York Castle Museum

Star Object

Shackleton's cocoa

This Rowntree’s cocoa tin was taken to the Antarctic by explorer Ernest Shackleton in 1909.

It is one of the stars of a new BBC series looking at the history of the world through museum objects.

The York-made cocoa was one of the unused goods brought back by Shackleton after his failed attempt to reach the South Pole in 1908-9. As leader of the Nimrod expedition, he and three colleagues got to within 97 geographical miles of the South Pole before having to turn back.

Shackleton’s most famous expedition was in 1914 -16, when he led his team of men through a harrowing ordeal after their ship sank, keeping morale high with his optimism, and ensuring no lives were lost.

The cocoa tin was donated to the museum by a woman from Sydenham. Her family had known Shackleton’s family and were given the tin by one of his sisters. It bears a handwritten label which reads “This tin of cocoa is one of the unused stores brought back by Sir Ernest Shackleton’s expedition from the Antarctic.”

The tin, which is on display in the museum near to the historic hearths and kitchens, has been chosen as one of the top museum objects from the North Yorkshire region as part of the BBC's History of the World project. It will feature in a weekly spot on BBC Radio York at 11am on 14 March 2010.

Click here to see the cocoa tin on the BBC's History of the World website.