Diary of Frank Hurley28–29 October 1915

of splintering timber told only too vividly the awful calamity that was overtaking the ship that had been our home for over 12 months & our only means of communication with the world We are homeless & adrift on the sea ice. Yet cheerful & hopeful as it is possible to be under the circumstances. It is our intention to sledge to Snowhill some 300 miles distant – a great undertaking with such a large (28) & inexperienced party. The pressure continued throughout the day. I had the Camie [?] trained on the ship the whole time. The foremast & jibboom [?] were snapped off by the starboard bulwark being forced under the pressure & she has the appearance of sinking at any moment. It seems impossible that the awful force of nature could so completely destroy such [indecipherable] that hardly now resembles a ship. [in margin] Temp -15 at midnight. Got up early cold & miserable with toes [indecipherable] & makes hoosh

29 Fri
Day spent in sorting out & dumping all unnecessary equipment. In the dump are observable – gold links – watches – latest cut dress suits & relics of civilised gear all entirely useless here. Went aboard the wreck this morning to rescue miscellaneous oddments. The ship is in a frightful condition crunched to fragments. She was entirely full of water & is merely held up by the ice pressure which has splintered the bulwarks almost severing the top deck. The port & starboard cabins are crushed together & all that remains of the sturdy Endurance is a squashed concertina like chaos of splintered timbers.