John Henry Knowles 1875-1917

 

The Steam Yacht Aurora was a 580 ton barque-rigged steamer built as a whaling vessel in 1876.  It gained fame in 1914-15 as part of the Ernest Shackleton "Endurance" expedition, being trapped in ice like the larger ship, though managing to escape and make it to Port Chalmers on April 3, 1916.  The Aurora was overhauled in Wellington and sailed on its last voyage with a cargo of New South Wales coal for South America.  

National Library of Australia.

POLAR ADVENTURE AND ACHIEVEMENT.

Last April the Aurora arrived at Port Chalmers — battered, rent, and leaking — from her buffeting by the fierce gales and shifting ice of the Antarctic seas. Torn from her moorings in one of the violent storms that are so frequent in the South Polar regions, she soon thereafter became frozen up in the ice floe, and drifted helplessly for long months, often subjected to frightful pressure by the grinding ice waves, so that her survival was in a sense miraculous.

When she was at last set free in the autumn of last year, she could of course do nothing better than seek the shelter of New Zealand ports, and the party of ten explorers who had been left on the shores of Ross Sea had to endure the winter and spring before a rescuing expedition could be sent for their relief. With a view to this undertaking the Aurora was thoroughly repaired and refitted in the docks of Port Chalmers. Later on there was a design to despatch her to the relief of the comrades of Sir E. Shackleton who had been left on Elephant Island, and to that end the work of repairing her was hurried forward as rapidly as possible. But the success of Sir E. Shackleton in obtaining a suitable vessel in South America, and sailing himself to the rescue of his marooned party, released the Aurora from that service, and enabled the work of her renovation to be completed at leisure. The cost of this amounts to £20,000, and we have the testimony of the Hon. Dr. McNab that the Aurora, when she recently set forth, was practically the best equipped vessel that has ever sailed for Antarctic exploration. She carries an ample store of provisions, with medical aids and comforts of every kind, and is fitted with up-to-date wireless apparatus. She will thus be able to keep us informed of her movements, and we may hope very soon to hear of her arrival in Ross Sea, and also to learn, soon thereafter, the fortunes of the small party of explorers who for nearly two years have been cut off from all human aid and intercourse. Complications as to the conduct of the expedition were settled by Captain Davis assuming command, while Sir Ernest Shackleton accompanies Captain Davis, and will, on the completion of the expedition, take over the Aurora as his own property.   -Hawera and Normanby Star, 10/1/1917.

Among the articles brought from the Antarctic by the Aurora was a bottle of ale with a history. The Challenger Expedition of 1875 carried with it into the Arctic regions some ale specially bottled for the use of the explorers. The expedition returned to England with a few of the bottles still unopened, and one of them at least has been retained as a souvenir ever since. The owner wished the bottle to complete its travels by visiting the South Polar regions, and he therefore entrusted it to the members of Sir Ernest Shackleton's expedition. His faith was not misplaced, and the bottle returned to Wellington with the cork still undrawn.  -NZ Herald, 12/3/1917.

PERSONAL

Mr. J. H. Knowles, second engineer on the Aurora (Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship), now long overdue, was engineer on board the New Plymouth Harbour Board’s dredger Paritutu when she came out from Scotland.   -Taranaki Herald, 30/12/1917.

FATE OF THE AURORA

FORMER POLAR EXPLORATION VESSEL

The theory advanced a few days ago that the auxiliary schooner Aurora, long overdue at the West Coast of South America from Sydney and Newcastle, had foundered with all hands, has been strengthened by the finding of a. lifebuoy belonging to the vessel off the coast (states the Sydney correspondent of the "Age," in one of last week's issues). On Thursday the North Coast S.N. Co.'s steamer Coombar arrived in port, and Captain D. Petrie reported having picked up the lifebuoy on the run from Richmond River to Sydney, 9 3/4 miles from Hacking Point lighthouse. There is no doubt that the buoy belonged to the missing Aurora, the lettering "S. Y." "Aurora" in black being quite distinct, with what appears to he "ITAE" painted underneath. The ropes attached to the buoy are in a good state of preservation but the side of the buoy — that portion bearing the ship's name — is covered with small barnacles. A couple of weeks previously Captain Petrie reported passing a quantity of wreckage off the Solitary Islands, and this flotsam, it is thought, may have also come from the missing vessel. 

Following is a complete list of the crew: — Master — R. J. Reeves. New Zealand. Chief officer — W. A. Entwistle, New Zealand. Second officer — E. O. Baker, Victoria. Chief engineer — J. A. Knowles, New Zealand. Second engineer — J. R. Austin, Brisbane. Third mate — C. Blattman, Newcastle. Firemen — C. Fagan, Scotland; F. Markey, Scotland; and D. O'Connell, Newport. Steward — W. B. Driscoll, New Zealand. Wireless operator — T. A. Kain, New Zealand. Cook — J. E. Derks, Heligoland. Boatswain — T. Paton, Scotland. A.B.'s — Chas. Cole, London; H. S. Clark, Newcastle; J. Manning, England; W. Cummings, Ireland; and J. Lymington, Scotland. Trimmer — F. Adair, Scotland. Boys — A. B. Cherson, New Zealand, and H. F. Logan, New Zealand.  -Dominion, 22/12/1917.

THE COSY CORNER CLUB

Dear Elizabeth, — I wish to write a few words about our manly friend, John Henry Knowles. How well I remember the morning when we first met him! We waited the coming of the inspector of boilers with some slight uneasiness, but his hearty voice and frank manner put us at our ease. He looked over the boiler, then he and I went off through the bush to a neighbour's mill, and as we talked by the way I found in this square-shouldered, British sailor, this very practical man, a dweller with the infinite and the eternal, and as we spoke of Nature, the ever elusive, the ever inspiring, we become friends. We exchanged letters. Mr Knowles paid us two annual visits, then came the great war, and the hearts of men were stirred. He chafed at his quiet task and wanted to be away to the navy. The Government desired him to stop at his duties, and yet again he called. He honoured us with his company for the night, and with him I set out on the morrow to climb Mount Fyffe. It was a perfect day in the tranquil autumn-time, the hush of the year that breathes of slow decay and the coming of winter and storm. We were away from the world out there, with the mountain-tops about us, the torrents booming beneath, and the sea spread far below. There we were not afraid to repeat the sentiments of our more sacred moments, such as: 

"The spirit of desire be mine. Uncounted ages through— 

The light that beckons far, divine, The strength to toil and woo. 

The goal my soul will yet attain, Is farther on the road. 

Through passioning of bliss and pain, I seek the steadfast God."

In the afternoon we came down from the desolate summit to the comfort and cheeriness of home, and in the evening, his coat over his arm, vigour and health in his frame and face, Jack Knowles set off on a six-mile walk to pass the evening with Mr Cook. We did not know when we grasped his nervy hand that duty would claim him so soon. He wrote us from the North Island, where he was busy for a while: — "I happened to be close to Mount Egmont, so I took the chance to climb the mountain from Dawson's Falls House. I got up at 4.0 a.m., boiled the kettle, had a cup of tea, and left at 4.30 alone for the top. About half-way up the sun rose, and seemed to be a huge golden ball projected upward by some unseen titanic force, and that I was the only creature present. I reached the topmost peak shortly before 8 a.m., after a very stiff climb through 1800 ft of scoria, but the magnificent view compensated one for the extra exertion. I was glad to reach lower levels again about 10.30 a.m. After a hot bath and hot tea I felt better, and next morning I walked 12 miles into Stratford." We next heard from our friend from Sydney. He could resist the call no longer. The submarine menace was serious. He had got promise of a post in the navy, and as chief engineer he was away with the Aurora. The old ship, leaky, had put back for repairs. She would call at Wellington on her voyage out for Iquique, Chile. We waited. Long we waited word. Then came the admission. "Aurora long overdue." And still we wait the word that does not come. A mother and sister at Port Chalmers wait the man who went forth in his strength — clean, fearless, erect. He was a friend of the young and a lover of the children. "The Child's Bible," was his present to our girls; "Robinson Crusoe" to our boys. I cannot think of him as lost or dead. He was at home by earth or sea or with the myriad stars. He knew 

"The hand that flung them all abroad, And white across the mystic blue 

There gleamed a thousand thrones of God." 

He was eager to see the little ones enjoy themselves. He was ready to recall the oddities that he had encountered East and West, from Glasgow to Port Chalmers, but most he chafed to grapple with the brutal Hun. I have made some little verses to his memory. 

J. H. K. 

Why should I fear to follow where he lead, Daring the dangers of the outer sea?

I may not think of him as lost or dead—  Far off, erect and free, 

Learning the language of the infinite, Thinking the thoughts that make us more than men, 

Eager to live and suffer, love and fight, At home by crag and glen, 

Or where with hollow voice th' eternal wave Evokes mysterious echoes from the land. 

Death hath renewed his life. No lowly grave May hold his heart or hand. 

OSCAR. 

P.S.—Regards and good wishes to all C.C.C. comrades, especially Eve and Gabriella, also to Elizabeth, and best luck for this winter's season.—Oscar. 

The thanks of all of us are due to you, Oscar, for telling us so vividly of your friend. We feel almost as if we also had known him, and with you we sorrow because of the word that has never come.  -Otago Witness, 15/5/1918.

Port Chalmers New Cemetery.

STRANGE SEA STORY

Relic of the Aurora Expedition

Engraved Bottle Washed Ashore

A Tasmanian's Fate

When Mr G. Bressington, walking along the beach at Tuggerah (New South Wales), saw an old wine bottle that had been cast up by the sea, lying half buried in the sand, he did not attach much importance to his discovery.  But when he picked it up, he was amazed to find engraved on one side a penguin, and on the other the picture of an Antarctic exploration ship which looked strangely like the long-lost Aurora. Turning the bottle over, he was further surprised to decipher on it, engraved with a diamond, the following message:

Midwinter's Day, 1912,

Shackleton Glacier, Antarctica.

"Frank Wild, A. L. Kennedy, S. Evan Jones, C. Arch Headley, Chas, T. Harrison, George Dovers, A. L. Watson, and Merton H. Moyes."

STORY OF THE BOTTLE.

Slr Douglas Mawson's exploration ship Aurora left England in 1911 to explore Adelle Land, in the Antarctic. The expedition was presented by Mr. J. Y. Buchanan with three bottles of Madeira which came from the stock of wine carried in H.M.S. Challenger, survey ship, when that vessel made her famous cruise round the world in the seventies. In the course of the voyage she anchored off Sandridge, now Port Melbourne. These three bottles were given to Mawson's expedition with the idea that the wine should be drunk on the explorers' great festival, Midwinter's Day, wherever they might happen to be. One of the bottles was given by Mawson to Frank Wild, the leader of a second party which pushed along the coast past Adelle Land. In the Aurora, which was commanded by Captain J. K. Davis, now Commonwealth Director of Navigation. 

In accordance with the wishes of the donor, the wine was duly drunk at a farewell party in the Aurora before the Party left. Harrisson, the artist of the party, engraved one side of the bottle with a picture of the Aurora, and the names of the party on the other side.  Wild then took possession of the bottle to return it to the donor, and that was the last known of the bottle until it was found by Mr. Bressington recently on the beach at Tuggerah (N.S.W.), 15 years afterwards.

LOST WITH ALL HANDS.

The Aurora, after her Antarctic voyagings, was converted into a cargo carrier during the war, when any kind of a vessel that would float was pressed into service. On June 20, 1917, she sailed with a full cargo of coal from Newcastle (N.S.W.) for a Chilean port, her master intending to call at Wellington (New Zealand) en route, where his wife was to embark. But the Aurora has never been seen from the time the pilot left her outside Newcastle, nor was anything ever heard of her until this bottle was found the other day, almost 10 years later. It is considered that the bottle, which it was intended to present to Mr. Buchanan, was inadvertently left aboard the Aurora. When the old ship, overwhelmed at last by the seas against which she had battled for so long, foundered somewhere between the coast of New South Wales and New Zealand, the bottle must have floated to the surface and eventually drifted to its resting place in the sand.

Particular interest is added to the incident by the fact that Mr. Harrisson, the artist who is mentioned as having engraved the bottle, was a Tasmanian, and lived at Bellerive, where his widow, Mrs. C. Harrisson, still resides. Noticing a report of the discovery of the bottle in the Melbourne "Herald" recently, Mrs. Harrisson was interested, and searched through the diaries which her husband left of the expedition in the hope that there some light might be thrown upon it. Nor was she disappointed, for she came upon the following entry:

DEAD MAN'S RECORD.

"June 22, 1912.

"Midwinter Day dinner to-night. Table removed to far end of room for flash-light photo. Table covered with white cloth for the first time. Bunks behind, and centre posts draped with flags. Excellent dinner. Soup, cheese, canapes, roast sirloin of seal baked with dripping over it, beautifully tender and really very nice. Potatoes, peas, turnips, plum pudding, with whisky sauce. Raspberries and strawberries in jelly. Raisins, almonds, figs, cheesestraws, etc. Hoadley, in the chair, gave 'The King.' I had to propose 'Dr. Mawson and the A.A.E.' in a little speech. Jones, 'Old Explorers,' Wild 'Mr. Buchanan.' These last two toasts were drunk in 'Madera,' laid in by Mr. Buchanan on the Challenger 40 years ago, and given by Mr. Buchanan for us to drink on this day. Oddly enough, it had been drunk comparatively close to where the Challenger made down to her furthest point south. Afterwards Dr. Jones had all our signatures scratched on the bottle with his diamond, and I did a penguin on one side, and a ship on the other. The bottle is to be returned to Mr. Buchanan. Moyes proposed 'Sweethearts and Wives,' and we sang the chorus. Wild sang 'Kabul River.' Moyes and Hoadley sang, and Kennedy played one or two selections on flute. All helped to wash up, etc., and now they are at bridge and chess. Pleasant evening. Snowing and drifting, entrance nearly closed already...."

Mr. Harrisson lost his life when the Commonwealth fishery survey ship Endeavour sank in a storm while on a voyage from Macquarie Island to Hobart in 1914. Strangely enough, there was a similarity between the losses of the Aurora and the Endeavour, for both ships left port and were never heard of again.

Perhaps, if he is still alive. Mr. Buchanan may now receive the bottle which was engraved for him on an Antarctic night 15 years ago.  -The Mercury (Hobart), 26/5/1927.

The Midwinter table - photo courtesy of the Australian Antarctic Magazine.