Aurora (ship)
Encyclopedia
SY Aurora was a steam yacht
built by Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd. shipbuilders in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1876, for the Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company. Her primary use was whaling in the northern seas, and she was built sturdily enough to withstand the heavy weather and ice that would be encountered there. That strength proved useful for Antarctic exploration as well, and between 1911 and 1917 she made five trips to the continent, both for exploration as well as rescue missions.
to take part in the whale and seal hunt in the Arctic waters. There were a couple of notable events in this time. In 1884, the Aurora made a failed attempt to rescue the Greely Expedition to claim the reward money, and in 1891, the ship came to the rescue of the crew of the Polynia when it was crushed in sea ice.
for his Australasian Antarctic Expedition
. The Aurora made the journey from Hobart
, Australia
to Macquarie Island
, Mawson's base of operations, in December 1911. After establishing the base, they sailed south again, and arrived in Commonwealth Bay
Antarctica, on 7 January 1912. At Cape Denison
, her crew unloaded Mawson and his team, and helped set up the camp (Mawson's Huts
), but then departed to return to Hobart so as not to get trapped in the sea-ice over the winter.
In December 1912, the Aurora returned to find that Douglas Mawson, Xavier Mertz
, and Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis
had set out on a sled expedition, and were overdue on their return. The captain attempted to wait for the expedition to return, but poor anchorage and extremely strong winds combined to cause the anchor chain to break. At the end of January the ship had to leave or risk getting stuck for the winter. Aurora left a team of six, including a radio operator, behind with ample supplies, and departed. Mawson, the sole survivor of the three, arrived in time to see the Aurora disappearing over the horizon. A radio call brought the Aurora back, but bad weather forced it to depart again, leaving Mawson and party behind.
Aurora returned to Commonwealth Bay on 12 December 1913, to pick up the seven men, and return to Australia.
tasked the Aurora to help set up supply depots along the route for his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
. After being delayed by sea ice
in McMurdo Sound
in January 1915, the Aurora managed to make her way further south, and sent teams off to set up the depots. Eventually she made her way to Discovery Bay
on 12 March 1915, where she anchored and continued to offload supplies. In May, the Aurora was trapped in the ice, and was carried out to the sea, stranding the men that were setting up the depots. It was not until 12 February 1916 that the ship escaped from the ice, making it back to Dunedin
, New Zealand
on 3 April.
. Shackleton's expedition funds were fully expended. After his legendary ordeal on the Endurance
in the Weddell Sea
sector, Shackleton arrived in New Zealand
during December 1916. The three governments involved were adamant that he would not lead the rescue expedition and at their insistence John King Davis
was appointed to captain the Aurora. After negotiation Shackleton sailed aboard the Aurora, but Captain Davis had total authority on the voyage. On 10 January 1917, the ship pulled alongside the pack ice near Cape Royds
and worked its way to Cape Evans
. One week later, the seven survivors of the original ten members of the Ross Sea Party were headed back to Wellington, New Zealand aboard the Aurora.
, bound for Iquique
, Chile
with a cargo of coal
. Lloyd's of London
posted the ship as missing on 2 January 1918; it was believed she was a casualty of World War I
.
of the Aurora:
Steam yacht
A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts.-Origin of the name:...
built by Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd. shipbuilders in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1876, for the Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company. Her primary use was whaling in the northern seas, and she was built sturdily enough to withstand the heavy weather and ice that would be encountered there. That strength proved useful for Antarctic exploration as well, and between 1911 and 1917 she made five trips to the continent, both for exploration as well as rescue missions.
Whaling
Between the years 1876 and 1910, the Aurora made the annual trip from Dundee, Scotland to St. John's, NewfoundlandSt. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
to take part in the whale and seal hunt in the Arctic waters. There were a couple of notable events in this time. In 1884, the Aurora made a failed attempt to rescue the Greely Expedition to claim the reward money, and in 1891, the ship came to the rescue of the crew of the Polynia when it was crushed in sea ice.
Douglas Mawson Expedition
In 1910, she was bought by Douglas MawsonDouglas Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson, OBE, FRS, FAA was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer and Academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, Mawson was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.-Early work:He was appointed geologist to an...
for his Australasian Antarctic Expedition
Australasian Antarctic Expedition
The Australasian Antarctic Expedition was an Australasian scientific team that explored part of Antarctica between 1911 and 1914. It was led by the Australian geologist Douglas Mawson, who was knighted for his achievements in leading the expedition. In 1910 he began to plan an expedition to chart...
. The Aurora made the journey from Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to Macquarie Island
Macquarie Island Station
Macquarie Island Station, known as Macca to staff, is a permanent Australian subantarctic research base on Macquarie Island, lying about half-way between Australia and Antarctica...
, Mawson's base of operations, in December 1911. After establishing the base, they sailed south again, and arrived in Commonwealth Bay
Commonwealth Bay
Commonwealth Bay is an open bay about 48 km wide at the entrance between Point Alden and Cape Gray in Antarctica. It was discovered in 1912 by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition under Douglas Mawson, who established the main base of the expedition at Cape Denison at the head of the bay...
Antarctica, on 7 January 1912. At Cape Denison
Cape Denison
Cape Denison is a rocky point at the head of Commonwealth Bay in Antarctica. It was discovered in 1912 by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition under Douglas Mawson, who named it for Sir Hugh Denison of Sydney, a patron of the expedition...
, her crew unloaded Mawson and his team, and helped set up the camp (Mawson's Huts
Mawson's Huts
"Mawson's Huts" are the collection of buildings located at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, in the far eastern sector of the Australian Antarctic Territory, some 3000 km south of Hobart...
), but then departed to return to Hobart so as not to get trapped in the sea-ice over the winter.
In December 1912, the Aurora returned to find that Douglas Mawson, Xavier Mertz
Xavier Mertz
Xavier Mertz was a Swiss explorer, mountaineer and skier, from Basel. He took part in the Far Eastern Party, a 1912–13 component of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, which claimed his life...
, and Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis
Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis
Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis was a Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers and an Antarctic explorer who was a member of Sir Douglas Mawson's 1911 Australasian Antarctic Expedition.-Antarctica 1911-1912:...
had set out on a sled expedition, and were overdue on their return. The captain attempted to wait for the expedition to return, but poor anchorage and extremely strong winds combined to cause the anchor chain to break. At the end of January the ship had to leave or risk getting stuck for the winter. Aurora left a team of six, including a radio operator, behind with ample supplies, and departed. Mawson, the sole survivor of the three, arrived in time to see the Aurora disappearing over the horizon. A radio call brought the Aurora back, but bad weather forced it to depart again, leaving Mawson and party behind.
Aurora returned to Commonwealth Bay on 12 December 1913, to pick up the seven men, and return to Australia.
Trans Antarctic Expedition
In 1914, Sir Ernest ShackletonErnest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
tasked the Aurora to help set up supply depots along the route for his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition , also known as the Endurance Expedition, is considered the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent...
. After being delayed by sea ice
Sea ice
Sea ice is largely formed from seawater that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs below the freezing point of pure water, at about -1.8 °C ....
in McMurdo Sound
McMurdo Sound
The ice-clogged waters of Antarctica's McMurdo Sound extend about 55 km long and wide. The sound opens into the Ross Sea to the north. The Royal Society Range rises from sea level to 13,205 feet on the western shoreline. The nearby McMurdo Ice Shelf scribes McMurdo Sound's southern boundary...
in January 1915, the Aurora managed to make her way further south, and sent teams off to set up the depots. Eventually she made her way to Discovery Bay
Discovery Bay (Antarctica)
Discovery Bay is a bay long and wide, indenting the northeast side of Greenwich Island, in the South Shetland Islands. This bay has been known to sealers in the area since about 1821. It was charted and named during 1935 by DI personnel on the Discovery II.- Map :* L.L. Ivanov. Scale 1:120000...
on 12 March 1915, where she anchored and continued to offload supplies. In May, the Aurora was trapped in the ice, and was carried out to the sea, stranding the men that were setting up the depots. It was not until 12 February 1916 that the ship escaped from the ice, making it back to Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
on 3 April.
1917 Ross Sea Party rescue
The Australian, New Zealand and British governments agreed to fund the refit of the Aurora for the rescue of the Ross Sea PartyRoss Sea Party
The Ross Sea party was a component of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914–17. Its task was to lay a series of supply depots across the Great Ice Barrier from the Ross Sea to the Beardmore Glacier, along the polar route established by earlier Antarctic expeditions...
. Shackleton's expedition funds were fully expended. After his legendary ordeal on the Endurance
Endurance (1912 ship)
The Endurance was the three-masted barquentine in which Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed for the Antarctic on the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition...
in the Weddell Sea
Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is...
sector, Shackleton arrived in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
during December 1916. The three governments involved were adamant that he would not lead the rescue expedition and at their insistence John King Davis
John King Davis
John King Davis, CBE was an English-born Australian explorer and navigator notable for his work captaining exploration ships in Antarctic waters as well as for establishing meteorological stations on Macquarie Island in the subantarctic and on Willis Island in the Coral Sea.-Early life:Davis's...
was appointed to captain the Aurora. After negotiation Shackleton sailed aboard the Aurora, but Captain Davis had total authority on the voyage. On 10 January 1917, the ship pulled alongside the pack ice near Cape Royds
Cape Royds
Cape Royds, Antarctica, is a dark rock cape forming the west extremity of Ross Island, facing on McMurdo Sound. Discovered by the Discovery Expedition and named for Lieutenant Charles W.R. Royds, Royal Navy, who acted as meteorologist for the expedition...
and worked its way to Cape Evans
Cape Evans
Cape Evans is a rocky cape on the west side of Ross Island, forming the north side of the entrance to Erebus Bay.The cape was discovered by the Discovery expedition under Robert Falcon Scott, who named it the Skuary. Scott's second expedition, the British Antarctic Expedition , built its...
. One week later, the seven survivors of the original ten members of the Ross Sea Party were headed back to Wellington, New Zealand aboard the Aurora.
Fate
The Aurora was last seen in 1917, when she departed Newcastle, New South WalesNewcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, bound for Iquique
Iquique
Iquique is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
with a cargo of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...
posted the ship as missing on 2 January 1918; it was believed she was a casualty of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Tributes
A number of Antarctic features are named for the Aurora. These include:- Mount AuroraMount AuroraMount Aurora is a round-topped volcanic summit, high, the highest point on Black Island in the Ross Archipelago. It was named by the New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition after the Aurora, the vessel which conveyed the Ross Sea Party of Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic...
- Aurora HeightsAurora HeightsAurora Heights is a prominent feature long, bordering the north side of Argosy Glacier in the Miller Range. It was named by the New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition for the Aurora, the ship of the Ross Sea Party of the British Trans-Antarctic Expedition ....
- Aurora Subglacial BasinAurora Subglacial BasinAurora Subglacial Basin is a large subglacial basin of Wilkes Land to the west of Dome Charlie and trending northwest toward the coast in the vicinity of Shackleton Ice Shelf...
- Aurora PeakAurora PeakAurora Peak is a peak high along the west side of the Mertz Glacier, south of Mount Murchison. It was discovered by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition under Douglas Mawson who named it after the expedition ship Aurora....
- Aurora GlacierAurora Glacier (Antarctica)Aurora Glacier is a large glacier draining that part of Ross Island between Mount Erebus and Mount Terra Nova, and flowing south into McMurdo Ice Shelf. It was named by A.J. Heine in 1963 after the Aurora, the ship of the Ross Sea Party of the British expedition under Ernest Shackleton,...
Captains
This is a partial list of CaptainsCaptain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
of the Aurora:
- J. Fairweather (c.1882-c.1886)
- Jackman (c.1895)
- John King DavisJohn King DavisJohn King Davis, CBE was an English-born Australian explorer and navigator notable for his work captaining exploration ships in Antarctic waters as well as for establishing meteorological stations on Macquarie Island in the subantarctic and on Willis Island in the Coral Sea.-Early life:Davis's...
(1911–1914, 1916–17) - Lieutenant Æneas MackintoshAeneas MackintoshAeneas Lionel Acton Mackintosh was a British Merchant Navy officer and Antarctic explorer, who commanded the Ross Sea party as part of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17...
R.N.R. (1914) - J R StenhouseJoseph StenhouseJoseph Russell Stenhouse, DSO, OBE, DSC was a Scottish-born seaman, Royal Navy Officer and Antarctic navigator, who commanded the expedition vessel SY Aurora during her 283-day drift in the ice while on service with the Ross Sea Party component of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic...
(1914–1916)