AURORA (SHIP)

:''This article is about the 19th century whaling ship, Aurora, for other ships with the same name see Aurora (Disambiguation)''

A glimpse of the Aurora from within the cavern in the wall of the shelf-ice of the Mertz Glacier Tongue, Commonwealth Bay, Adelie Land, Australasian Antarctic Expedition, December 1913. Photo by Frank Hurley. From the National Library of Australia ID No. nla.pic-an23478533
Career
Built:	Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd. Dundee, Scotland
Launched:	1876
Fate:	Declared lost by Lloyd's of London, 2 January, 1918
General Characteristics
Displacement:	380 tons
Length:	165 ft (50.3 m)
Beam:	30.5 ft (9.3 m)
Draught:	18.75 ft (5.7 m)
Type:	Barquentine 1 funnel, 3 masts
Hull:	Wood
Propulsion:	Compound Steam Engine Cunliffe and Dunlop of Glasgow 98 bhp
Speed:	—
Range:	Limited by water and provisions
Complement:	—

The steam yacht '''Aurora''' (SY ''Aurora'') was built by Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd. shipbuilders in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1876, for the Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company. Her primary use was whaling in the northern seas, and was built sturdy enough to withstand the heavy weather and ice that would be encountered there. That strength meant that over her lifetime, she would be used for many different purposes across the globe.

Contents

Whaling

Douglas Mawson Expedition

Trans Antarctic Expedition

1917 Ross Sea Party rescue

Fate

Captains

References

Whaling

Between the years 1876 and 1910, the ''Aurora'' made the annual trip from Dundee, Scotland to St. John's, Newfoundland to take part in the whale and seal hunt in the arctic waters. There were a couple of notable events in this time. In 1884, the ''Aurora'' made a failed attempt to rescue the Greely Expedition to claim the reward money, and in 1891, the ship came to the rescue of the crew of the ''Polynia'' when it was crushed in sea ice.

Douglas Mawson Expedition

In 1910, she was bought by Douglas Mawson for his Australasian Antarctic Expedition. The ''Aurora'' made the journey from Hobart, Australia to Macquarie Island, Mawson's base of operations, in December of 1911. After establishing the base, they sailed south again, and arrived in Commonwealth Bay Antarctica, on January 7,1912. At Cape Denison, her crew unloaded Mawson and his team, and helped set up the camp (Mawson's Huts), but then departed to return to Hobart so as not to get trapped in the sea-ice over the winter.
In December of 1912, the ''Aurora'' returned to find that Douglas Mawson, Xavier Mertz, and Belgrave Ninnis had set out on a sled expedition, and were overdue to return. The captain attempted to wait for the expedition to return, but poor anchorage, and extremely strong winds, combined to cause the anchor chain to break. At the end of January, the ship had to leave, or risk getting stuck for the winter. ''Aurora'' left a team of six, including a radio operator, behind with ample supplies, and departed. Mawson, the sole survivor of the three, arrived in time to see the ''Aurora'' disappearing over the horizon. A radio call brought the ''Aurora'' back, but bad weather forced it to depart again, leaving Mawson and party behind.
''Aurora'' returned to Commonwealth Bay on December 12, 1913, to pick up the seven men, and return to Australia.

Trans Antarctic Expedition

In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton tasked the ''Aurora'' to help set up supply depots along the route for his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. After being delayed by sea ice in McMurdo Sound in January of 1915, the ''Aurora'' managed to make her way further south, and sent teams off to set up the depots. Eventually she made her way to Discovery Bay on March 12, 1915, where she anchored and continued to offload supplies. In May, the ''Aurora'' was trapped in the ice, and was carried out to the sea, stranding the men that were setting up the depots. It wasn't until February 12, 1916 that the ship escaped from the ice, making it back to Dunedin, New Zealand on April 3.

1917 Ross Sea Party rescue

After his legendary ordeal on the ''Endurance'' in the Weddell Sea sector, Ernest Shackleton arrived in New Zealand during December 1916. He was advised that his supply team the Ross Sea Party was stranded in Antarctica. By that time the ''Aurora'' had been repaired and after discussion with the ''Aurora's captain, Shackleton immediately sailed to Ross Island to bring his men home. On January 10, 1917, the ship pulled alongside the pack ice near Cape Royds and worked its way to Cape Evans. One week later, Shackleton and the seven survivors of the original ten members of the ''Ross Sea Party'' were headed back to Wellington, New Zealand.

Fate

The ''Aurora'' was last seen in 1917, when she departed Newcastle, New South Wales, bound for Iquique, Chile. She was carrying a load of coal. Lloyd's of London posted the ship as missing on 2 January 1918, and it was believed she was a casualty of the First World War.

Captains

This is a partial list of Captains of the ''Aurora'':

★ J. Fairweather (c.1882-c.1886)

★ Jackman (c.1895)

★ John King Davis (1911-1914, 1916-Loss)

★ Lieutenant Æneas Mackintosh R.N.R. (1914-1916)

References

★ The SY Aurora

★ List of Arctic Whaling Captains

★ The Aurora in Antarctic Expeditions