On October 29, 1908, Sir Ernest Shackleton set out with James Adams, Eric Marshall and Frank Wild to reach the South Pole. They passed the previous furthest south record, set by Robert Scott in 1902, after 29 days, on 26 November but soon realised that defeat was looming. On January 9, the four men came to a halt, only 110 miles between them and the Pole. Weak from want of food, Shackleton hoisted the Union Jack and turned back. After an exhausting return journey, the four men arrived at Hut Point on February 28, having discovered the South Magnetic Pole, more than 500 miles of new mountains, taken the first motion pictures and introduced the first automobile in the Antarctic. Wild had kept a personal diary with sometimes venomous personal comments written in code. He even went as far as to express hatred for the Antarctic itself.

Titles as follows:

'Camp on Mt. Erebus'
'Abbot, Shaw, Dickenson - On Summit of Mt. Dmitri....
'Rough surface on Campbell Glacier'
'First camp on way to Erebus'
'Abbot, Hopper, Priestly on top of Mt. Erebus'
'Packing at top of Erebus'
'Preparing for dinner, Campbell Glacier'
'Thaw stream on Campbell Glacier'
'Moraine on Campbell Glacier - Dr. Levick in foreground'
'Priestley's bed and cubicle - Cape Adair'