Frank Worsley

Frank Arthur Worsley, without doubt one of New Zealand’s greatest, but largely unsung adventuring heroes was born in Akaroa on 22^nd February 1872.

• By the time he joined the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914 he had 27 years’ experience in a variety of ships and environments – including in the service of the New Zealand Shipping Company, the New Zealand government and the Royal Naval Reserve.
• His greatest adventure began when he became the captain of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, which was trapped in pack ice on the 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition and slowly crushed.
• The crew of 28 spent over a year camped on the Antarctic ice before Shackleton, Worsley and four others sailed a tiny lifeboat across the wild Southern Ocean to South Georgia to summon help for the rest of the men, who were all eventually rescued.
• This 17-day journey remains one of the greatest ever feats of seamanship and relied totally on Worsley’s brilliant navigation.
• When the party arrived on the west of South Georgia on 10 May 1916, it was not the end of their ordeal. Worsley, Shackleton and Thomas Crean made an arduous 36-hour overland journey to reach a whaling station to the east. Less than a day later, Worsley set out to rescue the other members of the lifeboat party.
• On his return to England in April 1917 Worsley returned to the Royal Naval Reserve to serve in the First World War. He spent 10 months at sea commanding ‘Q-ships’ to combat Germany’s U-boats.
• Worsley was more than just Shackleton’s captain however. For the rest of his life he continued to seek adventures in a manner described as ‘fearless’,
• He was decorated for bravery in both world wars, and continuing to captain ships all around the world.
• Worsley died in February 1943 and was honoured with a full naval funeral. His ashes were scattered at sea.