By the early 1900s, Antarctica was the least explored continent on Earth. Many countries, including the United Kingdom, wanted to be the first to explore Antarctica and claim to be the first to reach the South Pole, the southernmost point on Earth. The Terra Nova and its crew would explore Antarctica and try to be the first to reach the South Pole in 1910, and their journey would not have happened without Wales getting involved.

Where is Antarctica?

Drag the pin and place it on the blue marker you think is Antarctica. (On mobile turn the device horizontal)

How did Wales get so involved in the expedition?

In 1910, travelling from Britain to Antarctica was not only hard and dangerous, it was very expensive. In 1910, to get all the equipment and provisions you needed to reach Antarctica would cost around £50,000, around 7 million pounds in today’s money!

The search for money to fund an expedition to Antarctica brought the crew of the Terra Nova to Cardiff, and it was there that the people of Wales would become part of one of the most famous and ill-fated stories of exploration, the story of Captain Scott and the Terra Nova.

The journey to Antarctica

On June 15, the Terra Nova left Cardiff, with the Welsh flag flying high from the mast, the crew said they would return to Cardiff after the expedition. It would be a long journey to get there, and Teddy would write several letters to Cardiff to keep them all updated. Explore the journey and some of those letters on the map. 

Competition

The Terra Nova was not the only ship heading to Antarctica. Aboard Fram (forward) Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, arrived at Antarctica to claim the South Pole. Amundsen, with four of his crew, began the hard journey on October 10, 1911. They reached the South Pole on December 15, and became the first people to do so.

Scott and the crew of the Terra Nova did not know Amundsen had already reached the South Pole. Scott and 15 crew members set out to the South Pole on November 1, 1911. Eventually, it would only be a small group of men who would make the attempt to reach the South Pole.

The Polar Party

By January 4, 1912, Teddy was close to death. He was suffering from scurvy and had to be dragged on a sledge back to base camp by William Lashly and Tom Crean. While Teddy headed back to camp, Scott picked the four men that would go with him to the South Pole.

Teddy, Crean and Lashly were still trying to get back to camp. On February 18, 1912, leaving Lashly with Teddy, Crean pushed on, alone, for the final 35 miles to get help. He found help and all three survived. Teddy went back to New Zealand then to Britain to recover, while the rest of the crew waited for Scott and the others, not knowing that they had all died. 

The Terra Nova Returns

After he recovered Teddy returned to New Zealand and captained the Terra Nova back to Antarctica to get the rest of the crew. This was almost a full year after he had left. When he arrived back at Antarctica on January 18, 1913, he found out Scott and the others had died.

Teddy made plans to do exactly what they said they would do in 1910, and bring the Terra Nova back to Cardiff, to finish where they started. In a letter he wrote, "I have ordered the Terra Nova to Cardiff so that the real friends of the Expedition, those men who did most generously give, can see the little ship that carried their hope for the honorable execution of a difficult mission."

The Terra Nova returned to Cardiff on June 14, 1913. Because the people of Cardiff felt so connected to the expedition, they created several memorials to the members of the polar party that had died. Explore the album for pictures of the Terra Nova's return and the memorials at Cardiff.