James "Scotty" Paton (1869–1917) was a Scottish seaman who sailed to the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

in several major expeditions between 1902 and 1917. His first venture was from 1902 to 1904 as a crewman of William Colbeck's . This expedition consisted of two voyages and was sent as a relief ship for

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

's ''Discovery'' expedition. During the first voyage the ship was briefly stalled in the ice between

Cape Bird Cape Bird () is a cape which marks the north extremity of Ross Island in Antarctica. It was discovered in 1841 by a British expedition under James Clark Ross, and named by him after Lieutenant Edward J. Bird of the ship HMS ''Erebus''. Cape Bird ...

and

Beaufort Island Beaufort Island is an island in Antarctica's Ross Sea. It is the northernmost feature of the Ross Archipelago,

. Paton took the opportunity to leave ship and jump floes a distance of one mile to 'land' of Beaufort Island, the first man to do so. This accomplishment was received with a reprimand. In 1907–1909, he was a crew member of

Sir Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of An ...

's ''Nimrod'' expedition during each of ''Nimrod's'' two southern voyages. From 1910 to 1913, he was a seaman aboard Captain Scott's ''Terra Nova'' during her two voyages between

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Cape Evans Cape Evans is a rocky cape on the west side of Ross Island, Antarctica, forming the north side of the entrance to Erebus Bay. History The cape was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, under Robert Falcon Scott, wh ...

, in support of Scott's ill-fated expedition. In 1914 he joined the

Ross Sea party The Ross Sea party was a component of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914–1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Its task was to lay a series of supply depots across the Great Ice Barrier from the Ross Sea to the Beardmore Glacier, along the polar ...

section of Shackleton's

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing ...

boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervi ...

on . He was aboard ship on 7 May 1915 when ''Aurora'' was torn from her Cape Evans moorings, drifting in the pack for nine months before limping back to New Zealand. Paton's last Antarctic voyage was with ''Aurora'' on the mission to relieve the stranded Ross Sea party in January 1917. After ''Aurora''s return to New Zealand she was sold, and became a coal carrier. Paton signed on as her boatswain, and was aboard when she left

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

, in June 1917, bound for South America. Her fate is uncertain, but in late 1917 or early 1918 she was lost, and Paton was lost with her. An inquiry established that the German raider ''Wolf'' was laying mines in

Cook Strait Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A H, ...

and in the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

in June and July 1917 and concluded that the ''Aurora'' likely ran afoul a mine.Tyler-Lewis 2006 Paton's Antarctic voyages are commemorated by Paton Peak on

Beaufort Island Beaufort Island is an island in Antarctica's Ross Sea. It is the northernmost feature of the Ross Archipelago,

in the

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who vi ...

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Rosove, Michael H.: ''Let heroes speak: Antarctic explorers, 1772-1922'' Berkley Publishing Group, New York 2002 * Tyler-Lewis, Kelly: ''The Lost Men'' Bloomsbury Publishing, London 2006 * Riffenburgh, Beau: ''Nimrod'' Bloomsbury Publications, London 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, James 1869 births 1917 deaths Explorers of Antarctica Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Scottish explorers Terra Nova expedition