Lyttelton Harbour was the departure point for Antarctica-bound ships in the early 1900s including Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions and Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition.
Today, a number of vessels still depart from the harbour each year to head to Antarctica, including those from the Italian, United States, South Korean and Australian Antarctic programmes as well as those from New Zealand’s own programme.
The Lyttelton tug (then named Canterbury) arrived in Lyttelton Harbour in 1907 and escorted ships – including Antarctica-bound vessels – out of the harbour until it was decommissioned in the 1970s. It has since been restored and is now used as a passenger vessel.