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The steam yacht ''Aurora'' (SY ''Aurora'') was built by Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd. shipbuilders in Glasgow, Scotland , in 1876, for the Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company. Her primary use was whaling in the northern seas, and was built sturdy enought to withstand the heavy weather and ice that would be encountered there. That strength meant that over her lifetime, she would be used for many different purposes across the globe. WHALING Between the years 1876 and 1910, the ''Aurora'' made the annual trip from Dundee, Scotland to St. John's, Newfoundland And Labrador to take part in the whale and seal hunt in the arctic waters. There were a couple of notable events in this time. In 1884, the ''Aurora'' made a failed attempt to rescue the Greely Expedition to claim the reward money, and in 1891, the ship came to the rescue of the crew of the ''Polynia'' when it was crushed in sea ice. DOUGLAS MAWSON EXPEDITION In 1910, she was bought by Douglas Mawson for his Australasian Antarctic Expedition . The ''Aurora'' made the journey from Hobart , Australia to Macquarie Island , Mawson's base of operations, in December of 1911. After establishing the base, they sailed south again, and arrived in Commonwealth Bay Antarctica , on January 7 , 1912 . At Cape Denison , she unloaded Mawson and his team, and helped set up the camp (which still stands today, see Mawson's Huts Antarctica ), but then departed to return to Hobart so as not to get trapped in the sea-ice over the winter. In December of 1912, the ''Aurora'' returned to find that Douglas Mawson, Xavier Mertz , and Belgrade Ninnis had set out on a sled expedition, and were overdue to return. The captain attempted to wait for the expedition to return, but poor anchorage, and extreamly strong winds, combined caused the anchor chain to break. At the end of January, the ship had to leave, or risk getting stuck for the winter. ''Aurora'' left a team of six behind with ample supplies, and departed. Mawson, the sole survivor of the three, arrived in time to see the ''Aurora'' disappearing over the horizon. ''Aurora'' returned to Commonwealth Bay on December 12 , 1913 , to pick up the seven men, and return to Australia. TRANS ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton set the ''Aurora'' to help set up supply depots along the route for his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition . After being delayed by Sea Ice in McMurdo Sound in January of 1915, the ''Aurora'' managed to make her way further south, and sent teams off to set up the depots. Eventually she made her way to Discovery Bay on March 12 , 1915 , where she anchored and continued to offload supplies. In May, the ''Aurora'' was trapped in the ice, and was carried out to the sea, stranding the men that were setting up the depots. It wasn't until February 12 , 1916 that the ship escaped from the ice, making it back to Dunedin , New Zealand on April 3. 1917 Ross Sea Party rescue After his legendary ordeal in the Weddell Sea sector, Ernest Shackleton arrived in New Zealand during December 1916 . He was advised that his supply team the Ross Sea Party was stranded in Antarctica . By that time the Aurora had been repaired and after discussion with the Aurora's captain, Shackleton immediately sailed to Ross Island to bring his men home. On January 10 , 1917 , the ship pulled alongside the pack ice near Cape Royds and worked its way to Cape Evans . One week later, Shackleton and the seven survivors of the original ten members of the ''Ross Sea Party'' were headed back to Wellington, New Zealand . FATE The ''Aurora'' was last seen in 1917, when she departed Newcastle, New South Wales , bound for Iquique , Chile . She was carrying a load of coal. Lloyd's of London posted the ship as missing on 2 January 1918 , and it was believed she was a casualty of the First World War. CAPTAINS This is a partial list of Captain s of the ''Aurora'':
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