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Figure head of the British Antarctic Expedition ship TERRA NOVA, in which Captain Scott sailed from the port of Cardiff, 15 June 1910. The figurehead was presented to Cardiff Corporation by Frederick Charles Bowring, Esq. J.P., of Liverpool (the commemorative plaque bearing the date 8th December 1913). It stood for many years in the city's Roath Park and was then presented to the National Museum of Wales by Cardiff City Council in 1932.

In 1912, Captain Scott and his four companions, Wilson, Bowers, Oates and Evans, died on their way back from the South Pole. The story of their journey has become one of the greatest epics of British exploration.

S.Y. TERRA NOVA. Auxiliary barque of 764 tons, was built by Messrs Alexander Stephens and Sons, Dundee in 1884 for the whaling trade. Although nearly thirty years old at the time of Captain Scott's expedition, she was chosen for it because of her suitability for work in the Antarctic ice. Her beams were fourteen ins thick, her bows were nine feet of solid wood, and her stem was sheathed with iron plating.