4.0 out of 5 based on 1 reviews. – Customer review on 26/10/2007

Polar Castaways
The Ross Sea Party (1914-17) of Sir Ernest Shackleton
By Richard McElrea and David Harrowfield
Canterbury University Press
$49.95

Numerous books have celebrated Ernest Shackleton’s remarkable escape from Antarctica after his ship the Endurance was crushed in the Weddell Sea. Much less known are the extraordinary and heroic efforts of the Ross Sea party, a group of men who laid depots in anticipation of Shackleton’s intended but never-realised crossing of the icy continent.

Ten men began laying depots late in the 1914/15 season, using as a base Captain Scott’s former huts on Ross Island. These men found themselves marooned after their supply ship, Aurora, broke her moorings and drifted north with the pack ice in May 1915. Severely inhibited by inadequate equipment, and insufficient supplies, the men nevertheless laid depots as far south as the 83rd latitude, sledging thousands of miles and enduring two bitter winters in primitive conditions. One, Spencer-Smith, died of scurvy on the last return journey, and another two – Mackintosh and Hayward – later perished while attempting to reach Cape Evans on inadequately frozen sea ice. While all three deaths could have been avoided, the heroism of the Ross Shore party cannot be questioned. And as Shackleton’s party never even reached the Antarctic mainland, all their colossal efforts were to tragically count for naught.

New Zealanders Richard McElrea and David Harrowfield have produced an authoritative and meticulously researched book on the Ross Sea party, thereby filling an important gap in the literature of heroic age exploration. They are not the first to write a book on the party; two of the expedition members wrote books, and Australian writer Lennard Bickel authored another ‘Shackleton’s Forgotten Men’ as recently as 2000. But McElrea and Harrowfield adopted a rigorous and fully referenced process to avoid some of the mistakes and false claims of the other accounts. Where possible, they’ve used direct quotes from the participants’ diaries, or interviews with the survivors.

How does Shackleton, who had overall responsibility for the Ross Sea Party, come out? The authors are measured in their criticisms of him, but rightly point out the Ross Sea party was inadequately supplied, organised and financed. Indeed, they claim that the entire Antarctic Crossing expedition was a ‘colossal fiasco.’

Aeneas Mackintosh proved to be an undoubtedly determined but flawed choice as leader, and at his hands can be laid much of the blame for the death of two men and himself. Controversy flared over the relief expedition too, which was largely left to the Australian, English and New Zealand governments to finance - right in the middle of World War I. But Shackleton, who joined the relief expedition, is also revealed to be very humane. ‘It was profound and shocking for Shackleton to learn that three of his men were dead, and to be confronted by these battered castaways who looked scarcely of this world.’

Polar Castaways sometimes substitutes detail for readability, particularly in the first few chapters. Somewhat overwhelming is the biographical detail for each expedition member at the start, something which would have been better weaved in as the story unfolded. Readers’ understanding of the various sledge journeys is aided by some excellent maps; however these are inexplicably hidden near the back of the book. At times the use of multiple quotes clarifies the various viewpoints of the participants, but occasionally these slow the text rather than elucidate it.

The most compelling and well-written part of the book concerns the return of the main sledging party from Mt Hope, where the men endured unimaginable deprivations. At one point, with food running out, the incapacitated Mackintosh was left while the remainder of the party sought supplies from a nearby depot. Blizzards prevented their quick return. ‘…the Skipper [Mackintosh] somehow managed to stay alive. Rotting clothes hung from his emaciated and bent frame, his teeth were sunken into black and swollen gums, and his remaining eye was grotesquely distended. With great courage, he still managed to hobble about his campsite, his legs swollen and black, and spent eight nights shivering in a foul and wet bag.’

Here the authors really capture the experience and leave you with unshakable admiration for the efforts of the Ross Sea party, whose expedition ended the heroic age of Antarctic exploration.

Shaun Barnett