Audiobook

Stories of South Pole Adventure

Frank Mundell

The famous search for the North-West Passage led many daring pioneers to penetrate into the unknown and to brave the dread perils of the Arctic seas. The stimulus thus given to the adventurous spirit of the maritime nations ultimately meant that many a seafaring captain turned their ship’s prow towards the mighty region of snow and ice at the other end of the world. This landmass, called somewhat vaguely Southern Ethiopia and the Austral Continent, was shown on maps of the period as a large extent of land in the Pacific, stretching towards the South Pole. The first recorded approach to the Terra Australis Incognita, as the supposed Southern Continent was called on the maps of long ago, was made by a Dutchman named Dirk Gerritz in the year 1600. When he told his story he was not believed and it was not till the discovery of the New South Shetland Islands nearly two centuries later before any serious exploration of Antarctica was to be undertaken, initially by those men with extensive experience of the Arctic polar region. This book is part of a series of inspirational texts and ‘heroic writings of daring deeds’ by the Victorian author Frank Mundell, who wrote a significant number of books for children and young adults. - Summary by Steve C