About 250 people made the effort to get out of bed early for
a re-enactment of the arrival of the Terra Nova at Oamaru
Harbour 100 years ago to bring the news to the world that
Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his South Pole party had
died.
The re-enactment was part of Scott 100 celebrations which
started on Waitangi Day and end today.
On February 10, 1913, the Terra Nova arrived secretly off
Oamaru Harbour and two crew came ashore to telegraph the news
to sponsors and news agents, who had paid for the expedition,
in London about the fate of the Scott Antarctic exhibition.
People started arriving at Oamaru Harbour just after 5am for
the moving 6am re-enactment, which included the five crew
arriving by tender and being challenged by the night
watchman, two coming ashore and demanding to see the harbour
master.
After, people led by the Waitaki District School's Pipe Band,
Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton and Royal New Zealand Navy
representative Commander Tony Millar paraded around the
harbour to St Luke's Church for a service.
A wreath was to be laid at the Scott Memorial oak in Arun St
followed by a re-enactment of transmitting the bad news to
London by telegram at the former Oamaru chief post office's
telegraph room, now part of the Waitaki District Council
headquarters.
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