Artefact No.: 2011.0002
Manufacturer: Thomas Cooke and Sons, York, England
Date: 1910
Function: precise survey instrument to determine horizontal and vertical angles

Provenance: Robert Scott / British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1913

The British Antarctic Expedition (aka the Terra Nova Expedition) of 1910-1913 was under the leadership of Capt. Robert Scott. The expedition became as infamous in the annals of polar exploration, as had the Franklin expedition to the Canadian Arctic, both because Scott's team was beaten to the South Pole by Norwegian Roald Amundsen and because of the fate of Scott and the four members who accompanied him to the South Pole.

The theodolite was assigned to one of the expedition members, Charles Seymour (Silas) Wright. Wright was a Canadian studying for his PhD in physics at Cambridge. He delayed his studies to join the expedition and served as the physicist and glaciologist. Wright was also the navigator for the sledge team that, in Nov 1912, found the tent containing the bodies of Scott and his two of his companions.

This theodolite was used by Wright to map the regions of the Antarctic near the landing area and the western mountains of Victoria Land. The theodolite was presented to him at the end of the ill-fated voyage. It passed to his daughter, Patricia Wright, when he died in 1975 and then to his grandson Adrien Raeside.

Wright wrote that the sundial was given to him by "Edward Wilson on the top of Beardmore Glacier" just as Scott, Wilson and 3 others pressed on towards the South Pole. Wilson and Scott died on the way back to camp after the disappointing trip to the South Pole just a few kilometers from the base camp.