The first documented European to visit Melville Island was the British explorer, Sir William Parry, in 1819. He was forced to spend the winter at what is now called "Winter Harbour," until 1 August 1820, owing to freeze-up of the sea.
William Edward Parry first North-West Passage expedition 1819–1820.
William Edward Parry was a key figure in the discovery of the North-West Passage. On his first voyage he discovered a route through Lancaster Sound.
Parry's first voyage in 1819 was one of the most important in the exploration of the Passage - the seaway across the Arctic, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On board the Hecla, with second-in-command Matthew Liddon on the Griper, Parry established that a westward route existed through Lancaster Sound – the very route that his predecessor, John Ross, had said was blocked. Parry also began to map the numerous islands through which the North-West Passage would have to be navigated.
Reaching Lancaster Sound, Parry discovered and named Prince Regent Inlet but it was blocked by ice. Moving on, the Hecla and Griper sailed on through Barrow Strait to Melville Island. In doing so the expedition earned a £5000 prize offered by Parliament for any voyage that crossed a longitude of 110° W. However, it would be some time before their reward could be collected.
Winter on Melville Island
The sea froze and Parry’s crew wintered on the south coast of Melville Island in the appropriately named ‘Winter Harbour’, where they stayed for 10 months. Parry was a great commander and kept his crew busy by putting on plays and starting a newspaper, the North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle. During this time, he also led an expedition on foot across the island, naming the bay he found on the north side after the expedition’s two ships, Hecla Bay and Griper Bay. Parry demonstrated that, with enough provisions, a ship and crew could winter successfully above the Arctic Circle.
When the ice finally broke up, Parry attempted to push further westward towards Banks Island, but progress was painfully slow. Rather than risk another winter in the ice he returned to England.
Parry's first voyage in 1819 was one of the most important in the exploration of the Passage - the seaway across the Arctic, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On board the Hecla, with second-in-command Matthew Liddon on the Griper, Parry established that a westward route existed through Lancaster Sound – the very route that his predecessor, John Ross, had said was blocked. Parry also began to map the numerous islands through which the North-West Passage would have to be navigated.
Reaching Lancaster Sound, Parry discovered and named Prince Regent Inlet but it was blocked by ice. Moving on, the Hecla and Griper sailed on through Barrow Strait to Melville Island. In doing so the expedition earned a £5000 prize offered by Parliament for any voyage that crossed a longitude of 110° W. However, it would be some time before their reward could be collected.
Winter on Melville Island
The sea froze and Parry’s crew wintered on the south coast of Melville Island in the appropriately named ‘Winter Harbour’, where they stayed for 10 months. Parry was a great commander and kept his crew busy by putting on plays and starting a newspaper, the North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle. During this time, he also led an expedition on foot across the island, naming the bay he found on the north side after the expedition’s two ships, Hecla Bay and Griper Bay. Parry demonstrated that, with enough provisions, a ship and crew could winter successfully above the Arctic Circle.
When the ice finally broke up, Parry attempted to push further westward towards Banks Island, but progress was painfully slow. Rather than risk another winter in the ice he returned to England.
Find out more about:
William Edward Parry’s other voyages to find the North-West Passage
John Ross's first North-West Passage expedition
The search for the North-West Passage
Searching for the Northwest Passage
Why did it take so long to find this sought-after trade route?
For over 400 years explorers risked their lives to search the Arctic for a northwest Passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.
Explorers searching for the Passage were hoping to establish a lucrative trading route between Europe and Asia. The aim was to shorten the time and cost of sailing to and from markets such as India and China.
Trapped by ice
By the 19th century, explorers had found their way into the Canadian Archipelago, the island-strewn waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific.
The greatest challenge was sea-ice, which blocked the channels between the islands during winter and remained frozen in bad summers. It could damage or crush ships. Explorers could die of starvation if their ships were stuck in ice for several years.
Scurvy, consumption and cannibalism were just some of the risks of going in search of a northwest Passage.
Nevertheless, the quest successfully to navigate the Northwest Passage attracted a number of explorers. The tales of these men are of hardship and tragedy but also triumph, endurance, and ultimately success, after four centuries of exploration.
Notable expeditions
Martin Frobisher was the first Englishman to go in search of the Northwest Passage in 1576. Five of his men were kidnapped on the voyage and were never seen again.
Captain James Cook's final exploratory expedition was in search of the Northwest Passage. It was to be his last-ever voyage as he was killed in Hawaii before returning home.
On John Franklin’s first expedition to search for the passage (1819–22), one of his men was accused of cannibalism as they travelled overland to look for supplies. His third and final attempt would claim the lives of all 129 crewmen.
Robert McClure is credited as being the first explorer to discover and navigate the Northwest Passage by sea and ice, after surviving four perilous winters in the Arctic. 1850-1854.
Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first person successfully to navigate the Northwest Passage by small boat in 1905.
The explorers’ legacy
Until recently the discoveries of the Northwest Passage explorers seemed of no commercial value and heroes of Antarctica, like Scott and Shackleton, overshadowed their reputations. While the search for the passage was celebrated at the time of the expeditions, the fame of many voyagers has since faded.
Today, global warming means the Northwest Passage is now sufficiently ice-free for ships to pass through. Although the route still remains hazardous, owing to shifting ice, it is accessible to commercial shipping, shaving hundreds of miles off sailing routes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The fact that the route is still perilous today puts into perspective just how heroic the original Northwest Passage explorers were.
Read through 400 years of searches
Martin Frobisher (1576-78) - the first to go in search of a Northwest Passage
John Davis (1585-87) - this explorer also invented the Davis quadrant that helped sailors find their latitude
Henry Hudson (1610-11) - third British explorer caused a mutiny and was cut adrift never to be seen again!
Thomas Button (1612-13)
William Baffin (1615-16)
Jens Munk (1619-20) - another horrific expedition, only 3 crewmen survived
Luke Foxe (1631)
Thomas James (1631-32)
James Knight (1715-19) - the first attempt in 80 years also ended in disaster
Christopher Middleton (1741-42) - this expedition led to a bitter dispute
William Moor (1741-42)
Samuel Hearne (1770-72) - this overland expedition was of major importance to the search
James Cook (1776-78) one of most celebrated British navigators came out of retirement for the search, but he would not see England again
John Ross (1818) - this abandoned journey caused much controversy
William Edward Parry (1819-20) - a key figure in the discovery of the north west passage
William Edward Parry (1821-25)
John Ross (1829-33) - his second attempt saw him spend four winters in the Arctic
John Franklin (1845) - the infamous expedition that ended in disaster for entire crew
Robert McClure (1850-54) - the first to discover and navigate the Northwest passage although mostly over ice walking rather than by a boat floating in water
Roald Amundsen (1903-06) - at last, by boat!
To everybody,
i'm very happy to tell you we did it...
2 days ago we anchored and walked in Winter Harbour / Melville island (
Parry 1819/ Mc Clintock 1852) and yesterday we traversed Prince of Wales strait
.
It is possible that we are the first sailing yacht in Winter harbour and
to pass trough Prince of Wales strait ; certainly we are the first italians
here ....
This is a wonderful end to our arctic program and to 5 previous summers
in the arctic in which we explored extensivly
Now we are happy to try pass in the Pacific and go South ..again
Also if my heart remain here
and.... maybe we will come back again....
cristina
clive
marco
luca
daria
riccardo
augusto
michela
eggy
stuart
henk
Parry's Rock
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
Parry’s Rock is a large sandstone rock, approximately 5.5 metres long and 3 metres high, located at Winter Harbour, Melville Island, N.W.T. (latitude 74°46’00” N, longitude 110°38’00” W). The top of the rock is 52 feet above sea level. The rock contains a number of carvings and a plaque mounted in 1909.
HERITAGE VALUE
Parry’s Rock Wintering Site National Historic Site of Canada was designated in 1930 because:
-it records an early and important attempt to discover the Northwest Passage by the expedition under William Edward Parry in 1819-20.
Parry’s 1819 expedition arrived in the area in mid-September and spent the winter in Winter Harbour. Before leaving the area, the ship’s surgeon, J. Fisher, inscribed the names of the two vessels, Hecla and Griper, and their captains on the large sandstone rock located on the beach. Parry continued on, sailing farther west, but was stopped by ice near Cape Dundas. Had he been able to sail on through the McClure Strait he would have entered the Beaufort Sea and been able to pass through the Bering Strait to the Pacific. Parry’s expedition had demonstrated that Lancaster Sound opened a passage towards the west that later explorations would show was the Northwest Passage.
Geological Survey of Canada
Canadian Landscapes Photo Collection
Northwest Territories
Melville Island, Western Queen Elizabeth Islands
Melville Island, Western Queen Elizabeth Islands
Parry's Rock, Winter Harbour, Melville Island, Northwest Territories.
This 4-metre high block of sandstone (Hecla Bay Formation) is a glacial erratic brought by the ice shelf that pushed up onto Melville Island about 10 000 years ago. The block is named Parry's Rock because it is inscribed by Lieutenant W.E. Parry who led the first recorded voyage (1819) into the Arctic Islands. It also bears a plaque unveiled by Captain J.E. Bernier, by which Canada took possession of the Arctic Archipelago in 1909.
Latitude: 74.669
Longitude: -110.749
Physiographic Region: Arctic Lowlands (Lowlands)
Photographer: Unknown
Longitude: -110.749
Physiographic Region: Arctic Lowlands (Lowlands)
Photographer: Unknown
