The Cruise of the Antarctic to the South Polar Regions

The Norwegian businessman, shipping magnate and whaling entrepreneur Henrik Johan Bull (1844-1930) led the first expedition to make a confirmed landing on the Antarctic mainland, at Cape Adare, in January 1895. Bull's highly readable account of the expedition, published in 1896, reveals both the scientific and the commercial motivations for early Antarctic exploration. His voyage, financed by Svend Foyn, the inventor of the harpoon gun, was mainly for commercial purposes, to investigate reports of right whales in the Ross Sea. Bull, however, insisted on aiming for Antarctica, despite encountering technical problems after the vessel ran aground, and the preference of the ship's master for hunting seals to make the trip financially profitable. A part-time scientist on the expedition was Carsten Borchgrevink (1864-1934), who collected the first specimens of vegetation from the Antarctic, and later, with the Southern Cross expedition, set up the first winter base on the continent.