Work is under way on a South Atlantic island to preserve a key building in the story of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton.
Shackleton famously reached the whaling station of Stromness on South Georgia in 1916 after spending 18 months stranded on Antarctica with his crew.
The now-dilapidated Stromness Manager’s Villa was used as a base by Shackleton while he orchestrated the rescue of his men.
The Dundee-based South Georgia Heritage Trust have been working to stabilise the structure, with plans to create a digital “twin” of the building for people around the world to see it.
A 2022 survey found the building was very close to collapse.
Alison Neil, chief executive of the South Georgia Heritage Trust, said: “The reason for that is rotting timbers.
“This is an old-fashioned version of a flat-pack house.
“They would’ve been brought down from Norway on ships and then assembled on the island.”
The trust raised more than £3m to send a team to South Georgia.
They arrived in October and have been working on stabilising the structure.
Alison said: “It’s in the middle of a whaling station that’s full of asbestos, dangerous debris, and is not accessible to the public.
“Our plan is not to open it up to the public, our plan is to maintain it for the future.”
Shackleton’s extraordinary story of survival has fascinated and inspired people for more than a century.
His most famous mission was his plan to cross Antarctica through the South Pole after travelling on board his ship The Endurance.
In 1915, The Endurance became trapped in ice, and his crew abandoned ship, crossing onto floating ice, which they hoped would drift towards land.
But by April 1916, the ice floes were breaking up, so Shackleton took his crew in lifeboats first to Elephant Island, then led a smaller group to find help for the others.
They crossed about 800 miles (1,300km) of ocean in the open boat before reaching the island of South Georgia.
Leaving three of the men behind with the boat, Shackleton, Frank Worsley and Tom Crean trekked across the island for three days until they reached Stromness whaling station on the far side of the island.
Alison said the men made it to the villa in a dishevelled state.
She said: “No-one recognised them, they must’ve looked terrifying.
“They knocked on the door of the villa and famously the whaling manager opened the door and said, ‘who the hell are you?’
“Shackleton allegedly said: ‘My name is Shackleton’.”
It was the men’s first contact with the outside world for 17 months.
Shackleton, Worsley and Crean were invited in to the villa where they had a hot meal and a bath, before immediately starting the rescue of the rest of their crew with the help of the whalers.
Alison said: “That’s a really important part of The Endurance story and it effectively is the next chapter on from the sinking of the vessel.”
Shackleton’s extraordinary story of survival has fascinated and inspired people for more than a century.
His most famous mission was his plan to cross Antarctica through the South Pole after travelling on board his ship The Endurance.
In 1915, The Endurance became trapped in ice, and his crew abandoned ship, crossing onto floating ice, which they hoped would drift towards land.
But by April 1916, the ice floes were breaking up, so Shackleton took his crew in lifeboats first to Elephant Island, then led a smaller group to find help for the others.
They crossed about 800 miles (1,300km) of ocean in the open boat before reaching the island of South Georgia.
Leaving three of the men behind with the boat, Shackleton, Frank Worsley and Tom Crean trekked across the island for three days until they reached Stromness whaling station on the far side of the island.
Alison said the men made it to the villa in a dishevelled state.
She said: “No-one recognised them, they must’ve looked terrifying.
“They knocked on the door of the villa and famously the whaling manager opened the door and said, ‘who the hell are you?’
“Shackleton allegedly said: ‘My name is Shackleton’.”
It was the men’s first contact with the outside world for 17 months.
Shackleton, Worsley and Crean were invited in to the villa where they had a hot meal and a bath, before immediately starting the rescue of the rest of their crew with the help of the whalers.
Alison said: “That’s a really important part of The Endurance story and it effectively is the next chapter on from the sinking of the vessel.”
Alison said that “heritage shouldn’t be a privilege.”
She said: “You don’t want it to just be something that inspires the people that can afford to come to an island.
“So many people are really fascinated by the story of Shackleton and the Endurance.
“It would be great to be able to tell everyone around the world who is keen on this story, this chapter.
“The most effective way to do that is to let them experience it for themselves through a digital version.”
