A Cornish museum is hosting a special exhibition dedicated to Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose most famous ship, Endurance, has only just been discovered where it sank 107 years ago, deep under the icy waters of Antarctica.
'I seemed to vow to myself that someday I would go to the region of ice and snow and go on and on till I came to one of the poles of the earth, the end of the axis upon which this great round ball turns.'
A hundred years after the death of a famous polar explorer, the remains of his ship have finally been found by marine archaeologists, 3km deep under the Weddell Sea in the Antarctic.
Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, was crushed by sea ice and sank in 1915. The Endurance 22 project, led by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, and said to be the world’s most difficult shipwreck search, discovered the wreck last month.
It’s a special year for remembering Sir Ernest Shackleton, his legendary explorations and the crews who accompanied him, and in Charlestown the team at the Shipwreck Treasure Museum is unveiling a unique exhibition to celebrate the occasion.
The museum is bringing a Royal Geographic Society (RGS) exhibition, which looks at the explorer’s legacy along with the power of early Antarctic photography, to Cornwall for the first time – and to enhance the visitor experience, it has created a unique ‘polar realm’ in the underground tunnels that lie beneath the museum.
Shackleton’s untimely death came in 1922, when he was only 47. The stress and physical strain of many years of ground-breaking adventuring in inhospitable places had taken their toll. He died of a heart attack in the south Atlantic on board the Quest, the ship he had acquired for his latest expedition to Antarctica. He’d already suffered a suspected heart attack on the voyage but refused to stop.
It's a mark of Shackleton’s leadership and his insatiable passion and fascination with exploring Antarctica that the crew on the voyage when he lost his life were largely made up of those who joined him on the ill-fated Endurance expedition a few years before for which they had never been paid and endured great hardship.
Shackleton is best known for that trip, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-17. Setting sail from Plymouth complete with a crew of 28 and 69 dogs the aim was to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent.
The idea was conceived after the pioneer tried and failed twice to be the first to reach the South Pole. He was beaten to that accolade in 1911 by Roald Amundsen, The Endurance mission, in Shackleton's words, was the' 'one great main object of Antarctic journeyings'.
The expedition was the pinnacle of the polar explorer’s career. Successfully turning disaster when Endurance was crushed by relentless polar pack ice, into triumph. He and his crew survived the slow shipwreck and lived to tell the tale. But it was his focus on the power of photography to document the experience that was key.
Visitors to the Shipwreck Treasure Museum can explore the network of tunnels below the harbourside museum which has been transformed into an atmospheric polar realm. This immersive experience sets the scene and tells the story of this daring expedition into the unchartered, and unforgiving world of ice.
The Shackleton’s Legacy and the Power of Early Antarctic Photography exhibition then looks at the influences behind Shackleton’s passion for the region through polar photography. Visitors can see a selection of stunning images taken by leading photographer Frank Hurley who was commissioned to join the crew.
Frozen in Time is another new exhibition at the museum. It is image-led and contrasts the historical photography taken at the time of Shackleton’s adventures by exploring four exciting archaeological discoveries in the Arctic and Antarctic seas that have employed the latest, cutting-edge technology.
The four shipwrecks featured are Franklin’s HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, Benjamin Leigh-Smith’s Eira, the infamous RMS Titanic and Shackleton’s Endurance. Images of Endurance on display were taken by the Endurance22 expedition.
Modern colour photographs and archaeological scans alongside images of underwater archaeology in action showcase how shipwrecks are discovered, explored, and documented today.
Lynné Raubenheimer, visitor engagement manager at the museum says: 'Sir Ernest Shackleton’s legacy is as powerful today as it ever was, even more than 100 years later after he captured the imagination with his exploits. His adventures continue to inspire and intrigue us and interest in this fascinating story has been reignited by the Endurance22 project that has just finally located the well-preserved wreck of Endurance.
“We’re very excited to host this special exhibition, in association with the RGS, and have it in Cornwall for the first time. It’s something that visitors of all ages can enjoy, and we will have some fun, interesting activities for younger guests to engage with as well.”
The attraction is also planning associated talks and events during the exhibition’s run. This will include a screening of South, a silent movie released in 1919 made during the expedition by celebrated photographer Frank Hurley.
Hurley is regarded as one of the pioneers of photography and documentary filmmaking, creating dramatic images and film at considerable risk to himself.
The Shackleton experience and Frozen in Time exhibition runs from 9 April until 30 October.
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