A PROMINENT Penola family has followed in the footsteps of its forebears, journeying south to a continent few locals can say they have experienced.
The Rymill family has a strong history in the region, with John Riddoch Rymill a pivotal part of the township.
A polar explorer, he spent many years in Antarctica surveying the area to the benefit of all who would follow.
Little did he know, three generations of the Rymill family, led by John’s grandson and namesake, would make the trek to Antarctica to explore the wondrous continent.
It is the second time publican John Rymill has followed in his grandfather’s footsteps since learning the true extent of his Arctic and Antarctic exploration.
Between 1934 and 1937, John headed the British Graham Land Expedition to the Antarctic to map the west coast peninsula.
Many explorers had been to the continent at this point, but the west coast was scarcely mapped.
With a team of 16 men and around 100 huskies, the expedition set off on the privately funded trip on a 25m timber sailing ship named the Penola.
After almost three years, the team returned without death or incident, making it one of the most successful trips on record.
Although it was highly successful, the trip received little coverage partly due to its positive outcome.
“I think if someone had died or something terrible had happened it would have made them famous,” John Rymill said.
“But I also think they did not really do much self-promotion after the trip.
“They returned to normal life, the war came around and they just went on with their lives.”
Mr Rymill thinks of his grandfather as someone who was driven by accuracy.
“A few years ago we wanted to make a flagship wine at Rymill Coonawarra and name it after him,” he said.
“That wine is named Surveyor, after John’s horse.
“I recall my father telling me the story of the horse and how he did not understand why John would call his horse Surveyor instead of something like Explorer.
“Dad said that John simply said he did not have much regard for explorers, ‘someone who can go to a new land and come back with a map so others can follow safely are entitled to call themselves surveyors’ he said.
“He wanted to contribute to man’s map of the world and do something with accuracy and meaning, not for the fame or the notoriety.”
Over 70 years after the expedition, John’s descendants embarked on their first trip to the continent.
Now, six years on, the family recently had another opportunity to travel to Antarctica with three generations of Rymills.
“The first time we went, not everyone was able to come with us,” Mr Rymill said.
“But this year dad, myself, my sisters and their families all traveled down.
“It was a pretty amazing experience to know four generations of Rymills have been to Antarctica and experienced its beauty.”
Mr Rymill said the trip was also different to the first as he focused on visiting all of the places he knew John Riddoch Rymill had been.
“We’re very lucky to have a reasonable amount of photographs and movie footage of the expedition,” he said.
“I have seen the photographs and thought about how amazing country is was, but seeing it in real life is something else.
“I tried to take comparison photographs of what it was like then to what it’s like now.
“When you’re there it feels like you’re observing, not intruding.
“It’s almost completely untouched by humankind, we have barely had an impact and that really shows.
“It’s truly breathtaking.”
While on the trip, the Rymill family visited locations such as Rymill Bay and Penola Strait.
“It’s amazing to see the stunning backdrops in photographs, but to now have a sense of where that location is is pretty awesome,” John Rymill said.
“It’s quite important to our family and it really gives you perspective on life and our family history.
“There were amazing local connections like Penola Strait and Rymill Bay which we did not know much about until our trip.
“John passed away before I was born, but I would have loved to have met him and learned about his leadership and how he completed such an amazing expedition.”
