100 Years Ago – Sir Ernest Shackleton in Hawai‘i

Detroit Publishing Co., Copyright Claimant, and Publisher Detroit Publishing Co. S.S. Sierra, Oceanic S.S. Co., ca. 1900. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/det1994024324/PP/. Accessed April 04, 2017.

At 0745 (7:45 am) on the morning of 3 April 1917, the Oceanic Steamship Company’s ship SS Sierra*, under the command of Captain J.J.K. Koughan, arrived in Honolulu Harbor and tied up at Pier 6 (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 3 April 1917).

A special passenger on board was Sir Ernest Shackleton, who was on his way home to England from Sydney, Australia.

There had been some confusion as to what ship he was traveling on, so his arrival was one without fanfare, which he preferred.

‘It’s a way I have,’ he remarked when seen by a Star-Bulletin reporter on board the steamer after it had docked. ‘I do not like to let a lot of people know I’m coming.’ (“Sir Ernest Shackleton, Renowned Antarctic Explorer, Arrives Unheralded on S.S. Sierra.” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 3 April 1917.)

The Sierra was scheduled to sail for San Francisco at 1700 (5:00 pm), so officials of the local Chamber of Commerce quickly made arrangements for Sir Ernest to speak at 1500 (3:00 pm) in the fashionable surroundings of the Roof Garden of the Alexander Young Hotel.

Everyone was eager to hear what he had to say about his expedition to Antarctica and his remarkable story of survival.

Shackleton’s talk was thrilling in its simplicity and as he told of the trip south to the time when his vessel was crushed in the ice and of the cruel hardships and adventures which were experienced on the trip back to civilization, the audience sat in breathless silence and when he finished a storm of applause broke forth. (“Explorer Tells of Hardships.” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 4 April 1917.)

This was not the first time Sir Ernest passed through Hawai‘i. He was a passenger on board the Oceanic Steamship Company’s SS Ventura, when she called at Honolulu on 19 May 1903 on the way to San Francisco.

Lieutenant (Royal Navy) Shackleton, as he was then, was returning to England. He had been a member of the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–1904) or, informally, the “Discovery Expedition” under the command of Captain Robert Falcon Scott. 

Bain News Service, Publisher. Lieut. Shackleton., [No Date Recorded on Caption Card] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ggb2004004778/. Accessed April 04, 2017.

*An aside…The Sierra was carrying a large shipment of onions from Australia. (There was a shortage of onions in Hawai‘i and on the Mainland at the time.) Nine hundred fifty crates and 1,507 bags of onions were unloaded in Honolulu. Another 20,000 crates (~2,300 tons) were destined for the Mainland. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 3 April 1917)