thomas Abernethy

Sir John Ross sets off on an expedition to find the Northwest passage on board HMS Victory. This is sailing ship with a 30 horse power steam engine driving a set of paddle wheels as an auxiliary power source.

He takes with him his nephew James Clark Ross. Thomas Abernethy signs on with the expedition and is appointed Second Mate. The expedition has 4 officers (Sir John Ross, James Clark Ross, William Thom and George McDiarmid) and 19 men, including Abernethy.

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Location: Britain

Into the Unknown

Aug 06, 1829

James Ross reaches the point that where he had been forced to turn back on the expedition that he had taken part in 10 years before.

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Location: Arctic

Sir John Ross Reaches Fury Beach

Aug 13, 1829

The John Ross expedition reaches Fury Beach where Parry had abandoned his ship. There was no sign of the ship itself, but there were still heaps of stores on the beach. They took some of these stores and continued north.

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Location: Arctic

James Ross Reaches Felix Harbour

Sep 1829

The James Ross expedition moors in Felix Harbour for to wait out the winter.

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Location: Arctic

The Netsilik Visit Sir James Ross

Jan 1830

They are visited by a group of Netsilik Inuit. The ship’s carpenter makes a wooden leg for one of them. The Inuit trade food and information.

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Location: Arctic

James Clark Ross Reaches Boothia

Apr 09, 1830

James Clark Ross reaches the west side of Boothia Peninsula as part of a number of trips over the ice that he had been making to chart the area.

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Location: Arctic

James Clark Ross Returns

Jun 13, 1831

James Clark Ross, Abernethy, and the rest of the party return to HMS Victory. After a month on the ice they are said to look like human skeletons.

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Location: Arctic

James Ross Reaches the Magnetic North Pole

Jul 01, 1831

A party from HMS Victory including Abernethy and James Ross reach the magnetic north Pole.

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Location: Arctic

HMS Victory Gets Free of the Ice

Aug 1831

HMS Victory gets free of the ice, but is only able to move 4 miles before getting trapped again at Victoria Harbour.

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Location: Arctic

HMS Victory Trapped in Ice

Jan 1832

Sir James Ross decide that HMS Victory is not going to get free and they will need another plan.

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Location: Arctic

James Clark Ross Departs HMS Victory

May 29, 1832

James Clark Ross departs HMS Victory with Abernethy over the ice to try and get to Fury Beach in order to find out if the boats and supplies that they had seen on their way out were still there.

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Location: Arctic

James Clark Ross Returns to HMS Victory

Jun 08, 1832

James Clark Ross returns from Fury Beach and lets the rest of the expedition know that the boats are still there and repairable.

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Location: Arctic

HMS Victory Crew Reaches Fury Beach

Jul 01, 1832

The entire party from HMS Victory reaches Fury beach. They construct a shelter from the remaining timbers of Fury and then start repairing the boats there.

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Location: Arctic

The Expedition Sets Off in Boats

Aug 01, 1832

The expedition sets off in boats in the hope of finding a whaler that will take them back to Britain.

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Location: Arctic

The Expedition Leaves Batty Bay

Jul 08, 1833

The expedition leaves Batty Bay

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Location: Arctic

The Expedition Finally Reaches Open Water

Aug 14, 1833

The expedition finally reaches open water

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Location: Arctic

Jame Ross is Picked Up By Isabella

Aug 26, 1833

The expedition is picked up by Isabella, the ship that John Ross had commanded on his 1819 expedition.

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Location: Arctic

The John Ross Expedition Returns to Britain

Oct 1833

The John Ross expedition returns to Britain

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Location: Britain

The Ross Expedition Leaves Chatham

Sep 1839

The Ross Expedition leaves Chatham. It consists of two ships. HMS Erebus is commanded by James Clark Ross. HMS Terror is commanded by Francis Crozier. Joseph Hooker was assistant-surgeon to Robert McCormick. Thomas Abernethy was Gunner and Archibald McMurdo is the First Lieutenant of HMS Terror.

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Location: Chatham

HMS Erebus And HMS Terror Arrive in Tasmania

Aug 1840

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror arrive in Tasmania, known at the time as Van Diemen’s Land.

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Location: Tasmania

HMS Erebus And HMS Terror Leave Tasmania

Nov 21, 1840

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror leave Tasmania for Antarctica.

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Location: Tasmania

HMS Erebus And HMS Terror Arrive

Jan 1841

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror land on Victoria Land near to the Ross Ice Shelf and survey it.

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Location: Antarctica

Mount Erebus

Jan 27, 1841

James Clark Ross discovers the active antarctic volcano that he names Mount Erebus after his ship. He names a companion mountain after his companion ship, so it becomes Mount Terror.

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Location: Antarctica

This Ross Ice Shelf is Discovered

Jan 28, 1841

The Ross Expedition makes first sight of the what becomes known as the Ross Ice Shelf, although Ross himself called it the Great Icy Barrier. They spend most of the rest of that year, plus 1842 surveying the ice shelf.

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Location: Antarctica

The Mcmurdo Sound is Discovered

Feb 1841

The Ross expedition discovers the McMurdo Sound, and name it after Lieutenant Archibald McMurdo, the first Lieutenant of HMS Terror. This is now home to Antarctica’s largest scientific station.

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Location: Antarctica

Antarctic Peninsula is Discovered

Sep 1842

They arrive in the Antarctic Peninsula and being surveying it after spending the Antarctic winter in the Falkland Islands.

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Location: Antarctica

HMS Erebus And HMS Terror Arrive Back in Britain

Sep 04, 1843

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror arrive back in Britain having completed their mission of confirming the existence of the Antarctic continent. This was the last major expedition to be conducted mainly under sail power.

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Location: Britain