The 26-year-old helped return Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition copy of The Count of Monte Cristo to his Discovery Hut on Ross Island.
Piggin, who works at Canterbury Museum, was part of the Inspiring Explorers programme, which saw a group of young people restore the book and see the sights of the frozen continent.
“It was very special because you see the book and it feels like a very old piece of history that doesn’t fit in with normal surroundings, but once we got it back to the hut it fit right in. It was home,” she said.
Returning the book was no sure thing, as stubborn ice prevented the team from getting close enough to the hut to disembark.
The next day presented a narrow opportunity as strong winds broke up the ice enough for the team to quickly stop in at midnight.
The classic adventure book was read by Scott’s 1911 South Pole expedition team and still has their fingerprints clearly visible on the pages.
It was published by French author Alexandre Dumas in 1844 and follows a wrongly imprisoned young sailor seeking revenge on those who betrayed him.
The team left the book sitting near the stove and sleeping platform, likely where Scott’s team would have put up their feet for some leisure time.
Piggin said the huts the team visited were a time capsule of the early Antarctic expeditions.
“You could really picture the explorers just living in there. It’s very well preserved.”
The huts had a strong “woody” smell which contrasted with the fresh Antarctic air.
Piggin was joined on the trip by Christchurch Boy’s High alumni Jake Bailey, 27.
He grabbed headlines around the world in 2015 when he gave a rousing end of school speech after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of stage four blood cancer.
The head boy of the school at the time, Bailey went into remission.
Piggin’s other highlights from the trip included spying the continent for the first time from the sea.
“It was pretty surreal. I don’t think any of us expected the icebergs to be so big.”
The team is now creating a podcast series about the trip with the Antarctic Heritage Trust.
