Historical Marker #20, Cross on Observation Hill, Ross Island
Posted by: 
nzkeko
S 77° 51.127 W 166° 41.660
3C E 460202 N 1357558
Obs Hill Cross is also called the Terra Nova Cross from the name of the ship that Scott used for his 1910-13 expedition to the South Pole that ended with his death in March 1912. It was erected in January 1913 by crew of the Terra Nova.
Waymark Code: WM5R0Y
Location: Antarctica
Date Posted: 02/04/2009
Views: 11
Observation Hill is 230 meters/750 feet high, situated close to McMurdo Station in Antarctica, on Ross Island.
People from McMurdo frequently climbed Obs Hill to get the amazing view over McMurdo Sound to the Royal Society Mountains and the Transantarctic Range. They are the continent since Obs Hill and McMurdo are on Ross Island. Regular clear skies give great and astounding panorama and visibility.
On top of Observation Hill is a 3.5 meter Latin cross. Erected on January 20, 1913, the cross bears an inscription from the Alfred Tennyson poem “Ulysses”, which reads, “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield”. It was build in memory of those who perished on their return from the South Pole: Edgar Evans, Henry Bowers, Edward Wilson, Laurence Oates and Robert F. Scott.
The Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913), officially the British Antarctic Expedition 1910, was led by Robert Falcon Scott. Captain Scott's main objective about the expedition was “to reach the South Pole and to secure for the British Empire the honour of this achievement”. The expedition had further objectives in scientific research and geographical exploration.
Scott left London in June 1910. He had with him 65 men, 17 ponies and 30 dogs. He did not know at that time that Roald Amundsen was also going for the South Pole.
Amundsen decided to go south keeping his plans secret to prevent Scott speeding up his preparations.
Both expeditions arrived in Antarctica in January 1911 and spent the winter either side of the Ross Ice Shelf. Both parties set up supply caches on the way to the Pole before winter. Amundsen, however, was better prepared and equipped than Scott.
Amundsen set out for the pole with a team of four explorers with great ice and snow experiences. They had 48 husky dogs and 4 sledges. As food and other provisions were used up and the sledges got lighter, unwanted dogs were shot and eaten, reducing the amount of food needed for the expedition. As a result, Amundsen’s team travelled faster than Scott’s team. The British Expedition made slow progress as the ponies that they used to haul the sledges, died in the cold.
After experiencing terrible weather conditions, blizzards and thick fog, Amundsen and his team arrived at the Pole on 14 December 1911. Scott’s expedition set off two weeks later and came across far worse weather.
He also unwisely added one more man, Bowers, to his final South Pole party. Supplies being planned only for four men and Bowers having no skis, only the worst could happen and so he sank in the snow as he walked. The other tem members were Evans, Oates and Wilson.
Eventually Scott and his team made it to the Pole on 17 January 1912, a month after Amundsen.
In Scott’s diary we read:
"The worst has happened, or nearly the worst…The Norwegians have forestalled us and are first at the Pole…Tomorrow we must march onto the Pole and then hasten home with all the speed we can command."
Scott's anguish is palpable from his diary: "The worst has happened"; "All the day dreams must go"; "Great God! This is an awful place".
Amundsen’s equipment and expedition skills ensured that all his party returned home safely. Scott’s team was already weak, exhausted and undernourished as they left the Pole. Snow-blindness, scurvy and frostbite were beginning to take their toll.
Sadly, Scott's team members were all to die. Evans, was the first to die after a fall at the foot of the Beardmore Glacier on 17 February. On 16 March, Oates, barely able to travel, voluntarily left the tent and walked to his death. He hoped that this sacrifice would save the others. Scott wrote that Oates' last words were, "I am just going outside and may be some time”.
After walking 20 more miles, the three remaining men made their final camp on 19 March. The next day a fierce blizzard prevented them carrying on. Scott’s last diary entry was dated 29 March. He wrote:
"Every day we have been ready to start for our depot 11 miles away, but outside the door of the tent it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more."
The bodies of Scott and his companions were discovered by a SAR party led by Dr Edward Atkinson on 12 November 1912. Ironically it was Scott who became the great hero, rather than Amundsen as his ill-fated expedition to the Pole captured the imagination of the world.
I came on the Continent with SFA (Support for Antarctica) serving in the Operation Deep Freeze.
Type of Waymark: Historic Monument (On Continent)
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