Voyage of the Scotia 1902-04

William Speirs Bruce, 1867-1921

Track of Balaena 1892-93

The wooden whaling barque Balaena was, by quite a considerable margin, the largest of the four ships on the Dundee Antarctic Expedition of 1892-93. The three smaller ships were Active, Diana, and Pole Star.

Balaena had been built in 1872 as Mjolnar at Drammen in Norway, and had a registered tonnage of 260, gross tonnage of 417, length of 141 feet, beam of 31 feet, and draught of 16 and a half feet, with an auxiliary steam engine of 65 horse-power.

Her sides were 32 inches thick, and supported by massive beams to withstand the crushing force of ice. It was on this ship that William S Bruce and his assistant William G Burn-Murdoch were accommodated during the expedition.