Taking its title from the 'southern lights' phenomenon, Aurora australis is the first book created entirely in the Antarctic. Not just conceived, written and produced on a typewriter, but printed on a press, with the illustrations lithographed and etched, and bound on site as well.
To help maintain morale, British Antarctic Expedition leader, Ernest Shackleton, provided the men of the Nimrod with the means to produce a book. Shackleton had been the member of Robert Scott's National Antarctic expedition 1901-1904, and had edited the expedition's paper The South Polar Times. When he decided to lead his own expedition to the Antarctic in 1907-09, Shackleton decided to improve upon the South Polar Times, which had been produced on a typewriter, and use a printing press instead.
The British printers Causton & Sons, lent the press, an Albion with the 'Amateur' platten 10 x 7 inches, and donated the high quality paper, ink and type. Causton's also produced the distinctive penguin stamp that was used on the binding. They arranged several weeks of instruction in printing and typesetting for the 'printers' Ernest Joyce and Frank Wild. George Marston, the expedition's artist, also received some training in lithography and etching.
The binder, Bernard Day, was the expedition's motor mechanic. He used the Venesta board (a precursor of plywood) from the packing cases to make book covers. These boards with the stencilled letters indicating the cases' contents are frequently used to identify copies of this very rare and distinctive book. The State Library of South Australia's copy is identified by the numbers '007' and the bottom half of some indecipherable letters.
The working conditions in the expedition's hut were difficult. Imagine-the ink froze in the chilly conditions of the hut, so a candle has to be held under the plate to keep it liquid. On one occasion at least it was left too long and the inking roller that was made of a gelatinous substance, melted. It was, of course, the only one on the entire continent! And if the printers had problems of which the above were only a few, then the chief (and only) lithographer had worse. He was reduced to doing his work in the middle of the night to alleviate the problems of vibration and noise in the overcrowded hut and the smuts inherent in their fuel.
About 100 copies were produced; the exact figure is not known, as the copies were not numbered. Of these only about 25-30 copies were bound. The contents also differ somewhat from copy to copy.
'Printed at the sign of the penguins', the compilation contains crew's accounts of the expedition, fiction, poetry and humorous essays. George Marston illustrated the book, and contributors included Douglas Mawson, who later led Australasian exploration in the Antarctic. The publication of the book is a testament to the dedication of the team, as they struggled in cramped conditions to produce it.
Permission to use this item for any purpose, including publishing, is not required from the State Library under these conditions of use.
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