midnight on January
21
But she would be brave -- I know that quite well -- and I saw plainly that , if I had to get through the stiff job that was before me , I must put my shadowy fears away and think only of the dangers I was sure about . The first of these was that she might suppose our ship was lost , so as soon as we had set up on old Erebus the wooden lattice towers which contained our long-distance electric apparatus , I tried to send her that first message from the Antarctic which was to say we had not been shipwrecked . It was a thrilling moment . Exactly at the stroke of midnight on January 21 , while the midnight sun was shining with its dull sullen glow , the whole of our company having gathered round , the wireless man prepared to despatch my message . As we were not sure of our machinery I had drawn up the words to suit any place into which they might fall if they missed their intended destination : `` South Pole Expedition safe . All well . Send greetings to dear ones at home . ''