Alfred Bull and the 1907-09 Nimrod Expedition: A Story of Early European Antarctic Exploration
Introduction: Plans for the Nimrod Expedition
The Nimrod Expedition, led and organized by explorer Ernest Shackleton, set sail from London on August 11, 1907. He planned to have three parties to travel to three different places: the first party planned to go east across the Great Ice Barrier to King Edward VII Land and follow the coastline until they were forced to turn back, the second party planned to sledge south along the route of the Discovery in order to reach the South Pole, and the third party planned to trek west over the Antarctic mountains to get to the magnetic pole. In reality, Shackleton and his crew did not reach the South Pole, prioritizing the men’s life over fame. The furthest south they got was to a latitude of 83º 23’S. They also were unable to begin their journey across the Great Ice Barrier due to the death of some ponies. However, they were able to reach the estimated site of the magnetic South Pole and completed the first ever ascent of Mount Erebus.
Logistics
This expedition was funded by private sponsors, bank loans, and creditors. Shackleton purchased the Nimrod, a 40 year old Scottish seal hunting ship, for ￡5,000 and refitted it for ￡7,000, nearly $2.3 million in modern US dollars. Some of the supplies brought on the expedition were sleeping bags made out of reindeer hide, nearly 50,000 pounds of food meant to sustain the Shore Party for two years, and traditional Samí shoes called finneskos made of reindeer hide, leather, and seagrass. In order to travel across the ice, Shackleton brought fifteen ponies, nine dogs, and an Arrol-Johnson car, the first Antarctic expedition to do so. The Shore Party was made up of sixteen men, with Ernest Shackleton as the commander. Alfred Bull was one of the Able Seamen, only with the Nimrod for part of its expedition: from December 1908 when the Nimrod set off to Antarctica again to retrieve the Shore Party to March 1909 when they returned to London.
Expedition Overview
The Nimrod dropped the Shore Party off at Cape Royds on February 3, 1908 where they began to set up camp. On February 22nd, the Nimrod went back to New Zealand, leaving the Shore Party alone. Their first venture was to ascend Mount Erebus, located roughly 20 kilometers from their hut, beginning on March 5th. They reached the summit on March 10th after being stalled for nearly 32 hours due to a blizzard. On March 11th, the group returned back to their camp on Cape Royds.
Their next venture was the attempt to reach the South Pole. The four man group (Shackleton, Marshall, Adams, Wild) departed on October 29th, 1908. They planned to travel a total of 1,494 miles over the course of 91 days. Due to poor weather conditions and the death of the horses, they had to slow their journey, depleting the food rations they had left. On January 4th, 1909, Shackleton decided that the group would not be able to reach the South Pole without putting their lives in serious danger, opting instead to get within 100 miles of the pole - the furthest any explorer had gotten before. The group traveled for five more days, then planted the Union Jack at 88º 23’S. During the return journey, the men were plagued by dysentery, enteritis, and blizzards, but by March 4th, all the men were safely aboard the Nimrod.
While Shackleton and his crew of three trekked down towards the South Pole, another expedition was occurring. Geologist Edgeworth David was tasked with leading a group to reach the Southern Magnetic Pole and to conduct a geological survey of the Dry Valley region of the Antarctic. On October 5, 1908, the group (David, Douglas Mawson, and Alistair Mackay) set out from their camp at Cape Royds. Despite their slow initial progress, they reached the magnetic pole on January 17, 1909, cataloging the position at 72° 15’S, 155° 16’E and planting a flag. From here, they traveled to a prearranged rendezvous point where they were picked up by the Nimrod on February 4th and headed back to New Zealand.
Works Cited
Bullock, Mike. “Shackleton’s Nimrod Expedition.” In Priestley’s Progress. United States:
McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers, 2017
Shackleton, Ernest, Hugh Robert Mill, and T.W. Edgeworth David. The Heart of the Antarctic; Being the Story of the British Antarctic Expedition of 1907-1909. Vol. 1. 2 vols. London: W. Heinemann, 1909.
Riffenburgh, Beau. Nimrod: Ernest Shackleton and the Extraordinary Story of the 1907-1909 British Antarctic Expedition. London: Bloomsbury, 2004.