Louis Charles Bernacchi - Biographical notes

Louis Bernacchi on the Southern Cross Expedition picture courtesy - Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts, State Library of Tasmania.

Louis Bernacchi was born in 1876 in Tasmania where he was also educated, later joining the Melbourne Observatory as a student for two years where he gained the specialist knowledge in magnetism that led to his being appointed as magnetic and meteorological observer to Borchgrevink's Southern Cross expedition in 1898.

He was a very late recruit to the Discovery expedition, being appointed as physicist only after the original candidate had been rejected on medical grounds. He did not join the expedition until the Discovery had reached New Zealand.

At the time of the Discovery Expedition, Bernacchi was the only man on the ship who had previously been to Antarctica.

His physical and magnetic observations made during the Discovery Expedition were published by the
Royal Society in 1908 and 1909 along with the other scientific results. He travelled widely on his return from Antarctica writing scientific papers in the Geographical Journal amongst other publications.

In the First World War, he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.

He was planning to lead Antarctic expedition in 1925, though it didn't happen. In 1930 he organised the British Polar Exhibition, he was involved in organizing the Second International Polar Year from 1931-32.

He published a life of (Captain) L.E.G. Oates in 1933 called "A Very Gallant" Gentleman. Another book, the Saga of the Discovery came out in 1938. He returned to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. at the outbreak of the Second World War, but he was in poor health and died in London on 24 April 1942.

Landmarks named after Louis Bernacchi

Feature Name: Bernacchi Bay
Type: bay
Latitude: 77°28´S
Longitude: 163°27´E
Description: Bay about 3 mi wide between Marble Point and Cape Bernacchi, on the coast of Victoria Land. Named after Cape Bernacchi by the British Antarctic Expedition under Scott, 1910-13.

Trematomus bernachii, the Emerald rockcod, a species of fish first caught on the Southern Cross Expedition and named in honour of Louis Bernacchi, it is found in seas all around Antarctica from 0-700m depths.