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 Christchurch is an official gateway city to Antarctica. It is has been the stepping off point for many Antarctic expeditions and is home to the Antarctic research offices of New Zealand, United States and Italy.
The Antarctic connections have added to the cultural and economic base of Christchurch. Industry has been developed around the needs of the great white continent and artists, tourists and explorers have prepared for their challenges from Christchurch.
Today the relationships Christchurch has with Antarctica are many, including research, business, tourism and art.
Christchurch’s Antarctic links
Robert Falcon Scott is a name powerfully associated with one of the world’s most fascinating continents – Antarctica – and it is after him that the New Zealand base there is named.
In the heart of Christchurch there is a statue of Scott that commemorates his expeditions and his association with the city.
Some of the world's greatest explorers, scientists and artists have used Christchurch as their base to learn more about the remarkable land to the south.
Christchurch offers a rich introduction to the continent and to the many people who, for over three centuries, have been fascinated by that awe-inspiring, mysterious, frozen land.
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The early navigators
Captain James Cook
British explorer James Cook circumnavigated New Zealand in 1770 on his ship Endeavour and established that it was not part of Terra Australis Incognita (Antarctica), which he was hoping to discover.
On his second voyage, aboard Resolution, Cook reached 71° 10' S on 30 January 1774, the farthest south any ship had ever sailed. Pack ice stopped their progress and Cook turned north to warmer climates.
In Victoria Square there is a commemorative statue of Cook.
Whalers
By 1832 whaling ships from countries including America, Norway, France, Germany and Britain were operating from five Bank’s Peninsula bays. Some searched the waters of the Southern Ocean as far south as the Ross Sea. Their prizes were whalebone, used for corsets; oil, used in lamps; and ambergris, used in perfumes.
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 Heroic explorers
Robert Falcon Scott
The British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, on board his ship Discovery, sailed for Antarctica on 21 December 1901, after a blessing by Bishop Julius of Christchurch. Scott’s ambition to be the first to reach the South Pole had caught the public imagination – he had been granted free berthage and donations of coal, live sheep, vegetables, clothing and food poured into Discovery’s holds. Scott declared that he had received better support from the people of Canterbury than from England.
Trapped by ice in the Ross Sea, Scott’s party failed in this first attempt. On 25 November 1910 he left Christchurch’s port, Lyttelton, aboard Terra Nova to try once again to reach the South Pole. Terra Nova voyaged to Antarctica again, first with provisions and later to bring Scott and his party back. Returning to Christchurch on 12 February 1913, Terra Nova brought the tragic news of the death of Scott and his four companions on their way back from the South Pole.
Roald Amundsen
The great Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, and his party became the first to reach the South Pole, on 14 December 1911. Amundsen gave a public lecture in Christchurch in December 1912 and, in gratitude to Canterbury Museum for the help he had received, he donated the penknife used to cut the flagstaff marking the South Pole. There is a bust of Amundsen in the Canterbury Museum.
Sir Ernest Shackleton
As a young man, Irishman Ernest Shackleton had first travelled to Antarctica with Scott but he had suffered badly on that expedition and was invalided out. On 23 September 1907 he was back to try again. The new steam Tug Lyttelton welcomed Shackleton with his own expedition on Nimrod.
Shackleton was as impressed as Scott with the support from Canterbury. Nimrod left Lyttelton on 1 January 1908 and was towed by the Tug Koonya all the way to the Ross Sea to conserve her coal supply, again donated by New Zealand. On 9 January 1909, after months of exploration on the continent and only 97 nautical miles from the South Pole, Shackleton made the decision to retreat and save his men.
In 1914 Shackleton’s ‘great plan’ was to cross the entire Antarctic continent. This required two ships: Aurora’s crew would lay depots from Ross Island to the Beardmore Glacier, while Endurance took Shackleton’s crew to the Peninsula side of Antarctica. Endurance was trapped by ice and destroyed in the Weddell Sea. The rescue of the entire crew required all the skill of Shackleton’s Captain, Frank Worsley, who came from Canterbury.
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Research today
By its very nature, Antarctica holds great fascination for scientists all over the world. Many countries have bases there from which extensive research is carried out.
 New Zealand
Antarctica New Zealand operates this country’s Antarctic Programme at Scott Base, which in 1959 became a permanent base. The base accommodates up to 80 people in the summer and 10 people across the winter. It can also provide support services to many additional people working in the field across the summer.
Antarctica New Zealand’s focus is on initiating, managing and delivering high quality scientific, environmental programmes related to Antarctica.
The University of Canterbury has links with the Antarctic reaching back to the expeditions of Captain Scott, whose cousin, Robert Julian Scott was a lecturer at the University. It was he who wrote to Scott and convinced him to sail from Canterbury. Many current members of the university staff and numerous students are involved in Antarctic and Southern Ocean research. The projects include ‘ICECUBE’, the neutrino telescope at the South Pole.
Gateway Antarctica serves as the nexus for a vibrant community of international Antarctic scholars. Gateway Antarctica, part of the University of Canterbury, is located on its lush Ilam campus, only a short distance from central Christchurch. Gateway Antarctica oversees the extensive reference collection of Antarctica New Zealand, much of which is available for public viewing. Whether you are a scholar or an interested amateur, Gateway Antarctica invites you to begin your polar journey at Canterbury University: access Antarctica through rare resources found nowhere else in the world.
Lincoln University, Canterbury’s second university, also has staff and students involved in Antarctic Research.
United States
The United States Antarctic Program has had a close association with Canterbury, since 1928 when Admiral Richard Byrd made his first visit. Admiral Byrd made seven visits to Antarctica, mostly from Dunedin, but he regarded Christchurch as his ‘second home’.
In 1955 Byrd assembled seven ships in Lyttelton to support his fifth and last expedition to Antarctica, leaving on 10th December aboard Glacier. Six vessels were spread out across the Southern Ocean between Lyttelton and McMurdo to act as weather stations and rescue vessels, if necessary, for the first flight to Antarctica.
Operation Deep Freeze began in 1955 with the arrival of eight aircraft of the US Air Force. Harewood Airfield, now Christchurch International Airport, was the base for the first fly-in to McMurdo Station. The flight took 13 hours; today it takes only around 7.5 hours.
The United States, through the National Science Foundation, maintains bases and conducts scientific research at McMurdo Station, in the Ross Sea, at South Pole Station and at Palmer Station.
Britain
In 1958 the Commonwealth Trans Antarctic Expedition, led by Vivian Fuchs, with Sir Edmund Hillary, achieved Sir Ernest Shackleton’s goal of crossing the entire Antarctic continent.
Hillary’s tractor and Fuch’s snow cat are displayed at the Canterbury Museum.
Italy
Italy established its Antarctic base in Terra Nova Bay, in the Ross Sea, in 1986. The Terra Nova base supports up to 70 people. Italy’s Antarctic Research Programme operates out of the International Antarctic Centre.
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 Your own Antarctic expedition
Use this brochure to guide you to places that link Canterbury with Antarctica.
For further information on sites mentioned in this brochure, other links with Antarctica, special events and Antarctic stories, visit the Antarctic Link Canterbury website at: www.antarctic-link.org.nz.
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Central city walking trail
Affectionately referred to as ‘the Ice’, Antarctica and the courage of Antarctic explorers have long been admired by the people of Canterbury. The central city has a number of sites that are evidence of that admiration and interest.
1. Captain Robert Falcon Scott is commemorated by the Carrara marble statue sculpted by his widow, Kathleen. It was unveiled in 1917. Kathleen Scott also sculpted the bust of her husband in the Canterbury Museum.
The statue can be seen on Worcester Boulevard, opposite Our City O-Tautahi.
2. The Canterbury Club, a gentleman’s club established along the lines of British tradition, was a dinner venue for Dr Edward Wilson and other members of the Discovery expedition on several occasions.
The club is still in existence, on the corner of Worcester Boulevard and Durham Street.
3. Canterbury Museum’s Sir Robertson Stewart Hall of Antarctic Discovery celebrates over a century of Antarctic exploration. This internationally significant Antarctic collection is unique. The Museum has always given support to Antarctic explorers and many pieces in the collection have been donated in return, including items from Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen and Hillary. Canterbury Museum also holds one of the world's leading collections of Antarctic photographs and archives including photographs by Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley, and many expedition members' photographs not held or available anywhere else.
Canterbury Museum is on Rolleston Avenue. It is open everyday except Christmas Day, 9am–5.00pm (April- September), 9am–5.30pm (October- March)
4. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens contains a Magnetic Observatory, established to assist in locating the South Magnetic Pole. One of only three in the southern hemisphere, it was used by the early Antarctic explorers and continued to be operated until 1969. Plants from the sub-Antarctic may also be displayed in the gardens.
The Botanical Gardens are behind Canterbury Museum.
5. Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu exhibits works from the Artists in Antarctica programme in the Tait Electronics Antarctica Gallery. These artists spend up to three weeks at Scott Base and it is always interesting to see how the Antarctic landscape is interpreted through artistic eyes.
The Gallery is on the corner of Worcester Boulevard and Montreal Street. It is open everyday (except Christmas Day) from 10am–5pm, and on Wednesday 10am–9pm.
6. The Central City Library houses an extensive collection of Antarctic material. The Library’s catalogue is available at: http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Catalogue/.
The Library is situated in Gloucester Street. Hours are: 10am–9pm Monday to Friday; 10am–4pm Saturday, 1pm–4pm Sunday. (Hours may differ on public holidays).
7. Captain James Cook was one of the world’s great navigators.
The first known explorer to circumnavigate New Zealand, Cook was also the first to penetrate the Antarctic Circle. The Canterbury region is also specially linked with Cook because he named Bank’s Peninsula after his expedition’s botanist, Joseph Banks.
There is a statue of Cook in Victoria Square.
8. Warners’ Hotel in Cathedral Square, has been a meeting place for Antarctic personnel since 1901, when Captain Scott was honoured at a banquet to farewell the ship Discovery. The hotel has a collection of photographs and memorabilia from both early explorations and modern adventures.
9. The Central Post Office offers something special for stamp collectors: as post office for the Ross Dependency in Antarctica, it sells stamps from the Ross Dependency and can frank mail with the Ross Dependency postmark.
The Central Post Office is in Cathedral Square.
10. Christ Church Cathedral has many links with the southern continent. In the north transept are the USA and US Antarctic Programme flags presented to the Cathedral by the Programme.
There is a plaque presented in 1955 to the people of New Zealand by the US Navy, commemorating all those explorers who have headed south. On the outside of the tower, facing the Square, is a further plaque in memory of those who have lost their lives in Antarctica, presented at an Antarctic International Memorial Service in October 1973.
The silver and gilt chalice used in services at the Chapel of the Snows at McMurdo is committed to the care of Christ Church Cathedral during the winter months and is handed over to the chaplain accompanying the southbound Antarctic team each year. It was given in 1987 by Miss Betty Bird to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Robert Falcon Scott’s visit and death at the South Pole in 1912. The chalice accompanied Miss Bird’s great-great uncle, then Lt Joseph Bird, to the Antarctic with Sir James Clark Ross’ 1839 expedition.
Christ Church is an Anglican Cathedral and is in Cathedral Square.
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 Further out and about
With such strong links over such a long time, it is not surprising that there are many places beyond the central city that have connections with Antarctica.
Ferrymead Heritage Park contains a huge collection of working machines, including a DC3 plane used for US Antarctic supply missions in the 1960s. This has been restored by the Aeronautical Society.
Ferrymead’s hours are 10am - 4.30pm daily, except Christmas Day.
The Air Force Museum brings together a collection of historic aircraft, including original Beaver and Auster aircraft used in early Antarctic aviation.
The Air Force Museum can be found at 45 Harvard Avenue, Main South Road. The displays are open daily 10am–7pm.
The University of Canterbury Macmillan Brown Library houses an extensive collection of Antarctic archives. Many of them describe original scientific expeditions to Antarctica and New Zealand's sub-Antarctic Islands. The University’s central library is also home to the Antarctic Collection.
Lyttelton
Lyttelton is the port that has serviced Christchurch since the days of early European settlement. It was the last port of call for many of the early expeditions. Parades were often held in the streets and the ships’ crews would dress up for the occasion. It is estimated that 50,000 people gathered here on New Years Day 1908 to farewell Nimrod on her journey to Antarctica. Lyttelton continues to be a busy working port and is a refueling station for several Antarctic supply vessels.
There are a number of interesting sites to visit in Lyttelton and it offers several historic attractions.
The Timeball Station, built in 1876, signaled 1pm precisely each day so mariners could adjust the ships’ chronometers used for longitude calculations. The Timeball Station is fully operational, open daily, 10am–5pm between 1 November and 30 April, Wednesday to Sunday, 10am–5pm between 1 May and 31 October. Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday.
Contact the Timeball Station phone: 328 7311.
The Tug Lyttelton is a twin screw steam tug that entered service in 1907 and continued to 1970. She escorted both the Nimrod and the Terra Nova at the start of their journeys south. The Tug Lyttelton Preservation Society maintains the vessel and arranges trips round the harbour. Ask at Lyttelton Information Centre.
The Lyttelton Museum celebrates all mariners and the port’s Antarctic links. Before becoming a museum, this building was the home of the Seaman’s Institute and provided shelter to many sailors, including crew from Scott's Discovery expedition.
Scott's dog, Deek, guards over a collection from Cook's Endeavour, as well as items from Antarctic expeditions. These include a saloon seat from Terra Nova and a sled used by Shackleton.
The museum is situated at the end of Norwich Quay. It is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends, 2–4pm, phone: 328 8972.
The Lyttelton Port overbridge has two plaques on the underside, commemorating the early expeditions and the United States’ Operation Deep Freeze ships engaged in Antarctic research.
Located in the harbour, Quail Island, a former quarantine station, was home to the dogs and ponies of Scott’s and Shackleton’s expeditions and the mules of the Morning relief party. The island is the plug of the ancient volcano forming Lyttelton Harbour. Quail Island is ideal for picnics and walks.
It can be reached by tour boat from Lyttelton.
Akaroa
Akaroa, the other harbour town on Banks Peninsula, is about 11/2 hours drive from Christchurch. Originally a French whaling station, Akaroa retains its French connections in its street names. Frank Worsley, Ernest Shackleton’s captain and navigator, was born here in 1872.
The Akaroa Museum has Worsley’s white ensign and other memorabilia in its collection.
The Museum is on Rue Lavaud. It is open 10.30am–4.30pm in summer and 10.30am–4pm in winter.
A bust of Worsley set on a plinth carved from Antarctic rocks stands on the Akaroa waterfront.
Christchurch International Airport Complex
There are a number of Antarctic-related places and items of interest close to Christchurch International Airport.
The International Antarctic Campus is home to the New Zealand, United States and Italian Antarctic programmes. Over 75% of the world's scientists flying to Antarctica depart from here. The big, grey transport aircraft with landing skis, often seen on the apron, are a reminder of the Centre's importance to Antarctic research. It is also the base for Antarctic Heritage Trust (NZ).
The Antarctic Visitor’s Centre is the modern shop window for Antarctica. This is a fun, exciting and hands-on experience for all the family to enjoy. It has an indoor ‘Snow & Ice Experience’ and ‘Antarctic Storm’, and offers an outdoor ride in a genuine Antarctic all-terrain vehicle, called a Hagglund. The Centre also offers educational programmes, including overnight stays at the Centre.
The Centre is open 9am–8pm daily between 20 September and 23 April, and 9am–5pm daily between 24 April and 19 September.
The Indian Totem Pole of friendship at the entrance to the airport complex was given to Canterbury by the Oregon Centennial Commission and Portland Zoological Society in appreciation of hospitality given to personnel of Operation Deep Freeze. The totem was carved by Chief Lelooska of Oregon in 1959.
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