Shackleton barrel given new life
One of New Zealand’s only practising coopers, Jurgen Voigtlander, said he was honoured when asked to help with the reconstruction of a 111-year-old beer barrel belonging to Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.
The Nelson local has been working as a cooper for the past 15 years; a profession which involves making and repairing wooden vessels.
The barrel of beer was gifted to Shackleton in 1907 by New Zealand brewer Speight’s, and in 1970 was found by caretakers alongside Cape Royds hut – Shackleton’s home during his 1908 expedition. New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust programme manager of artefacts Lizzie Meek said the trust began conserving Cape Royds hut in 2004 when the barrel was rediscovered.
‘‘We saw some of the staves half buried in the ice and made a plan to excavate and conserve them. It took some time but we managed to get them back to New Zealand in 2016,’’ Meek said.
The trust then connected with Voigtlander, and together they worked to bring the barrel back to life. Voigtlander said the reconstruction wasn’t without its challenges, and he spent considerable time establishing a repair strategy for the heavily eroded barrel.
‘‘The whole thing took about six months. I don’t have machines, I have a few electric tools, but I use traditional techniques which mostly involves working with old hand tools.’’ Voigtlander used the original staves for the rebuild but had to bring in new iron and a few other new wooden elements. ‘‘It was a very special project to me and I had great fun doing it.’’
Speight’s senior brand manager Geoffrey Kidd said the company was blown away by the extraordinary find and equally impressed with Jurgen’s efforts.
‘‘The work that Jurgen and the team put into restoring such an amazing piece of Speight’s and Shackleton’s history is outstanding,’’ Kidd said.
After its conservation, the trust returned the barrel to Shackleton’s hut ‘‘with a new lease on life’’, trust executive director Nigel Watson said.
‘‘Conserving Antarctic artefacts is an incredibly meticulous process so it’s always satisfying to see them returned.’’
Shackleton’s Cape Royds hut is also where the trust found three crates of Mackinlay’s whisky encased in ice; a discovery that attracted global attention.