Terms and conditions of use
The fatal day, October 27th 1915
1915
- Medium
- gelatin silver photograph
- Measurements
- 20.2 × 15.1 cm
- Inscription
- inscribed in grey ink on support l.c.l.: The Fatal Day Oct 27th 1915 / EH. Shackleton
- Accession Number
- PH95-1977
- Department
- Australian Photography
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1977
Public domain
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Daryl and Anne Whinney - Gallery location
- Not on display
- About this work
-
The death of the sled dogs on Ernest Shackleton’s 1914–17 trans-Antarctic expedition was the source of much heartache for the crew aboard the ship Endurance. When the ship became trapped in ice just over a month into its journey, the survival of the expeditioners became dependent on conserving resources. This had tragic consequences for the much-loved dogs. ‘Owing to this shortage of food and the fact that we needed all that we could get for ourselves, I had to order all the dogs except two teams be shot,’ Shackelton wrote in his 1920 autobiography. ‘It was the worst job that we had throughout the expedition, and we felt their loss keenly.’
