Museum hosts historical movie premier

SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY: Jean Nicholls, great-niece of the official photographer Henry Ponting, gave a short introduction to the film.

By Alison Cox

 

An audience of around 200 at the Mangawhai Museum were thoroughly entertained and mesmerised recently by the New Zealand premiere of the film 90 Degrees South detailing Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1911-12.

Considering the film footage was shot a hundred years ago, and edited for the original film release in the 1930’s, the quality was surprising good. Henry himself narrated, with a dry sense of humour, throughout the film.

The film begins with coverage of the ship’s arrival in Lyttleton and subsequent stay in harbour while preparations were made for the voyage. Later there was amazing footage of Scott’s ship the Terra Nova breaking through the ice flows, of penguins, seals and life in general under such extreme weather conditions. 

We followed the first few days of Scott’s actual journey to the Pole. It was a mission to lay supply depots, and then at the end of each arduous day unload the sleds, erect the tents, cook dinner and arrange sleeping for Scott and his team of four, only to repeat it day after day after day. Finally Ponting had to return home, so actual filming stopped, but Scott had one small camera and a few rolls of film with him which he used to good effect, and which Ponting has cleverly interwoven into the film.

Scott diligently wrote in his diary, giving a harrowing account of the difficulties they faced with both the terrain and the weather. He and his men were chasing Roald Amundsen to be the first to the Pole. Unfortunately they arrived a month after Amundsen to find the Norwegian flag already flying proudly at 90° South.

Still, being British adventurers to the core, they stoically accepted their defeat, and erected their own flagpole from which they flew the British flag. After a trek across hundreds of miles, the men died from starvation only 11 miles from a supply depot, and a search party found their bodies six months later in November, along with Scott’s photos and diary. 

There was a poignant ending to the film, with writings from his diary superimposed over a photo of the statute of Captain Robert F. Scott, which stands today in Waterloo Place, London as a tribute to one of the greatest British adventurers. 

The Historical Society would like to thank Jean Nicholls for giving us the opportunity to show this film. Also thanks to Fonterra for the generous donation of iceblocks and icecream, and to Bill and Christine Bygrave who drove to Auckland to collect them!

 

FOOTNOTE: A series of newly discovered letters, written by the youngest expedition member, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, giving his account of finding the bodies on the doomed South Pole expedition, and the harrowing effect it had on him, fetched £67,250 ($107,802) at Christie's in July this year.