Cambridge University’s Scott Polar Research Institute has begun blogging and Twittering the daily journal entries made by Captain Scott during his final expedition, ninety-nine years on from the date of the original entry. 
  

Beginning with the entry for 26th November 1910, which was published on Thursday morning, the blog will follow the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition day by day until Scott’s famous final entry, probably written on March 29, 1912.

His journal covers the period from November 1910 when the expedition left New Zealand, through the scientific missions of 1911 and the journey to the South Pole, ending with the death of the polar party in 1912, just 11 miles from the next depot of food and fuel.

The Scott’s Last Expedition blog is accessible from http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/museum/diaries/ and will include links to images from Herbert Ponting’s photographic archive, also held at the Institute.

The entries are also linked to an RSS Feed and a Twitter account http://twitter.com/scottslastexp, which will update automatically when any new blog posts are made.

The first post reads:

November 26th, 1910

“We advertised our start at 3 P.M., and at three minutes to that hour the Terra Nova pushed off from the jetty. A great mass of people assembled. K. and I lunched with a party in the New Zealand Company’s ship Ruapehu. Mr. Kinsey, Ainsley, the Arthur and George Rhodes, Sir George Clifford, &c. K. and I went out in the ship, but left her inside the heads after passing the Cambrian, the only Naval ship present. We came home in the Harbour Tug; two other tugs followed the ship out and innumerable small boats. Ponting busy with cinematograph. We walked over the hills to Sumner. Saw the Terra Nova, a little dot to the S.E.”

The staff of the Institute’s Museum, Library and Archive are keen to see if modern communication methods can provide a better understanding of the past. Reading the journals over a few days is a very different experience from following the daily events of the expedition as they happened.

It is hoped that the blog will enable readers to gain a deeper appreciation of the challenges faced by the expedition and the sacrifices made by Scott and his men.

Librarian and Keeper of Collections, Heather Lane, said: “This is our first attempt to bring the diaries of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration to a worldwide audience by electronic means. As the centenary of Scott’s last expedition approaches, we intend to put other journals from our archive online, to build up a detailed picture of each day’s events.”

Christopher Hughes, who has worked with the Institute to develop the blog, said: “I am excited by the possibility of revisiting a classic work, like Scott's Journals, with fresh eyes. Technological change means that we are all reading in new ways, and the content is reaching us in many new forms.

“Presenting this great work in a format that people use in their everyday lives should mean that the text comes alive to new readers, and in a short format that blog readers already understand and enjoy. Matching the dates of the text with the historical events also means that those familiar with the story will get a new sense and appreciation of the endurance of the explorers, their true goals, and a deeper understanding of their self-sacrifice. It is a great privilege to be associated with the Scott Polar Research Institute in this project.”

The Polar Museum at SPRI will reopen to the public in June 2010 after a major renovation, partly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Anyone wishing to get involved as a volunteer should email the Institute at enquiries@spri.cam.ac.uk

 

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