Images of Industry

Dear Gerald Peckham,

Thank you for your enquiry.

The Tera Nova was not a Welsh vessel and only visited Wales only twice, at the start and at the end of Captain Scott’s expedition, and so I regret to say that the Museum does not hold detailed information about the vessel or her career.

The vessel arrived at Cardiff on 10 June 1910 to load 380 tons of patent fuel (donated by the Crown Patent Fuel Co Ltd) and 100 tons of steam coal (half donated by The Ynyshir Steam Coal Company, and half donated by Insoles Ltd), and departed for the Antarctic on 15 June 1910. At the end of the expedition, the vessel returned to Cardiff on 14 June 1913 and departed in September 1913 having been sold to her pre-expedition owners and resumed employment in the Newfoundland sealing industry.

The Terra Nova was primarily a sailing vessel but had a steam engine to enable her to move if wind conditions did not permit her to sail. The amount of coal she could load was limited (much of the 480 tons of patent and fuel and coal loaded at Cardiff was intended to heat the huts that housed the expedition’s base camp) and this would have limited the use made of the vessel’s steam engine.

To learn more about the Terra Nova and about Captain Scott’s 1910 expedition, these Wikipedia articles are a good starting point: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Nova_(ship) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Nova_Expedition There is a list of books at the end of the article about the expedition should you wish to read up in more detail.

I am sorry that the Museum cannot directly provide the information that you are seeking, and hope that the Wikipedia articles and list of books may be useful to you.

Yours sincerely,

Jennifer Protheroe-Jones
Prif Guradur - Diwydiant / Principal Curator - Industry

I want to learn more about the ship and its explorations. was the ship part sail and steam driven?

I've been searching for a possible water colour painting approximately 3x5 - 5x7 with similar background (building types) and workers, or soldiers at docks. Any clues?

Lilyg381@gmail.com