London council backs save-Discovery action
NZPA London The future of Antarctic explorer H.M.S. Discovery now seems assured as part of a collection of historic ships in the London docklands. The old wooden-hulled vessel which carried Captain Robert Falcon Scott to the southern continent at the beginning of the century has been “adopted” by the Greater London Council, which intends to launch an appeal to ensure that Discovery and other historic vessels are preserved. Purpose-built for Captain Scott’s first Antarctic expedition from 1901-1904, the Discovery has been maintained by the Ministry of Defence since the war as a floating museum on the Thames, in the heart of Lon-
There, more than 300,000 visitors a year have been able to wander through the preserved wardrooms of the old ship, but earlier this year the Defence Ministry announced it could no longer afford to keep it going, and the Discovery was up for grabs. A survey had shown extensive rotting in the hull, and repairs were estimated to cost nearly SNZI million. A Defence Ministry spokesman said that offers had poured in for the vessel — including unspecified schemes from New Zealand, where the ship docked in several ports on her way to and from the Antarctic. But now it seems certain that Britain’s new civic lottery scheme will come to its rescue. The Greater London Council leader, Mr Horace Cutler,
has announced the gift of the £4OOO (SNZ 7200) profifrom the council’s first lottery to a fund to restore the ship and a full appeal will will be launched by the the ship and a full appeal Maritime Trust later this year. A permanent home has been set aside at St Katherine’s Dock, near the Tower of London and Mr Cutler said: “I know that I speak for London when I say that it is unthinkable that this famous ship should be allowed to rot away and die.” The Maritime Trust director (Vice-Admiral Sir Patrick Bayly) agreed. “The age of the ship will not allow her to be taken outside the London river and it is inevitable that she should be berthed in this area,” he said. £
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Press, 4 May 1978, Page 8
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354London council backs save-Discovery action Press, 4 May 1978, Page 8
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