Louis Bernacchi Louis Charles Bernacchi ( 8 November 1876 – 24 April 1942 ) , a physicist and astronomer , is best known for his role in several expeditions to the Antarctic . Early life . Bernacchi was born in Belgium to Italian parents , who migrated to Tasmania in 1884 . His father , Angelo Bernacchi , established a vineyard on Maria Island in 1884 . He was educated in Hobart , Tasmania , at the Hutchins School . He trained in astronomy at the Melbourne Observatory in the use of sextants and magnetic instruments . During this period he developed an interest in Antarctic exploration , expressed in letters to the press and by following the proceeding of Antarctic Exploration Committees . Polar exploration . He joined Carstens Borchgrevink ' s Southern Cross expedition ( 1898 – 1900 ) which wintered at Cape Adare , Antarctica , joining the expedition in New Zealand after the previous physicist candidate had been rejected on medical grounds . The expedition was the first to spend the winter on the Antarctic continent ( the Belgian Antarctic Expedition having been first to overwinter in 1898 ) and the first to sledge towards the South Pole . He wrote a book about the expedition " To the south polar regions : expedition of 1898 - 1900 " published in 1900 . His granddaughter Janet Crawford has edited a version of his diaries from the expedition under the title " The First Antarctic Winter : The story of the Southern Cross Expedition of 1898 - 1900 " . He was again a physicist on the Discovery expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott ( 1901 – 1904 ) . Bernacchi was the only man on this expedition who had previously been to the Antarctic . During the trip , he made extensive magnetic observations . Following the trip , Bernacchi was awarded the Royal Geographical Society and King ' s Antarctic Medal as well as the Légion d ' honneur . Scott was the best man at Bernacchi ' s marriage in 1906 in England and invited him to participate in his ill - fated second expedition but Bernacchi declined due to family commitments . Subsequent career . Following two short expeditions to Africa and the upper Amazon Basin in Peru , Bernacchi made two unsuccessful attempts to run for the House of Commons as a Liberal Party candidate , standing in Widnes in 1910 . He also invested in rubber plantations in Malaya , Java and Borneo . During World War I , he served subsequently in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , the Admiralty and the United States Navy . In 1919 , he received both an Order of the British Empire and the United States Navy Cross . Following the war , he returned to his interests in rubber . He remained active in scientific organisations , most notably the Royal Geographical Society , serving as a council member between 1928 and 1932 . Bernacchi planned his own expedition to the Antarctic in 1925 , but failed to raise sufficient funds . In 1930 , he organised the British Polar Expedition and helped to organise the Second International Polar Year in 1932 . Bernacchi wrote a number of books on the Antarctic including a biography of Lawrence Oates called " A Very Gallant Gentleman " published in 1933 and " Saga of the Discovery " in 1938 . In World War II , he returned to the Royal Naval Reserve Volunteers before his death in 1942 . Commemoration . Two landmarks in Antarctica are named after him : Bernacchi Head , on Franklin Island and Bernacchi Bay , on the coast of Victoria Land . In 2001 , Australia Post issued a postal stamp in honour of the 100th anniversary of Australia ' s involvement in Antarctic exploration . The Premier of Tasmania , Jim Bacon , unveiled sculptures of Bernacchi and fellow explorers at Sullivans Cove .