MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Shackleton's original Hope Cross exhibited at the Discovery Point in Dundee

The Memorial Cross to Sir Ernest Shackleton at Hope Point, South Georgia, overlooking the British Antarctic Survey’s Grytviken station (PA)

Sir Ernest Shackleton, the great English polar explorer died in 1922 at the age of 47 in Grytviken, South Georgia during his fourth trip and expedition to the Antarctic continent on board the Quest. .

Complying with his wishes he was buried in South Georgia at a memorial cairn at Hope Point, and his crew commemorated him by building a cross from salvaged timber at the whaling stations known as the Hope Cross.

The memorial with the three meters cross of thirty kilos survived for almost a century before it was put into storage and replaced with a concrete monument in 2018. In 2021, plans were drawn up for the original cross to be brought 8,000 miles to the Discovery Centre in Dundee, where it has been put on display and was open to the public to view beginning this week.

After taking part in Captain Robert Scott’s first Antarctic expedition on the Discovery between 1901 and 1904, Shackleton sacrificed a bid to lead the first team to the South Pole in 1909, putting safety ahead of fame.

Captain Scott successfully reached the South Pole in 1912 but, having discovered the Norwegian Roald Amundsen had beaten him to the target, died with his team on the return leg.

Shackleton planned the British Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition to make the first crossing of Antarctica on the Endurance, between 1914-1917, but it failed.

Leading a fresh expedition of exploration, Shackleton reached Grytviken in the Quest but suffered a fatal heart attack on January 5 1922.

His granddaughter, Alexandra Shackleton, said the explorer was “addicted” to the South Pole, and described it as “the most beautiful place on earth”.

Alexandra said her family was “very grateful to all who have made this possible”, including the Dundee Heritage Trust (DHT), South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT), the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI), and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

Ms Shackleton said: “It is the decisions we make that show the sort of person we are. He was loved by the sailors. His legacy is leadership. That’s why we are here today. I hope people will learn from it.

David Henry, chair of Dundee Heritage Trust, said: “The cross, when it was put up in 1922, was put up by his shipmates. It stood for decades, withstanding the weather in Antarctica. It was meant to be seen by people – it is there as a commemoration to a great man.

“It was made from a whaling station in South Georgia, by the hands of crewmen on his ship. By putting it on public display, it gives the public a chance to remember a great leader.

The exhibition in Dundee also contributes to the GSGSSI's aim that the public benefit from heritage objects on South Georgia and they be brought to a wider audience; not just those visiting South Georgia.

The Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands said: “It has been a great privilege to work with partners across the world to facilitate the display of the original Hope Cross overlooking the RRS Discovery in Dundee.

“Much of the Government’s work focuses on the protection and preservation of the natural environment, and alongside this we have the duty of protecting, preserving and sharing the broad cultural stories that South Georgia has to offer.

”We hope that this new display will continue to bring into public view the history of the islands and their ongoing role in exploration, scientific endeavour and significant conservation work.”