Bertram Armytage, son of a wealthy squatter, a popular sportsman who rowed for Cambridge, was the first Australian - born member of an Antarctic expedition. An expert horseman, he was given charge of the ponies in Ernest Shackleton's great 1907 - 1909 expedition, narrowly escaping the jaws of killer whales. In London he was decorated by royalty, but on coming home to Australia he went to his part - time city residence, the exclusive Melbourne Club, put on his dinner suit and polar medals and, at the age of 41, shot himself. This mystery - cum - biography provides a new perspective on one of Shackleton's greatest expeditions.