Ernest Shackleton

DEATH OF AN ICON - 90 YEARS AGO TODAY

Last Updated: 5 January 2012 - 12:54 pm

 

For Ernest Shackleton, it must have felt like a familiar pattern of adversity. His ship, the Quest, had engine trouble requiring a substantial overhaul in Rio De Janeiro. The subsequent voyage to South Georgia was extremely rough; Christmas Day 1921 produced what Shackleton recorded as the worst storm he had ever encountered at sea. But if Shackleton had one great strength, it was the ability to lead through disappointment and bad fortune until circumstances turned favourable.

 

The weather improved, and the sighting of an iceberg seemed to restore Shackleton's indomnitable spirit. As the Quest approached the harbour at Grytviken in South Georgia, he was joined on deck by his old comrades from previous expeditions, men like Frank Wild, Charles Green, Frank Worsley and Leonard Hussey who had leaped at the opportunity to sail again with 'The Boss'. The sight of this very place must have released a flood of emotions; in May 1916 with Tom Crean and Frank Worsley he had stumbled into the whaling station in South Georgia to raise the alarm for the ill-fated Endurance expedition, and begin the efforts to rescue his 22 comrades stranded 800 miles away on the icebound and storm ravaged Elephant Island.

 

But now, as New Year 1922 dawned, everyone felt things were different.

Shackleton had suffered a heart-attack while in Rio de Janiero, but typically would not admit it and insisted on continuing with the stresses of managing the expedition. Doctors Macklin and McIlroy (who had been with Shackleton on a previous expedition) were concerned, but he paid little heed to their advice. On 4^th January, with the Quest anchored in the harbour at Grytviken, he recorded in his diary 'In the darkening twilight I saw a lone star hover, gem like above the bay', before retiring to his cabin.

A matter of hours later, at 2 am on 5^th January, he called Dr Macklin. He requested something to relieve the pain he was suffering in the back and face. As Macklin prepared the medicine, Shackleton suddenly took a severe turn, and died. For someone who had pulled off some of the greatest feats of leadership and bravery, it was a serene departure from life, and in a most appropriate location.

 

Ernest Shackleton was born in Kilkea on 15^th Febru ary 1874. The family moved to England ten years later, but Shackleton never forgot his Irish roots.

His exploits as a polar explorer are legendary. In 1909, he turned back just 97 miles from the South Pole, surrendering the opportunity of being first to reach it to ensure the survival of his party of explorers Later, he wrote to his wife, by way of explanation, that he thought she would 'prefer a live donkey than a dead lion'. The Norwegian, Raold Amundsen, became the first person to stand at the South Pole in December 1911, while the British team under Robert Falcon Scott reached it just weeks later, before tragically perishing on the return journey.

 

In the period 1914-1917, Shackleton's bravery and leadership were severly tested on the Endurance expedition. The plan was to make the first crossing of the Antarctic continent. The reality was that the ship, Endurance, was crushed and sank, leaving Shackleton stranded on the floating ice with his crew of 25 men. Pushed to the limits of their survival abilities, they made it to Elephant Island using three lifeboats. The world was unaware of their fate or their whereabouts, and Shackleton had to get help before all perished. His final throw of the dice involved sailing 800 storm tossed miles with five others (including Tom Crean and Tim McCarthy) in a 24 foot lifeboat, making the first crossing of South Georgia to a Norwegian whaling station, before finally rescuing the remaining men from Elephant Island.

Following Shackleton's death 90 years ago on 5^th January 1922, tributes were received from all over the world. His body was returned to South Georgia to be buried, as his wife felt his final resting place should be close to his beloved Antarctic. A few years later, Kildare County Council received his sledging harness via the New Zealand Government to commemorate a great son of the county.

Athy Heritage Centre hosts the only permanent exhibition worldwide to commemorate Ernest Shackleton while the annual Athy Shackleton Autumn School recalls the great explorer's achievements each October.

 

 

∞ Permalink

SCHEDULE FOR 2011 AUTUMN SCHOOL

Last Updated: 13 October 2011 - 10:41 am

 

Friday, 28th October

 

Official Opening & Exhibition Launch

 

The school will be opened by His Excellency, Mr Ronald Næss, Norwegian Ambassador to Ireland.

7.30pm in Athy Heritage Centre – Museum.

 

 

 

8pm Book Launch

 

In association with the Erskine Press the school will host the launch of Simon Beaufort's book

'The Nimrod Murders'

 

Exhibition

 

Daily Exhibitions – Athy Heritage Centre - Museum

 

10.00am – 5.00pm - Cold Recall-Reflections of a Polar Explorer, Roald Amundsen

 

The exhibition was developed by the Fram Museum, Oslo, Norway to showcase images from the lantern slides that Roald Amundsen used in public lectures about his expeditions through the Northwest Passage and to the South Pole with particular emphasis on Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole. The texts in the exhibition are primarily abridged versions of Amundsen’s own manuscripts from these lectures. The exhibition is also complemented by Amundsen material from a number of private collections

 

Antarctic Adventurers – the Antarctic adventurers will recreate a three man sledging party from the early years of Antarctic exploration.

 

 

 Saturday, 29th October

 

Lecture Series Athy Heritage Centre – Museum

 

10.00am “Notes from a Shackleton Scholar: Heritage Tourism in the South Atlantic”

Emma Jane McAdam

Admission €7

 

 11.30 “'Murder on Shackleton's Nimrod:Writing Antarctic Fiction' ”

Beau Riffenburgh & Liz Cruwys

Admission €7

 

 2.00pm “Roald Amundsen’s and his crew members’ South Pole diaries”

Geir Kløver

Admission €7

 

 

Book Launch Athy Heritage Centre - Museum

3.00pm In association with the Collins Press the school will host the launch of 'Ordeal by Ice: Ships of the Antarctic' by Rorke Bryan.The book will be launched by the Hon. Alexandra Shackleton.

 

 4pm “The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott”

David Wilson

Admission €7

Dinner

 

8pm Autumn School Dinner in Carlton Abbey Hotel, Athy

 

Sunday, 30^h October Athy Heritage Centre – Museum

 

Lecture Series

 

10.00am “The Cinematic Race to the Pole”

Jan Anders Diesen

Admission €7

 

Book Launch Athy Heritage Centre - Museum

11.00am In association with Reardon Publishing the school will host the launch

of 'Edward Wilson's Antarctic Notebooks' by David & Christopher Wilson

 

12 noon “Did Shackleton Care about Science"

Dr Edward J Larson

Admission €7

 

Film Athy Heritage Centre – Museum

 

2.30pm “The Great White Silence.

Captain Scott described Herbert Ponting as 'an artist in love with his work', and after the expedition's tragic outcome Ponting devoted the rest of his life to ensuring that the grandeur of the Antarctic and expedition's heroism would not be forgotten - the images that he captured have fired imaginations ever since. The BFI National Archive - custodian of the expedition negatives - has restored the film using the latest photochemical and digital techniques and reintroduced the sophisticated use of colour. The alien beauty of the landscape is brought dramatically to life, showing the world of the expedition in brilliant detail.

 

Presented by Luke McKernan

Admission €7

 

 

4.30pm Open Forum chaired by Bob Headland

 

Drama Athy Community Arts Centre

 

9.00pm “Catalpa”

 

Based on the true story of the daring whaleship rescue of six Irish prisoners from Fremantle penal colony in 1876, Catalpa is a story in the great epic tradition of Moby Dick and Gone With The Wind - with a passing glance at The Great Escape. Donal O’Kelly plays over thirty characters in this one-man epic, including the mastermind of the Catalpa mission - Kildareman John Devoy.

Written and performed by Donal O’Kelly, with live music by Trevor Knight.

Admission €10

 

 

Monday, 31^st October 2011

 

 

Field Trip Assemble at The Heritage Centre – Museum

 

10.00am Bus tour through Shackleton country. A Visit to Ballitore and the home of Mary Leadbeater, writer and ancestor of Ernest Shackleton, the Quaker Meeting House and the Shaker Store.

Fare €10

 

Information on Contributors

 

Emma Jane McAdam

A Falkland Islander by birth, Emma Jane returned to the Islands to carry out the research for her undergraduate dissertation in the Falkland Islands Archives. In 2000, Emma Jane was awarded a Shackleton Scholarship to carry out the research for her postgraduate degree in the Islands, focusing on the potential for heritage tourism in the Falklands. Her work and subsequent report was instrumental in the establishment of the Visitor Centre in Stanley. As a museum professional, Emma Jane has worked in the Scottish museums sector for almost 10 years and is currently Curator at the University of St Andrews.

 

 

 Dr Beau Riffenburgh

 Dr Beau Riffenburgh is a historian affiliated with the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge. His research specialises in the history of exploration, particularly that of the Antarctic, Arctic, and Africa. A native Californian, he had a successful career in publishing before moving to Cambridge, where he earned his PhD and then served for 15 years as the Editor of Polar Record. His books about exploration include the critically acclaimed Myth of the Explorer; Nimrod, the account of Ernest Shackleton’s first expedition; and the award-winning two-volume Encyclopedia of the Antarctic. He has more recently published two books about Douglas Mawson and his Australasian Antarctic Expedition.

 Dr Liz Cruwys

Dr Liz Cruwys is a marine biologist from the University of Cambridge, whose academic research investigates environmental contamination in pinnipeds. She has also conducted research into medieval history and architecture, and has written books on castles and cathedrals. This medieval background and her experience on the Leeds police force have given her important insights for the 25 mystery novels she has published under the pseudonym Susanna Gregory. Including her scholarly works, she has written or contributed to more than 60 books, including nine novels with Beau Riffenburgh under the pseudonym Simon Beaufort.

 

 Geir O. Kløver

Geir has been the director of the Fram Museum in Oslo since 2005. He has recently edited and published the diaries of Roald Amundsen and 14 of the other crew members of the Norwegian South Pole Expedition 1910-12. He is currently editing the collected diaries of Fridtjof Nansen and the crew members of the First Fram Expedition. From 1997 to 2005, Geir worked as project director in a Norwegian human rights NGO providing media and communication support to Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. He worked primarily on projects related to Tibet, Burma, East Timor, the Korean peninsula and the AIDS issue.

 

Dr David Wilson

David is a great nephew of Dr Edward A.Wilson, who perished with Captain Scott's polar party David has a long association with polar matters. The author of a numbers of books, his most recent is The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott. He makes frequent trips to the Antarctic as a historian and ornithological field guide and he is currently Chairman of the Scott 100 Centenary Committee.

 

Christopher Wilson

Chris is a great nephew of Dr Edward A. Wilson. Before taking early retirement, Chris worked for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, serving as warden of Ireland's premier wildfowl reserve, 'Wexford Wildfowl Reserve'. He regularly contributes to a wide number of wildlife magazines, makes radio and television programs and is an accomplished photographer. His publications include: High Skies - Low Lands - An Anthology of The Wexford Slobs and Harbour and 'Wildfile' - A Guide to Irish Wildlife. Chris lectures extensively on birds and other wildlife groups of Antarctica, Ireland and Australia.

 

 

 Rorke Bryan

Rorke Bryan has had a lifelong interest in Antarctica, triggered by seeing 'Scott of the Antarctic' as an eight-year old in his native Dublin. The son of a merchant mariner, he has visited many parts of the world during his career with the British Antarctic Survey and in environmental conservation, forestry and development at the Universities of Alberta and Toronto. His interests include sailing, mountaineering and skiing.

 

 Dr. Jan Anders Diesen

Professor of film history at Lillehammer University College, Norway, Jan Anders is an expert on silent Norwegian films and on documentary films. For the last 5 years he has been researching the silent films from polar expeditions, and has published books and articles on Roald Amundsen´s films. To put these Norwegian films into an international context, he has over last three years visited polar archives around the world. He is currently working on a book on explorer´s films from Borchgrevink, Fiala and Bruce to Amundsen, Nobile and Byrd.

 

Dr Edward J. Larson

He is the Professor of History and holds the Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University. His many books include Summer for the Gods - The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion for which he received the Pulitzer Prize in History: Evolutions Workshop: God and Science on the Galapago's Islands and he has just published An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science.

 

 Luke McKernan

Luke McKernan is Lead Curator, Moving Image at the British Library. He is a film archivist and a historian of early and non-fiction film, with a particular interest in films of travel and exploration. He has written books on newsreels, 1890s film and Shakespearean film, and his polar publications include a chapter on Antarctic filmmaking in South: The Race to the Pole and the commentary on the BFI DVD release of South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic.

 

 Bob Headland

Bob is a senior research associate of the Scott Polar Research Institute of the University of Cambridge. He specialises in the history and geography of both polar regions. His work with the Antarctic Heritage Trust involves the preservation of the historical huts and other aspects associated with the exploration of the discovery of the Antarctic. His most recent publication is A Chronology of Antarctic Exploration.

 

Donal O'Kelly

Donal O’Kelly is a writer and actor. His plays include his solo shows Catalpa, Jimmy Joyced! and Bat the Father Rabbit the Son. Other plays are The Cambria, The Adventures Of The Wet Señor, Vive La, Operation Easter, Asylum! Asylum!, The Dogs, Farawayan and The Hand. As an actor, he has appeared in Translations, Juno and the Paycock and The Tempest in the Abbey, played Lucky in the Gate Theatre’s Waiting For Godot, and on screen played leading roles in Kings, The Van and Spin The Bottle, as well as RTE’s Paths to Freedom and Fair City.

 Antarctic Adventurers

The Antarctic Adventures are a group of British re-enactors who specialise in recreating the world of Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen. They perform regularly for museums and English Heritage. They recreate a three man sledging party of the 1901 – 1913 period with clothing, sledges and equipment of the time used by Scot and Shackleton.

 

 

∞ Permalink

EDWARD WILSONS ANTARCTIC NOTEBOOKS

Last Updated: 12 September 2011 - 9:25 am

 

 Edward Wilson's Antarctic Notebooks, by D.M. Wilson and C.J. Wilson, is due to be published October 2011 by Reardon Publishing, Cheltenham.

The Shackleton school is pleased to be hosting the launch of the book on Sunday the 30th October in the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum.

Dr. Edward A. Wilson (1872-1912) is widely regarded as one of the finest artists ever to have worked in the Antarctic. Sailing with Captain Scott aboard 'Discovery' (1901-1904), he became the last in a long tradition of 'exploration artists' from an age when pencil and water-colour were the main methods of producing accurate scientific records of new lands and animal species. He combined scientific, topographical and landscape techniques to produce accurate and beautiful images of the last unknown continent. Such was the strength of his work that it also helped to found the tradition of modern wildlife painting. In particular Wilson captured the essence of the flight and motion of Southern Ocean sea-birds on paper. Returning with Captain Scott aboard 'Terra Nova' (1910-1913) as Chief of Scientific Staff, he continued to record the continent and its wildlife with extraordinary deftness. Chosen to accompany Captain Scott to the South Pole, his last drawings are from one of the most famous epic journeys in exploration history. Along with his scientific work, Wilson's pencil recorded the finding of Roald Amundsen's tent at the South Pole by Captain Scott. Wilson died, along with the other members of the British Pole Party, during the return journey, in March 1912.
Many of the images in this book are rarely seen or are previously unpublished. The drawings and paintings were created at considerable personal cost in the freezing conditions in which Wilson worked. He often suffered severely from the cold whilst sketching and also from snow-blindness, or sunburn of the eye. They provide a remarkable testament to one of the great figures of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. The book has been produced as a companion volume to 'Edward Wilson's Nature Notebooks' by two of Wilson's great nephews, to mark the centenary of his death.

∞ Permalink

AMUNDSEN EXHIBITION

Last Updated: 26 August 2011 - 12:16 pm

 

 

In assocation with the Fram Museum, Oslo, Norway this October the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum will feature the exhibition - 'Cold Recall: Reflection of a Polar Explorer'.

The exhibition was developed by the Fram Museum to showcase images from the lantern slides that Roald Amundsen used in public lectures about his expeditions through the Northwest Passage and to the South Pole with particular emphasis on Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole.

The texts in the exhibition are primarily drawn from Amundsen’s own manuscripts from these lectures.

The exhibition is also complemented by Amundsen material from a number of private collections.

 

The Shackleton School is indebted to the Norwegian Embassy in Ireland and in particular to former Ambassador Öyvind Nordsletten in securing the exhibition for its inaugural staging in Ireland

 

∞ Permalink

MURDER AND INTRIGUE ON THE 'NIMROD' EXPEDITION

Last Updated: 23 August 2011 - 3:34 pm

∞ Permalink

ORDEAL BY ICE - SHIPS OF THE ANTARCTIC

Last Updated: 23 August 2011 - 11:30 am

 

At 3pm on Saturday the 29th October in the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum, the Autumn School, in conjunction with the Collins Press will host the launch of Rorke Bryan's book 'Ordeal by Ice - Ships of the Antarctic.

This richly illustrated book is destined to become the reference book on ships of the Antarctic. Surrounded by some of the most hazardous seas, Antarctica was first sighted less than three centuries ago. Since then, hundreds of ships have voyaged in Antarctic waters, challenged by poorly-charted waters, storms, pack ice, icebergs, and disease. This is the story of these ships, the expeditions they supported, and their subsequent history, from the fifteenth-century fleets of the Ming Emperors of China to the tourist ships and powerful icebreakers of today.
Using extensive research in archives, museums, libraries and private sources around the world, Rorke Bryan brings the stories of these ships into a single, comprehensive record. Familiar names such as Terra Nova and Endurance feature with unfamiliar but equally important ships. From the hundreds of tales of heroic seamanship, the extraordinary 1830-1832 circumnavigation by Captain John Biscoe in the tiny Tula is perhaps matched only by Shackleton’s voyage in the James Caird. Plans, photos, paintings and maps enhance description of the expeditions and activities of the ships. This authoritative work fills an important gap in Antarctic literature.

Rorke Bryan has had a lifelong interest in Antarctica, triggered by seeing 'Scott of the Antarctic' as an eight-year old in his native Dublin. The son of a merchant mariner, he has visited many parts of the world during his career with the British Antarctic Survey and in environmental conservation, forestry and development at the Universities of Alberta and Toronto. His interests include sailing, mountaineering and skiing.

∞ Permalink

LECTURES FOR 2011 SHACKLETON SCHOOL

Last Updated: 18 August 2011 - 11:59 am

The Autumn School committee is pleased to announce the final lecture list for the 2011 school.

 

'Did Shackleton care about Science?'

Dr Edward J Larson, Professor of American History, University of Georgia

 

'Roald Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole - as seen through his lantern slides and the crew members personal diaries'

Geir O. Kløver,Director of the Fram Museum

 

'The Cinematic Race to the Poles'

Jan Anders Diesen, Professor of Film & Television Studies, University of Lillehammer

''Murder on Shackleton's Nimrod:Writing Antarctic Fiction"

Dr Beau Riffenburgh & Dr Liz Cruwys, Polar Historians & Authors

'Notes from a Shackleton Scholar : Heritage Tourism in the South Atlantic'

Emma Jane McAdam, Curator, University of St Andrews -

 

'The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott'

Dr David Wilson, Polar Historian

 

The full programme for the school will be announced shortly.

 

∞ Permalink

'CATALPA' DRAMA COMES TO ATHY - SUNDAY 30TH OCTOBER

Last Updated: 25 July 2011 - 4:25 pm

 

Based on the true story of the daring whaleship rescue of six Irish prisoners from Fremantle penal colony in 1876, Catalpa is a story in the great epic tradition of Moby Dick and Gone With The Wind - with a passing glance at The Great Escape. Donal O’Kelly plays over thirty characters in this one-man epic, including the mastermind of the Catalpa mission - Kildareman John Devoy.

Written and performed by Donal O’Kelly, with live music by Trevor Knight.

 

Donal O’Kelly is a writer and actor. His much-travelled solo plays include the award-winning Catalpa (Edinburgh Fringe First, London TimeOut Critics’ Choice, Best Event Melbourne International Festival), Bat The Father Rabbit The Son (Best Writer and Best Actor nominations Irish Theatre Awards), and Jimmy Joyced! (Best Actor nomination Irish Theatre Awards). He has twice been awarded an Irish Arts Council literature bursary, and in 1999 was awarded the Irish American Cultural Institute Butler Literary Award.

His film roles include leading roles in Roddy Doyle’s The Van. On stage, he has played the Lincoln Centre, New York , Toronto Winter Gardens, The Abbey & Peacock as well as touring the UK, Europe, US, Canada and Australia .

He is an associate director of the peace and justice organisation Afri. In 2007 he was elected to Aosdana.

 

∞ Permalink

RARE SCOTT FILM TO BE SHOWCASED IN ATHY

Last Updated: 18 May 2011 - 11:09 am

 

This year the school will host a screening of 'The Great White Silence', Herbert Ponting renowed cinematic record of Captain Scott's last expedition. A sensation when first released in 1924 the film has achieved iconic status. A sound version was released in 1933 with the title '90 Degrees South'.

The British Film Institute has restored the 1924 film using the latest digital technology. The result of the restoration gives a stunning sense of the hardships and challenges faced by Scott and his men on the expedition.

The film will be presented by Luke McKernan, Lead Curator of Moving Image at the British Library. Luke is also the founder of 'Bioscope', a website dedicated to the subject of early and silent cinema.

 

∞ Permalink

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER TO LECTURE TO SHACKLETON SCHOOL

Last Updated: 12 May 2011 - 12:12 pm

 

The Shackleton School is pleased to confirm that Dr Edward J Larsson will lecture at this years Shackleton School. He is the Professor of History and holds the Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University. His many books include 'Summer for the Gods - The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion for which he received the Pulitzer Prize in History: Evolutions Workshop: God and Science on the Galapago's Islands and he has just published 'An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science.

 

His lecture in Athy is titled - 'Did Shackleton care about Science?

∞ Permalink