MARITIME / ANTARCTICA / Biography

• 208 p. : ill., ports.
• Bibliography: p. 204-205. #080125
• Worsley, Frank Arthur, 1872-1943
• Shackleton, Ernest Henry, Sir, 1874-1922
• Imperial Trans-antarctic Expedition, 1914-1917
• Explorers — New Zealand — Biography
• Sailors — New Zealand — Biography
• Antarctica — Discovery and exploration
• In 1914, after nearly 27 years’ experience, he applied for a position in Sir Ernest Shackleton’s trans-Antarctic expedition and was made captain of the expedition ship Endurance. The ship had to be abandoned in pack ice on the Weddell Sea in October 1915 and Worsley’s role in ensuring the survival of the party was crucial. For five months they struggled to survive on the ice, eventually reaching uninhabited Elephant Island. From there a small group under the command of Shackleton set out in an open 22-foot boat, the James Caird, to reach South Georgia and arrange the rescue of the remainder of the party. Worsley’s navigation under the most difficult circumstances was the single overriding factor in the success of this 800-nautical-mile voyage and the subsequent rescue of the expedition, and it is significant that the James Caird had been built to his specifications. In 2022, Endurance was located on the ocean floor thanks to the accuracy with which Worsley had calculated its position.
• In 1921 Frank Worsley accepted the position of navigator and hydrographer of the Quest, Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition ship. Although Shackleton died during this expedition, on 5 January 1922, the journey was completed in his honour. In 1926 Worsley was appointed co-leader of the British Arctic Expedition and commanded their square-rigged sailing ship as they explored the largely uncharted area between Spitsbergen island and Franz Joseph Land. He flew the New Zealand ensign and claimed to be the first New Zealander to set foot on Franz Joseph Land.