The dawn of Discovery: Scott’s Antarctic ship is launched in Dundee
The excitement was palpable. Thousands thronged the banks of the Tay for the launch of the ship RRS Discovery – the vessel in which Robert Falcon Scott first sailed to the Antarctic.
At a signal from John Smith, the shipyard foreman, the shores were knocked away and the Discovery was allowed to rest upon the cradle which was to carry her into the river.
The launch party, including Captain Scott and with Lady Markham, wife of Sir Clement Robert Markham, President of the Royal Geographic Society and the naval officer behind the idea of a British National Antarctic Expedition, took their place on a specially built platform. Present for the auspicious occasion were the great and good of Dundee and the Royal Navy, as well as representatives of the Royal and Royal Geographic Societies.
At 3.20pm, a whistle sounded and Lady Markham, sporting a dark coat and floral bonnet, stepped to the front of the platform and with wine and flowers, christened the ship the Discovery.
A silence fell upon the crowd as slowly the vessel began to move, quickly gathering momentum. As Discovery hit the water, a cheer went up from the thousands of spectators assembled on the Marine Parade.
With the ship floated and the Union Jack hoisted on the bow and the blue ensign of the Naval Reserve flying over her stern, the Discovery was towed down the river.
The launch was remembered decades on as Discovery was a major part the British Empire’s desire to be world-leading. Antarctica was the last continent to be explored. Newspapers carried countless stories about the expedition, which came apart largely because of Sir Clement Markham’s dream. Also a geographer, he was obsessed with the idea of a British National Antarctic Expedition, especially after hearing a lecture given in 1893 by Canadian-born Scottish marine scientist John Murray.
And as president, he was able to persuade the Royal Geographical Society, to support the Antarctic Expedition, with the government agreeing to match any funding raised by the Societies. Markham was able to start the process of building a very special ship and recruiting an equally special crew that would be led by a charismatic captain, Robert Falcon Scott.
Scott later wrote: “Chancing one day to be walking down the Buckingham Palace Road, I espied Sir Clements Markham and accompanied him to his house. That afternoon I learned for the first time that there was such a thing as a prospective Antarctic Expedition; two days later I wrote applying to command it. I may as well confess I had no predilection for polar exploration.”
Discovery was designed by the Admiralty’s Chief of Construction, WE Smith. A type of whaler, there were only two yards that could build it, but the pre-eminent whaler shipyard of the day was that of Dundee Shipbuilders Ltd at Panmure. In January, 1900, They were contracted to build Discovery at a cost of £51,000.
The last three-masted sailing vessel built in Britain, Discovery also had a steam engine, and her unique design included a massively thick hull built of Scottish pine, oak, English elm and greenheart, with iron bands sealing the hull. She was to be the strongest ship afloat, able to cope with the pack ice.
Just a week after her launch, Discovery left Dundee to sail into history. In March, 1986, she returned to Dundee for the first time to stay at what is now Discovery Point.