Edward VII, 1906”. Volume also inscribed with handwritten addresses for Miss C M Thorpe and Captain A H Thorpe. HistoryThe British National Antarctic Expedition, organised by the Royal Geographical Society and led by Robert Falcon Scott, left Dundee in July 1901. In addition to a scientific programme, the expedition was also an attempt to reach the South Pole. Scott aimed to establish a base in McMurdo Sound, where scientists and sledging parties could make significant inroads into this unknown part of the world. The purpose built vessel was named DISCOVERY and its crew included Ernest Shackleton and Edward Adrian Wilson who would go on to have significant roles in further Antarctic expeditions. Naval officer and expedition leader Robert Falcon Scott published his account of the expedition in 1905. Volume 1 traces the expedition's preparatory phases and the voyage from England to Antarctica via New Zealand. Scott discusses the location of winter quarters and the first polar winter.SignificanceThis collection of objects assembled by harbour pilot Alfred Thorpe highlights the importance of the port of Lyttleton in early 20th century Antarctic exploration and the role of pilots and harbour masters in supporting the crews and vessels sailing south. The collection not only illustrates the professional relationship between port staff and ships’ crews, but also the high degree of mutual respect the association engendered. The close working association between mariners and key maritime roles, such as pilot and harbour master, is apparent in this collection.