July 22, 2008
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ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Famed Newfoundland mariner Capt. Robert Bartlett will be honoured in 2009 with a yearlong provincewide celebration that includes arts programs and travelling exhibitions.Bartlett, who died in 1946, explored the Arctic throughout the first half of the 20th century.
Next year is the centenary of the famous 1909 Peary polar expedition in which Bartlett played "an essential role," said former Lt.-Gov. Ed Roberts, who chairs the steering committee for the celebration organized by the Historic Sites Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Bartlett captained American explorer Robert Peary's ship, the Roosevelt, and commanded the sledge party to within 240 kilometres of the North Pole.
"In an age when Arctic exploration was as novel and pioneering as space travel is today, it was a man from Newfoundland and Labrador who was leading expeditions," said Roberts.
Read the rest of the article, or visit the official Celebrating Bartlett 2009 website.
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An unabridged audio recording of The Last Voyage of the Karluk, by Capt. Robert Bartlett, narrated by Frank Holden, is available from Rattling Books.
A fictionalized Capt. Bartlett figures prominently in Michael Winter's The Big Why. The Big Why, narrated by Robert Joy, is also available from Rattling Books.
