Farewell Dinner for the Nimrod Crew

My new play recreates the meal, toasts, speeches and songs from the Canterbury Club's celebration of Shackleton and his crew on the eve of their Antarctic adventure.

The Story

The Nimrod Expedition of 1907–1909, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, was the first of three successful expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton.

Although the expedition's profile was initially much lower than that of Scott's six years earlier, its achievements attracted widespread interest and made Shackleton a national hero. The scientific team, which included the future Australasian Antarctic Expedition leader Douglas Mawson, carried out extensive geological, zoological and meteorological work. Shackleton's transport arrangements, based on Manchurian ponies, motor traction, and sled dogs, were innovations which, despite limited success, were later copied by Scott for his ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition.

Before they left for Antarctica, on the 30th December 1907, the Canterbury Club of Christchurch hosted a farewell dinner for Shackleton and his crew. I propose to restage it.

The Story of the Story

I found the menu from the evening.