Antarctic vignettes II: The search for S. Tasman, AB, on the Terra Nova, 1903-04

Abstract

The Tasmanian seaman, Tasman Spaulding, served on the steam-powered wooden barque SY Terra Nova on her 1903-04 voyage to Antarctica. Throughout his life he was beset by official incompetence. The records of his birth, death and marriage all contain mistakes, and a clerical error in 1904 that reversed his first and last names meant he could not be traced. Consequently he never received the bronze Polar Medal awarded for his service as an Able Seaman on the Terra Nova in 1903-04. The medal entitlement of three other crew members Robert Christie, Alexander McNeill and John M. D. Strachan - is challenged.