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The Heroic Age of Exploration
British exploration during the heroic age concentrated on Antarctica. Previously, British explorers has tried to penetrate the northern ice cap but, after a telegram from Captain George Strong Nares on his British Arctic Expedition (1875-76) stating ‘North Pole impracticable’, British polar explorers did not go north during the heroic age. Whilst little was known about the North Pole itself, much had been learned about the Arctic from the many vessels that visited the region in the search for Sir John Franklin, from whalers and sealers in the northern oceans, and from the burgeoning trade routes along the northern coasts of Siberia. In contrast, little was known about the Antarctic. The British Antarctic Expedition (1898-1900) even took rifles with them in case they came across a polar bear! Whilst today this seems naive and laughable, at the time it was a reasonable precaution; if polar bears could be found in the Arctic with a similar climate, it was reasoned, why would they not be in the Antarctic?
Exploration at the time was heavily connected with the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) which advised, funded and publicised many of the expeditions. Sir Clements Markham was Secretary of the RGS from 1863-1888 and President between 1893 and 1905, coming into post at difficult time for the Society. A void had been created when a number of members resigned after the RGS suffered public ridicule on the matter of admitting female fellows. Markham sought to unite the RGS and to improve public perception and so directed the society towards Antarctic exploration. Markham had travelled with Nares for part of the voyage on which he deemed the North Pole impracticable, which may explain why he turned the Society’s attentions to the relatively unknown Antarctic. He regarded exploration of the Antarctic as a way to combine research alongside heroic endeavour.
The Norwegian Carsten Borchgrevink’s offer to lead a small expedition with the primary goal of finding the South Magnetic Pole had met with some enthusiasm in Britain and reanimated discussions on the need for southern exploration. His success in raising funds in Australia was limited as Australian interest was now with the large-scale plans of the Royal Geographical Society, under the leadership of Markham. Borchgrevink turned to his employer, wealthy British publisher Sir George Newnes, and persuaded him to provide £40,000 for the expedition. The Royal Geographical Society was furious as the money donated by Newnes would have been enough to underwrite the National Expedition.
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