Captain Scott’s scales return to Antarctica
An antique set of scales have been returned to Antarctica more than half a century after they were taken as a ‘‘souvenir’’ from Scott’s hut.
The Salter scales were a vital piece of equipment during the Discovery Expedition (1901-1904), allowing the men to weigh supplies, equipment and dog food, before heading out across the ice.
In the late 1950s, American captain James Douglas visited Antarctica. He was a distinguished engineer and naval command officer, in charge of the construction of eight United States bases on the frozen continent. Douglas took a shine to the scales and decided to take them back to America with him as a souvenir.
Before he died, Douglas gave the scales to his daughter, Susanna Marquette, who hung them in her log cabin in Idaho for the next 15 years.
After hearing about the Antarctic Heritage Trust’s work to conserve Discovery Hut, she contacted the Christchurch-based charity to donate the scales.
‘‘I was only 6 when my dad went to Antarctica and remember getting postcards from him with pictures he’d drawn of penguins and of himself with a beard,’’ Marquette said. ‘‘He told me that [the scales had] come from Scott’s Discovery Hut where they’d been used to weigh meat for the dogs. I was very, very honoured that he had passed them onto me.’’
The scales were flown back to the ice by the Antarctic Heritage Trust in late November, and delivered to Discovery Hutt by Lizzie Meek, the trust’s artefacts programme manager.
‘‘These scales are more than a hundred years old but, despite their age and travels, are in pristine condition,’’ she said. ‘‘They’re an important artefact and were likely used by the heroic age Antarctic explorers to weigh items ahead of sledging expeditions, to ensure supply levels were accurate and the sled was as light as it could be.’’
Douglas and Marquette took ‘‘incredible care of them’’, Meek said.