 Terra Nova in 1911 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Namesake | Newfoundland (Terra Nova inLatin) |
| Builder | |
| Launched | 1884 |
| Fate | Sunk offGreenland, 13 September 1943 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type |
|
| Tonnage | 764grt |
| Length | 187 ft (57 m) |
| Beam | 31.4 ft (9.6 m) |
| Draught | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
| Propulsion | |
| Crew | 65 |
Terra Nova was awhaler and polar expedition ship. The ship is best known for carrying the1910 British Antarctic Expedition,Robert Falcon Scott's last expedition.
Terra Nova (Latin for "new land") was built in 1884 for the Dundee whaling and sealing fleet and was ideally suited to the polar regions and had been operating for 10 years in the annualseal fishery in theLabrador Straits.
In 1903,Terra Nova sailed in company with fellow ex-whalerSY Morning to assist in freeing theNational Antarctic Expedition'sRRS Discovery fromMcMurdo Sound. On return to Great Britain, expedition leader CommanderRobert Falcon Scott was promoted to the rank of captain.
On return from the Antarctic,Terra Nova was purchased by the American millionaireWilliam Ziegler and placed under the command of a Norwegian, CaptainJohan Kjeldsen. She sailed to the Arctic to return members of the USFiala/Ziegler expedition fromFranz Josef Land to Norway. This expedition had lost its shipAmerica, crushed by ice, during an attempt to reach the North Pole.
After returning to Newfoundland in 1906,Terra Nova resumed sealing duties with her owners,C. T. Bowring & Co. ofSt. John's and Liverpool.
In 1909,Terra Nova was bought by Captain R.F. Scott RN for the sum of £12,500, as expedition ship for theBritish Antarctic Expedition 1910. Reinforced from bow to stern with seven feet of oak to protect against the Antarctic ice pack, she sailed fromCardiff Docks on 15 June 1910 under overall command of Captain Scott. He described her as "a wonderfully fine ice ship.... As she bumped the floes with mighty shocks, crushing and grinding a way through some, twisting and turning to avoid others, she seemed like a living thing fighting a great fight".[2]
Although the twenty-four officers and scientific staff made valuable observations in biology, geology,glaciology,meteorology, andgeophysics along the coast ofVictoria Land and on theRoss Ice Shelf, Scott's last expedition is best remembered for the death of Scott and four companions.
After wintering at Cape Evans on Ross Island, Scott,Henry Bowers,Edgar Evans,Lawrence Oates, andEdward Wilson set out on a race to be the first men at the South Pole. Starting withtractors andMongolian ponies, the final 800 miles (1,300 km) had to be covered by man-hauling alone. Reaching theSouth Pole on 17 January 1912, they found thatRoald Amundsen'sexpedition (based onFram) had beaten them by thirty-four days. Worse was to come, as all five men died on the return journey. The frozen bodies of three were discovered eight months later, in November 1912. Their journals and papers were found and retrieved.
After returning from theAntarctic in 1913,Terra Nova was purchased by her former owners and resumed work in theNewfoundland seal fishery. Estimates for her career as a sealing vessel is over 800,000seal pelts.[3] In 1918 she was chartered by theDominion Steel and Coal Corporation to transport coal from the coal mines atNorth Sydney toBell Island. She also assisted at the disaster of theSS Florizel in February 1918.
In 1942,Terra Nova was chartered by Newfoundland Base Contractors to carry supplies to base stations inGreenland. On 12 September 1943 at 2205, the vessel sent an SOS reporting damage, that water was over the boilers and pumps were not working. The US Coast Guard CuttersAtak,Amarok,Laurel, andManitou, all part of theGreenland Patrol of the US Atlantic Fleet, responded.Atak reachedTerra Nova on 13 September. They rescued all personnel aboard and set the ship alight before proceeding to Narsarssuak, Greenland.Amarok andManitou turned back after their services were not needed.Laurel proceeded to the site ofTerra Nova. The burning hulk was sunk by gunfire the same day at60°15′15″N45°55′45″W / 60.25417°N 45.92917°W /60.25417; -45.92917 (Terra Nova).[4]
Thefigurehead fromTerra Nova was removed in 1913 and presented to Cardiff City Council which in 1932 donated it to theNational Museum of Wales.[5] Her bell is kept at theScott Polar Research Institute, part of the University of Cambridge. It was given to the institute on 20 October 1952 by Lady Nicholson of Eden, who was given the bell by her nephew,Edward L. Atkinson, the surgeon on Scott's last expedition. The bell is rung every weekday at 10.30 when everyone working within the institute is invited to gather for coffee and tea, as is the British tradition. It is rung in the manner of a ship's watch - five bells. Tea and coffee is brought in on a tea trolley named the 'Tea-a-nova'.[citation needed]
Thebinnacle ofTerra Nova is displayed in the Pierhead Suite of thePierhead Building,Cardiff Bay, a short distance from the point where Scott's crew departed Cardiff on the fated voyage.
In July 2012, the wreck ofTerra Nova was discovered by theSchmidt Ocean Institute’s flagshipRVFalkor.[6][7]
In June 2025, a visual survey of the wreck ofTerra Nova was completed by a team of maritime archaeologists aboard the MYLegend. Using a submersible, the expedition captured high-resolution imagery of the wreck which confirmed its identity and revealed key structural features such as the helm station and the winch motors. The survey also documented the marine life living around the wreck.[8]
TheTerra Nova was mentioned in a sailing song: The Balena.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
60°15′15″N45°55′45″W / 60.254167°N 45.929167°W /60.254167; -45.929167
