Statue of Robert Falcon Scott, Christchurch

See that statue of Robert Falcon Scott over there, the one in the small park at the corner of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace? It’s a 2.6-meter tall carving of Captain Scott in a polar dress, holding a bronze alpenstock in his right hand. He’s facing north toward the Old Municipal Chambers building. The statue itself weighs about 2.5 tonnes and is made of white marble.

This statue was unveiled back in 1917, commemorating the British Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott. He likely died on March 29, 1912, during his Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole. When news of his death became public on February 10, 1913, locals here in Christchurch organized a committee within a week to create a memorial for him.

Scott's widow, Kathleen Scott, was commissioned to carve the statue. She traveled to a marble quarry in Carrara, Italy, to do the work in March 1916. Her finished sculpture was shipped to New Zealand later that year and unveiled here on February 9, 1917.

You might notice the plinth it's on; it’s made of several granite pieces mortared together, on a concrete foundation. This statue is one of the few monuments that recognize early 20th-century Antarctic exploration.

Christchurch had a strong connection to Scott and his expeditions. Both his Discovery Expedition from 1901 to 1904 and the Terra Nova Expedition from 1910 to 1913 used Christchurch and Lyttelton as their New Zealand base. The Terra Nova arrived in Lyttelton Harbour on October 28, 1910, and the explorers were welcomed by locals. They even conducted research at the Canterbury Museum and tested equipment in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. Locals also helped supply their expeditions.

On November 28, 1910, people gathered to bid farewell to the explorers before they headed to Port Chalmers for their final stop before Antarctica. Scott and his four companions reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912, only to find that a Norwegian team had arrived 34 days earlier.

He likely died on March 29, 1912. A search party found his body, along with those of Bowers and Wilson, in a tent on November 12. Tryggve Gran from the search party placed a memorial cross at the site. The Terra Nova returned to New Zealand, arriving in Oamaru on February 10, 1913. When the ship reached Lyttelton on February 12, the city was in mourning, with flags flying at half-mast.

This statue actually toppled off its plinth and broke in two during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. It was temporarily displayed in an exhibition at the Canterbury Museum and then reinstated here in its original spot on October 26, 2017. It was unveiled a second time by Scott's descendants and the former Mayor of Christchurch, Lianne Dalziel. Heritage New Zealand recognizes this as a Category II historic place.