This is a true story of a slice from the life of the Steam Yacht "Aurora", a ship built in the northern hemisphere, that made her home in the polar seas of the southern hemisphere and was to perish in those southern seas.

The "Aurora" was built in Dundee, Scotland in 1876 for the sealing trade and spent over a quarter of a century up until 1910 as part of the Newfoundland sealing fleet. She was 165 ft. long, with a beam of 30 ft., built of strong timbers and fitted both for steam and sail. She was bought by Douglas Mawson to carry his scientific party to and from Australia and the Antarctic continent during the years 1911 to 1914.

The Main Base for Mawson's expedition was at Commonwealth Bay, a spot on the Antarctic coastline almost due south of Hobart, but about 2000 nautical miles closer to the pole; camp was set up there in the early days of 1912. The "Aurora" left the party soon after unloading was finished and sailed back to Hobart; to stay any longer was to risk being frozen in for the winter and almost certainly being destroyed by fierce winds and crushing ice. She was to return when the winter sea-ice had melted the following summer.

Return she did when the sea-ice cleared, to find disaster. Mawson and two companions, away on a long sledging trip, had not returned to the Base and were well overdue. The ship's master, Captain J. K. Davis had no option but to lie to an anchor in whatever shelter he could find beneath the ice cliffs, near the Main Base, until either the land party returned or the ship had to depart. Commonwealth Bay, with only rock and kelp to hold an anchor, was a dangerous place; even under full power the ship was in danger of being blown backwards by hurricane winds blowing from the pole, winds gusting to 80 knots.

One of these blasts of cold air was to be too great for the anchor relieving tackle; it parted causing the anchor with its 90 fathoms of chain to be lost. It was January 13th, 1913, with the "Aurora" having just arrived at the anchorage, after threading its way through the Mackellar Islets. A hazardous operation with frequent calms to be followed immediately by fierce squalls.

"On the 25^th there was a hard south-east gale blowing until the afternoon, when it moderated sufficiently to send off the launch with thirteen bags of coal, Gillies being in charge. The Boat Harbour was reached in safety, the wind freshening to a gale before 6 pm. Terrific gusts followed in rapid succession and without warning the cable parted sixty fathoms from the anchor at 9 pm. Having cleared the reefs to leeward, we managed to get in the rest of the chain and then stood along the coast to the north-west.."

The "S Y Aurora" Picture courtesy of: MS 8311. J. K. Davis Papers, La Trobe Manuscript Collection, State Library of Victoria.

The wind eased in the early hours of the next morning and the ship made her way slowly along the ice-cliffs back to her anchorage near Boat Harbour and the Base: "We returned to our late anchorage. On reaching it, the south-east wind had moderated considerably and we let go our spare anchor and all what had been saved of the chain....The gale was in its third day on the 27^th, and there was a "hurricane sky" during the morning. The wind would die away, only to blow more fiercely than before. The suddenness with which these changes occurred is a matter for remark.....At 11 am the last cargo of coal had just left the ship when the wind freshened from the south-east. The launch had just got inside the Boat Harbour when a terrific gust struck the vessel ("Aurora") and our chain parted. We were blown out to sea while heaving in the thirty fathoms of chain which remained."

By the end of January, Captain Davis had decided to leave a small winter party at the Base at Commonwealth Bay and start on the return voyage to Hobart before the sea froze and trapped them. As the "Aurora" disappeared over the horizon, Douglas Mawson, alone, struggled to the top of the rise overlooking the Base and watched her go. He moved slowly down the ice slope to the safety and relative comfort of the Base camp, to tell the story of the tragic trip and of the death of his two companions

The "Aurora" sailed, to return the following summer and bring Douglas Mawson and the winter party back to Australia, but she left behind part of her. Lying on the floor of Commonwealth Bay were three of her anchors, strongly made anchors, forged in iron, and fathoms of huge anchor cable, links fashioned in the old way from billets of iron.

Within a few years "Aurora" was struck off the list of shipping. She disappeared on a voyage from Australia to a South American port, disappeared with all hands and without trace; nothing remains  ....except those anchors, their forged chains still attached, lying amongst the rocks on the ocean floor, near Boat Harbour in Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica.

Auxiliary wooden barquentine built in 1876 by Stephens & Sons in Dundee.

Engine Cunliffe and Dunlop of Glasgow, steam compound, one boiler, n.h.p. 98.

Early years: The "Aurora" was built in 1876 and for the next ten years was one of the Dundee whaling fleet. These whalers were designed and built for navigation in the northern seas. Each vessel of the fleet used to make an annual voyage to the northern fishing grounds from Dundee to St. John's. The Aurora proved to be well adapted for ice navigation as well as an excellent sea boat when heavy weather was encountered in open waters. The north sea had proved to be a formidable training ground for the future yet to come.

Loss of the "SY Aurora"

Posted missing at Lloyd's of London on 2 January 1918 suspected casualty of the First World War