Riches, British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-1909

• MS 1611;BJ Diary, 31 July 1907 to August 1909 [Includes a photograph and 1935 edition of The Heart of the Antarctic, by Ernest Henry Shackleton with inscription] holograph

The British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-1909 (leader Ernest Henry Shackleton) sailed south on board Nimrod. A shore party of 15 set up base on the Antarctic continent; they discovered nearly 500km of the Transantarctic Mountains flanking the Ross Ice Shelf. A party climbed Mount Erebus (3794 m), Ross Island. A southern party consisting of Shackleton, Jameson Adams, Eric Marshall and Frank Wild found a route up the Beardmore Glacier and sledged to within 180km of the pole.

A second party sledged to he region of the South Magnetic pole and exploration of the area around the Ferrar Glacier was also conducted.

Chronological

The Scott Polar Research Institute holds a number of photographs, film and other illustrative material in the Picture Library, some of which covers this expedition. The catalogue can be searched on line by going to the Picture Library Database and selecting the Enter Polar Pictures link.

The Institute holds over fifty archival collections containing material relating to this expedition see SPRI collection GB 015 British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-1909 for more information.