The exploration of Antarctica in this period is known for the journeys of Amundsen, Scott, Mawson and Shackleton. These journeys make up the core of what historians still call ‘the Heroic Age’ of Antarctic exploration. These and the other early twentieth-century expeditions were notable for the fact that the parties that undertook them were largely composed of scientists, artists, photographers and naval officers. Yet the closer they are examined from the point of view of the total process of Antarctic exploration, the less they can be seen as free-standing middle-class achievements. Most of the iconic journeys were based on preliminary work where working-class labour constituted the backbone. In addition there were many lesser known journeys undertaken in this period, where working-class labour played a specific and foundational role. An aspect of Antarctic exploration in this period is that work was at times necessarily undertaken as a cooperative activity between ‘officers’ and ‘men’. This was extremely unusual in the class-divided societies from which these expeditions emanated, but it did not mean that class boundaries became more porous on Antarctic expeditions. The imposition and enforcement of a fairly rigid division of expedition labour between workers and masters was a crucial part of the production process of Antarctic discovery.

The journeys of the ‘Heroic Era’ began and ended with the sea journeys to and from the ice.