Objects of Rutherford's Life
Boats
Ernest Rutherford traveled the world, due to his job changes, then to participate in various scientific conferences. Obviously, in his time, the preferred means of locomotion for long distances was the boat.
Here is a little glimpse of those journeys, long pauses of inactivity in his always hectic researcher's life.
Image: NZS Co.'s "Aorangi" - in dock at Lyttleton [sic], New Zealand, by Burton Brothers studio. Te Papa (C.010547). Source: Museum of New-Zealand / Te Papa Tongarewa
Map: Edward Stanford, 1900. Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
1895 : Ernest travels between New Zealand and England to go to Cambridge , with JJ Thomson .
He made a stopover in Adelaide, Australia, and visited his colleague William Henry Bragg .
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Journey aboard the SS Wakatipu, between Wellington and Sydney
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Then junction by train between Sydney and Melbourne.
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Then travel aboard the SS Himalaya, which stops in Adelaide before heading for Europe.
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There are stopovers in Colombo (Ceylon), Aden (southern Arabia, also called "protectorate of Aden"), Brindisi (Italy), Plymouth and finally Gravesend (east of London).
Ernest left Wellington on August 1, 1895 and arrived in Plymouth on September 20, 1895.
His journey lasted 60 days, he celebrated his 24th birthday in Ceylon and travelled in the opposite direction to the journey his four-year-old father and grandparents had made 53 years earlier.
It is possible to zoom in and move around the following world map.
1897 : May Newton's voyage from New Zealand to England: liner Aorangi (Mount Cook)
1898 : Ernest's journey between Liverpool and Quebec aboard the SS Yorkshire.
Duration: two weeks (from September 8 to 20).
Ernest shares the cabin on this occasion with Ernest McBride, professor of zoology, also newly appointed to McGill University in Montreal. They will become roommates in housing on McGill College Street.
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1900 : Ernest's journey between San-Francisco and Auckland (via Apia, in German Samoa) aboard the RMS Moana.
(RMS = Royal Mail Ship).
Duration: from April 17 to May 8.
This trip is for the wedding of May and Ernest, after five years of engagement (and estrangement).
1900: continuation of the journey, between Auckland and New-Plymouth, which allowed Ernest to join his parents in Pungarehu. Journey aboard the SS Takapuna
Pictures:
Auckland Port Arrivals List for 8 May 1900, excerpt from the Auckland Star, 8 May 1900, Page 4. Source: Papers Past
RMS Moana. Source: Transpress NZ
1900 : Return of Ernest and May to Montreal.
Departure from Auckland aboard the SS Mariposa on August 6, arrival in San-Francisco on August 27.
The North American continent is crossed by train and the arrival in Montreal takes place on September 2 or 3.
1903 : trip between Quebec and Liverpool aboard the SS Lake Simcoe.
Ernest traveled with May and Eileen.
He crossed the Atlantic to present his theory on the decay of radioactive material, notably at the annual meeting of the British Association which was held in Southport that year.
The crossing lasts a little less than a week.
Pictures:
List of passengers on the SS Lake Simcoe published in the Quebec Chronicle of April 25, 1903, page 3. Source: BAnQ
SS Lake Simcoe - Source: Norway Heritage
1907 : same journey between Quebec and Liverpool.
Ernest May and Eileen definitely cross the Atlantic: Ernest is appointed to Manchester ; the Montreal period of the Rutherford family is over.
1909 : Ernest traverse une fois de plus l'Atlantique : il fait partie de la délégation britannique qui part assister au colloque annuelle de la British Association qui, cette année-là, se tient dans la ville canadienne de Winnipeg. À cette occasion, Rutherford préside la section A de l'association, c'est-à-dire, la section des physiciens et des mathématiciens.
1914 : cette année-là, la British Association a décidé de tenir son colloque annuel en Australasie, c'est-à-dire en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande. 5000 personnes doivent participer, parmi lesquelles 300 visiteurs étrangers : des américains, des anglais, des canadiens, des allemands....
Le 1er juillet, Ernest embarque avec son épouse et sa fille, May et Eileen, sur un paquebot moderne (puisqu'il a été lancé au mois de janvier de la même année) : l'Euripides.
Le débarquement en Australie se fait à Adélaïde, aux premières heures du 7 août 1914... soit trois jours après la déclaration de guerre de la Grande-Bretagne à l'Allemagne.
Très logiquement, la première réunion des responsables de l'association et des représentants locaux a pour objet de décider si le colloque de la BAAS doit se tenir ou non. Il est décidé de ne rien changer au programme prévu sur le sol australien.
En revanche, les réunions programmées en Nouvelle-Zélande sont annulées et le retour des congressistes est fortement modifié : l'Euripides, comme nombre d'autres navires est réquisitionné pour transporter des contingents des antipodes vers l'Europe.
Images :
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S.S. Euripides- Source : British Armed Forces
To be continued....
Image Jean-Paul Jandrain /Pixabay