A glacier in the Antarctic will forever carry the name of a little-known expeditioner from Dundee.
The James Forbes glacier 11,000 miles from Dundee is one of six in Australian Antarctic Territory officially named after historically significant figures and groups.
James Forbes took part in four Antarctic voyages from 1892 to 1927, including the first voyage of the British, Australian and New Zealand (Banzare) venture.
Born in Dundee in 1871, he first went south as a sailmaker on board the Polar Star during the Dundee whaling expedition.
Later, as part of Sir Douglas Mawson’s Australasian Antarctic expedition (AAE), he was on board the Aurora for the first two Antarctic voyages and two sub-Antarctic cruises.
The ship’s wages book reveals he signed on for the expedition at a monthly wage of £7.
In 1925, after five years ashore, he took part in the Discovery cruise, which made a study of whales.
The other glaciers are Williams, Jeffreys, AAE, Anzac and Banzare, names recommended by the Australian Antarctic names and medals committee.
Chairman Dr Joe Johnson said, “These glaciers are all situated in the area explored by Sir Douglas Mawson during his Australasian Antarctic expedition of 1911 to 14.
“The names chosen reflect the contributions to Antarctic exploration in the first part of the 20th century, and especially some members of that first Australasian expedition, whose contributions have not yet been recognised.”
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user Devil.Bunny.