Nobu Shirase

There aren’t many people who know that the famed Race to the South Pole actually had a third contender. At the same time that Amundsen and Scott were busy huffing and puffing their way south, a little-known Japanese expedition, led by polar-enthusiast Nobu Shirase, was quietly making achievements of its own accord.

On his first attempt, Shirase didn’t make much headway and was forced to spend a winter in Sydney in 1911 whilst preparing for a second attempt. It was here that he became friends with a fellow Australian Antarctic explorer, Sir Edgeworth David.

Just before setting off to Antarctica for the second time (too late to beat either Scott or Amundsen by then) Shirase gifted Sir David a ceremonial Samurai sword, which is now on display at the Australian Museum in Sydney.

Curiously enough, Shirase had, much like Amundsen, set his sights on being the first man to reach the North Pole, but had also turned around once news reached him that the Americans had already bagged that trophy.