Summary

Lantern slide of a scientific party from the Discovery on Heard Island.

One of 328 images in various formats including artworks, photographs, glass negatives and lantern slides.

Description of Content

Old Norwegian hut at Heard Island with a British flag to the left and seven of the Discovery's explorers gathered around the hut. Eric Douglas captioned the image 'Scientific party ashore at Heard Island. An old Norwegian Hut, November, 1929'. Eric Douglas said of the hut 'It appeared that this hut had been erected by sealers some years before as a shelter during their periodic visits when hunting seals and sea elephants and then left as a safeguard for ship wrecked people. It was complete with a rain water tank and a large steel tank containing "rusks" a form of hard toasted bread. The hut was securely fastened to the ground by wire cables and from the apex of its roof projected an iron chimney pipe. We found that its sides were about seven feet long and that the interior contained two tiers of wooden bunks with a stove for burning either coal or seal blubber in the centre of its earthen floor. The hut was a fortunate find as it offered good shelter for our period of stay and avoided the necessity to live under small tents which we had brought in the motor boat' Photograph taken during the British Australian New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE), Voyage 1.

Physical Description

Standard format lantern slide, consisting of two glass sheets each 3.25 x 3.25 ins (83 x 83mm), one pane bearing a positive transparent image and the other pane protecting the image. Sealed with paper binding strips around the four edges of the lantern slide and internally framed with a black cut-out window mask.

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