Summary

Ice sledge made to be towed by ponies or dogs. Used on the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907- 1909, led by Ernest Shackleton, by Australian Bertram Armytage, a member of the expedition who was in charge of the ponies. The sledge is made of ash on a hickory frame and the base is made of three ply from a packing case. One piece is marked 'Antarctic Ship Nimrod, Shed 12, South Basin, East India Dock, London E. No. 1779. Dried eggs'. It is part of Museum Victoria's collection of artefacts from the 'Heroic Era' of exploration of Antarctica.

Physical Description

Long narrow wooden sledge made from ash on a hickory frame with the base made of three ply from a packing case. Leather straps and thick string tie around the frame and there is rope tied at both the front and rear of the sledge.

Significance

This is a rare artefact from Shackleton's first Antarctic expedition. Bertram Armytage was the son of a pastoralist family from the Geelong district who had served as a Second Lieutenant in the 6th Dragoon Guards in Boer War before joining this expedition. Armytage never adjusted properly to civilian life after the expedition and eventually committed suicide in the Melbourne Club some years later.

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