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Abstract

Photograph of the SY Aurora at King's Pier, Hobart, probably taken between 1911 and 1916. The SY Aurora was a steam yacht built by
Alexander Stephen and Sons Ltd. in Dundee, Scotland, in
1876, for the Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company. Her
primary use was whaling in the northern seas, and she was
built sturdily enough to withstand the heavy weather and ice
that would be encountered there.
In 1910, she was bought by Douglas Mawson for his
Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Between 1911 and 1917
she made five trips to the Antartic continent, both for exploration
as well as rescue missions.
In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton tasked Aurora to help set up
supply depots along the route for his Imperial Trans-Antarctic
Expedition.
The Australian, New Zealand and British governments
agreed to fund the refit of Aurora for the rescue of the Ross
Sea Party and on the 10 January 1917, the Aurora rescued
seven survivors of the original ten members of the Ross Sea
Party.
Aurora was last seen in 1917, when she departed Newcastle,
New South Wales, bound for Iquique, Chile with a cargo of
coal. Lloyd’s of London posted the ship as missing on 2 January
1918; it was believed she was a casualty of World War I,
possibly being sunk by a mine laid by the German merchant
raider Wolf. One of Aurora’s lifebelts was recovered from the
sea between Sydney and Brisbane six months after her
disappearance. Photograph Collection Pr.Shp. 3

Item Type:	Image
Authors/Creators:	.
Keywords:	Photograph, Tasmania, Kings Pier, Hobart, Mawson, University of Tasmania, Special & Rare Collections,
Collections:	Other Special Collections Photograph Collection
Additional Information:	Photograph from the University of Tasmania Special & Rare Photograph Collection Pr.Shp. 3
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

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