Shackleton’s
Rise to
Fame
Journey to
South Georgia
The Ship
The Crew
Death
of Shackleton
The Quest
Continues
The Quest
Returns
End of the
Heroic Era
Reflections
of Shackleton
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Next

The End of the Heroic Era

The cairn and memorial cross stand on Hope Point overlooking King Edward Cove Image courtesy of State Library of New South Wales
The cairn and memorial cross stand on Hope Point overlooking King Edward Cove
Image courtesy of State Library of New South Wales

‘I think this is as the boss would have had it himself, standing lonely on an island far from civilization, surrounded by a stormy tempestuous sea, and in the vicinity of one of his greatest exploits.’

Alexander Macklin


The Shackleton-Rowett Antarctic Expedition is remembered for the untimely death of its leader. The proposed programme was ambitious and despite the limitations of an inadequate vessel and the loss of its leader, the expedition persevered and made some useful contributions to the knowledge of little-known places in the South Atlantic.

A hiatus followed the return of Quest, with no significant expeditions to the Antarctic for another seven years; so ended the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration. South Georgia was a fitting location for the end of a heroic story. Shackleton’s sudden death in the quiet waters of Grytviken created a dramatic, if premature, finale. His grave in a simple cemetery on a remote and beautiful island, has become a place of pilgrimage where hundreds of visitors gather every year to toast ‘the Boss’.

Macklin recorded in his diary, ‘I think this is as the boss would have had it himself, standing lonely on an island far from civilization, surrounded by a stormy tempestuous sea, and in the vicinity of one of his greatest exploits.’

The burial at Grytviken cemetery overlooking King Edward Cove Image courtesy of E.B. Binnie
The burial at Grytviken cemetery overlooking King Edward Cove
Image courtesy of Thomas Binnie
Visitors come from far and wide to visit the grave and to toast the Boss Image courtesy of Pat Lurcock
Visitors come from far and wide to visit the grave and to toast the Boss
Image courtesy of Pat Lurcock

In his own lifetime Sir Ernest Shackleton had won world-renown as an intrepid Antarctic explorer. One hundred years later, his reputation endures as a charismatic leader who was forever loyal to his men. As Apsley Cherry-Garrard, of Scott’s last expedition, wrote shortly after Shackleton’s death:

‘If I am in a devil of a hole and want to get out of it give me Shackleton every time.’

Kinemette Viewer A cardboard viewer and 12 mounted 35mm film clips of Shackleton’s Last Antarctic Expedition. Southward in the Quest. Made by Kinemette, London. On loan from Jan Chojecki
Digital Loan: Kinemette Viewer
On loan from Jan Chojecki
Into the Frozen South by Scout Marr (1927 edition, signed by K.Coleman) James Marr joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and in 1943 was recalled from operations in the Far East to lead Operation Tabarin, a covert operation in the Antarctic. After the war Operation Tabarin became The Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, which, in turn, was renamed the British Antarctic Survey. An eminent Marine Biologist, who also worked as part of the Discovery Investigations, James Marr went on to write the major reference work on Antarctic Krill, the basic component of the Antarctic food chain. South Georgia Museum.D.1996.216
Into the Frozen South by Scout Marr (1927 edition, signed by K.Coleman)
South Georgia Museum.D.1996.216
Shackleton’s Last Voyage by Frank Wild (1923 edition) The whereabouts of Frank Wild’s ashes, a mystery since his death in 1939, was discovered by his biographer Angie Butler. They were in a crypt in a cemetery in South Africa. November 2011 saw the return of Wild to South Georgia when his ashes were interred in the cemetery at Grytviken. His wish to be buried next to his friend and commander Sir Ernest Shackleton was fulfilled. South Georgia Museum.2019.39
Shackleton’s Last Voyage by Frank Wild (1923 edition)
South Georgia Museum.2019.39
The Hope Cross plaque remains
Image Courtesy of Jayne Pierce
Hope Cross today – 2019 Image courtesy of Jayne Pierce
Hope Cross today
Image courtesy of Jayne Pierce
Next Chapter: Reflections of Shackleton