The Southern Cross Antarctic Expedition 1898-1900 is a largely forgotten chapter in Antarctic history. It departed St. Katharine's Dock, London in August 1898 amidst great public excitement and speculation, which was repeated when the ship left Hobart for Cape Adare in December. A brief flurry of interest greeted them on their return in May 1900, but the public attention was now focused on the Boer War, the Boxer rebellion and the preparations for Scott's Discovery expedition. Borchgrevink's men had reached the farthest point but Inade no major discoveries, reached no pole, made no epic journeys, found no mineral wealth or lost tribe or polar bears. Their real achievements in the painstaking scientific accumulation Of a wealth Of meteorological and magnetic data, their charts, and biological collections were not 'sexy' enough to capture the public eye. Even the scientific community through the Royal Geographical Society, was prejudiced against this upstart venture that was funded by a publishing magnate and had beaten their own attempt to establish a national expedition. Interest was rekindled in 1902, but not in the way Borchgrevink wanted. He was involved in an acrimonious debate in The Times with Professor Ray Lankester Of the Natural History Museum over the loss of Hanson's biological notebooks. But this dragged on for months without any resolution. Borchgrevink returned to Norway, a disappointed man, without the recognition he had craved. Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink was a part of Bull' s Antarctic expedition Of 1895. They landed briefly at Cape Adare, an event which was to galvanise Borchgrevink into action. He was a charismatic figure, energetic and not backward about self-promotion (he claimed to be the first to set foot on the Antarctic continent). He travelled between Australia and England, lecturing in each country and trying to get backing for his own Antarctic expedition. His endeavours were finally and unexpectedly rewarded when Sir George Newnes, a newspaper and magazine baron, agreed to fund the entire venture, perhaps recognising a kindred entrepreneurial spirit in Borchgrevink. The Southern Cross Antarctic Expedition 1898-1900 is a largely forgotten chapter in Antarctic history. It departed St. Katharine's Dock, London in August 1898 amidst great public excitement and speculation, which was repeated when the ship left Hobart for Cape Adare in December. A brief flurry of interest greeted them on their return in May 1900, but the public attention was now focused on the Boer War, the Boxer rebellion and the preparations for Scott's Discovery expedition. Borchgrevink's men had reached the farthest point but Inade no major discoveries, reached no pole, made no epic journeys, found no mineral wealth or lost tribe or polar bears. Their real achievements in the painstaking scientific accumulation Of a wealth Of meteorological and magnetic data, their charts, and biological collections were not 'sexy' enough to capture the public eye. Even the scientific community through the Royal Geographical Society, was prejudiced against this upstart venture that was funded by a publishing magnate and had beaten their own attempt to establish a national expedition. Interest was rekindled in 1902, but not in the way Borchgrevink wanted. He was involved in an acrimonious debate in The Times with Professor Ray Lankester Of the Natural History Museum over the loss of Hanson's biological notebooks. But this dragged on for months without any resolution. Borchgrevink returned to Norway, a disappointed man, without the recognition he had craved. Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink was a part of Bull' s Antarctic expedition Of 1895. They landed briefly at Cape Adare, an event which was to galvanise Borchgrevink into action. He was a charismatic figure, energetic and not backward about self-promotion (he claimed to be the first to set foot on the Antarctic continent). He travelled between Australia and England, lecturing in each country and trying to get backing for his own Antarctic expedition. His endeavours were finally and unexpectedly rewarded when Sir George Newnes, a newspaper and magazine baron, agreed to fund the entire venture, perhaps recognising a kindred entrepreneurial spirit in Borchgrevink.