Antarctic ship's two-year restoration project complete

Published on Thursday 2 July 2009 21:51

A TWO-YEAR restoration of the RRS Discovery ship which took Captain Scott to Antarctica in 1901 officially ended yesterday.

More than 60 guests gathered on board the RRS Discovery in Dundee, where the vessel was built, to officially celebrate the end of the conservation project, which has helped secure the future of one of the world's most important historic ships.

The guests were invited either as long-term supporters of Dundee Heritage Trust or because they were directly involved with the project.

The restoration cost 700,000 of which the Heritage Lottery Fund provided a grant of 525,000 and Dundee City Council contributed 10,000.

The balance came from Dundee Heritage Trust's own fundraising efforts.

The Trust launched the Discovery 100 Appeal in the ship's centenary year of 2001 to raise money for the conservation work.

It took six years of applying to dozens of charitable trusts and running numerous events such as the Discovery Pro-Am golf tournament and Discovery Dinners and Ice Balls to produce the funding required.