In 1903, Terra Nova sailed in company with fellow ex-whaler SY Morning to assist in freeing the National Antarctic Expedition's RRS Discovery from McMurdo Sound.

On return to Great Britain, expedition leader Commander Robert Falcon Scott was promoted to the rank of captain.

On return from the Antarctic, Terra Nova was purchased by the American millionaire William Ziegler and placed under the command of a Norwegian, Captain Johan Kjeldsen.

Reinforced from bow to stern with seven feet of oak to protect against the Antarctic ice pack, she sailed from Cardiff Docks on 15 June 1910 under overall command of Captain Scott.

Reaching the South Pole on 17 January 1912, they found that Roald Amundsen's expedition (based on Fram) had beaten them by thirty-four days.

The US Coast Guard Cutters Atak, Amarok, Laurel, and Manitou, all part of the Greenland Patrol of the US Atlantic Fleet, responded.

[4] The figurehead from Terra Nova was removed in 1913 and presented to Cardiff City Council which in 1932 donated it to the National Museum of Wales.

The bell is rung every weekday at 10.30 and 16.00 when everyone working within the institute is invited to gather for coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon, as is the British tradition.