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Photo Title: "Southern Cross"
Description: S.S. "Southern Cross" in Harbour Grace, Conception Bay, Newfoundland with a large number of men on wharf waiting to board.
Image No.: PF-343.0061
Image Location: munn-godden/pf343_0061.jpg
Date of Creation: [between 1898 and 1914]
Physical Description: 1 glass plate negative : b&w ; 12 X 16 cm
Biography/Admin History: The "Southern Cross", official number 109954, gross tonnage 537, was built in Arendal, Norway in 1886, and initially operated as a Norwegian whaler under the name "Pollux". In 1898 British publisher, Sir George Newnes purchased the barque for Antarctic exploration by Anglo-Norwegian polar explorer, Carstens Borchgrevink. Renamed the "Southern Cross", the new owners retrofitted the vessel with auxiliary steam power. Embarking from London aboard the vessel on August 22, 1898, and, after pausing in Tasmania, Borchgrevink and his team landed at Cape Adare, Antarctica, on February 17, 1899. The party of 29 set up camp, being the first to overwinter on the continent. The vessel retrieved Borchgrevink's team at the end of January, 1900, and, while on an exploratory route back to New Zealand, became the first to pass through the Great Ice Barrier into the previously unexplored Ross Sea. The "Southern Cross" was subsequently purchased by Daniel Murray of Glasgow, Scotland and chartered to Baine Johnston and Company of Greenock and St. John's, Newfoundland for the annual seal hunt. Under the command of Darius Blandford, the vessel was the first to arrive back from the 1901 hunt with 26,563 pelts. It was sent to the hunt each spring, but disaster occurred in 1914. With George Clarke of Brigus in command, and a crew of 173, many of whom were young and inexperienced sealers from Conception Bay, the vessel encountered an intense blizzard off the Southwest coast of Newfoundland. It was last heard from during the storm on March 31, but both vessel and crew were subsequently lost. The vessel's low position in the water due to a heavy load of pelts, a low-mounted engine, and the intensity of the storm were all thought to have been contributing factors. The number of lives lost with the "Southern Cross" was greater than for any other Newfoundland sealing disaster.
Custodial History: The photographs were owned by Norma Godden, formerly of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland
Collector: Norma Godden
Source Donor: Norma Godden
Collection Title: Munn-Godden Collection
Restrictions on Access: Copyright expired
Copyright: p
Physical Condition: Cracked & very fragile
Notes: Title same as caption. The glass plate was taken before 1940.
Subjects: Southern Cross (Barque) / Barques.



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