Roald Amundsen and Martin Richard Rønne first met in summer 1909 when Rønne was working as a sailmaker at the Karljohansvern naval shipyard in Horten. Amundsen came to town to test his man-lifting kites and Rønne contributed by sewing equipment for the kites and as a test pilot. It wasn’t long after this first meeting that Rønne became part of the crew of the Fram expedition, and with his sewing machine assumed responsibility for repairing and improving the tents, dog harnesses, trousers, anoraks and other equipment.
Amundsen watches Rønne work with his sewing machine on the deck of Fram during the voyage to Antarctica in 1910. Photo: Norwegian Polar Institute / National Library of Norway.
Among the things sewn by Rønne was the small three-man tent that Amundsen and the polar party left at the South Pole and was found by Scott and his expedition in January 1912.
After the Fram expedition Rønne continued his sailmaking work in Horten, and when Amundsen was ready in 1918 for the Maud expedition, Rønne again became part of the crew. During the expedition, Rønne continued to impress with his handiwork. He sewed ski boots, leatherwear, sleeping bags and tents, and together with Knut Sundbeck crafted the table Amundsen that described as
“the finest work that was made on a polar expedition. It is modelled after the pattern of small octagonal Algerian smoking tables with mother of pearl inlay. This table, however, is significantly more valuable in that the inlays are of mammoth, and a gramophone is placed in the interior. It is simply art.” The table is today in the living room of Amundsen’s home Uranienborg.
The table that Rønne and Sundbeck made on the Maud expedition to house the gramophone is still in the living room of Amundsen’s home. Photo: Follo Museum, MiA.
The table also had a smoking set made to sit on top of it. Photo: Follo Museum, MiA.
After two years on board, Rønne wanted to return home to Norway in 1920 when the Maud arrived in Nome, Alaska. Rønne explained later to the press that the reason lay in his struggle with rheumatism, but this didn’t stop Rønne from sewing. In 1921, the newspapers could present Rønne’s design for some special collapsible outdoor equipment, specifically a rucksack that could also be used as a sleeping bag, tent or hammock. (Click on the image to read Aftenposten’s item about Rønne’s new rucksack)
Source: Aftenposten 15.11.1921.
A year later, in 1925, when Amundsen wanted to fly to the North Pole from Svalbard with flying boats N 24 and N 25, he involved Rønne again. Before departure, Rønne constructed a boat made of canvas that could be folded and thus fit on board the aircraft. In Ny-Ålesund, he helped sew equipment and clothes.
Rønne with the collapsible boat made for the expedition in 1925. Source: Aftenposten 17.6.1924.
The following year both he and Amundsen were back in Ny-Ålesund, this time in connection with the Norge expedition, and with Rønne again assisting with the equipment. Rønne met the American Richard Byrd there, and two years later was part of the Byrd expedition to Antarctica, 1928-30. Byrd later wrote of Rønne: “He is probably the greatest craftsman in polar clothing to be found anywhere.” (Little America: Aerial Exploration in the Antarctic, The Flight to the South, 1930).
Martin Rønne was also involved in the planning of Byrd’s next expedition to Antarctica, during the years 1933-35, but his involvement ended abruptly when he died of heart failure during a visit to Bergen on 15 May 1932. Martin Rønne’s son Finn took his father’s place on Byrd’s expedition and eventually built his own career in the ice.
One of the Netsilik Inuit Amundsen met during the expedition through the Northwest Passage, 1903-06. A tinted photograph of him hangs in Amundsen’s home.
The girls Nita and Camilla Carpendale went to Norway and Svartskog together with Amundsen in 1922 where they lived until 1924. The girls called Amundsen “Grandpa”.
Betty was one of the key women in Amundsen’s life. She was the nanny when he grew up, and when Amundsen moved to Svartskog, she joined him and moved into the gatehouse, which became “Betty’s house”.
Eivind Astrup became one of the world’s most experienced polar explorers of his time and a great role model for Roald Amundsen. He chose to end his life when only 24 years old.
Roald Amundsen had strong feelings for Kristine Elisabeth “Kiss” Bennett. She visited Uranienborg several times, but even though Amundsen transferred ownership of it to her, she never moved in.
The girls Nita and Camilla Carpendale went to Norway and Svartskog with Amundsen in 1922 and lived there until 1924. The girls called Amundsen “Grandpa”.
Sigrid Flood Castberg, often called “Sigg”, was one of the women Amundsen had a relationship with. But when Amundsen proposed, she was already married and wanted to wait, and when she was ready he wanted…
Håkon Hammer met Roald Amundsen in Seattle in 1921. He quickly became a collaborator and supporter, but was later named by Amundsen as one of the reasons for his personal bankruptcy.
Participated in the Maud expedition, but left the expedition in 1919, together with Peter Tessem. Both perished. What really happened to them is still unknown.
The Alaska Inupiaq called Elizabeth Magids “Queen of the Arctic”, Amundsen’s crew referred to her as “the mysterious lady”. Amundsen called her “Bess”. She went to live with Amundsen in Norway in 1928….
Participated as a research assistant on the Maud expedition, and as a meteorologist on the Norge expedition. Died on Umberto Nobile’s airship expedition in 1928.
One of the Netsilik Inuit Amundsen met during the expedition through the Northwest Passage 1903-06. A coloured picture of him decorates a window in Amundsen’s home.
Nobile was the airship engineer whom Amundsen criticized after the expedition in 1926. During the search for his wrecked expedition in 1928, Roald Amundsen disappeared.
Joined the Maud expedition after visiting the ship in Khabarovsk. Also participated in the Norge expedition, but was left out from the actual voyage across the Arctic Ocean.
One of the Netsilik Inuit Amundsen met during the expedition through the Northwest Passage 1903-06. A coloured picture of her hangs in Amundsen’s home.
One of the Netsilik Inuit Amundsen met during the expedition through the Northwest Passage 1903-06. A coloured picture of him decorates a door in Amundsen’s home.