Online Database Update April 2023
This stunning image is one of 159,000 processed so far by the project team transitioning the Trust’s image assets to an online database called Recollect. It was taken by John Evans who worked with the Trust during the 2011-12 season as a Blake Antarctic Youth Ambassador and shows Shackleton’s Nimrod hut and the snow-covered Cape Royds environs viewed from a ridge South-east of the site. A meteorological screen sits on a ridge South-west of the hut. Further West, Pony Lake is hidden under a blanket of snow in front of an Adélie penguin rookery.
Trust Digital Collections Technician Ella Beckett says working through the Trust’s archive of images from each conservation season has been the best way to learn about the scale of work that’s undertaken each year and about the explorer bases themselves.
“By looking through photos taken year after year you can build up an internal map in your head of each building, where artefacts are placed inside the space, as well as where the huts sit in relation to the outside environment. It’s a great moment when you find an image taken from a unique angle that helps you to understand better a corner of the hut you hadn’t noticed before.
“As someone who hasn’t been to Antarctica the images also give a comprehensive insight into daily life in the field for our conservators as well as illustrating some of the logistical challenges encountered when working in an extreme environment. Along with the images detailing our work undertaken to preserve the explorer bases of Borchgrevink, Scott, Shackleton, and Hillary the images tell a story of collaboration with our Trust supporters from our global conservation alumni to the partners that assist with logistics and transport to remote locations,” says Ella.
The Trust is looking forward to sharing stories and images from the last 21 years of the Ross Sea Heritage Restoration Project with the public and are excited to continue to share the Trust’s future work in both cold climate conservation and our Inspiring Explorers™ programme through our public portal which will be launched later in 2023.
We are grateful for the support of the New Zealand Lotteries Grants Board for their match funding of the project.
