Commemorates | SHACKLETON, Ernest Henry |
Died | 5 January 1922 |
Location | Hope Point, KEP |
Sir Ernest died on board the vessel Quest, moored in King Edward Cove. His body was taken to Montevideo, and his shipmates built the memorial cairn on Hope Point with the cross. He was later buried in the cemetery at Grytviken (see the cemetery entry). The memorial was moved a few feet during the second world war to make room for the defensive gun emplacement, which was later moved to the other side of the bay.
In 2018/19 the memorial cross was replaced due to rot. At the same time the cairn was rebuilt to more closely resemble the original.
A copper tube, hidden at the rear, holds (2020) a replica of the signed photgraph that was orignally left by the men of the Quest. The original can now be found at the Scott Polar Research Institue in Cambridge, UK.
A film clip showing the men building the original cairn can be seen at the Critical Past website.