The search for Sir John Franklin, one time Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, has fascinated people for many years. Franklin, along with his crew and two ships, was lost while searching for the Northwest Passage.

These newspaper clippings show just how captivated people were by the mystery. They include reports of a possible sighting of Franklin’s expedition, as well as a clairvoyant’s vision of Franklin and his ship trapped in the Arctic ice. More than 160 years later, it was Inuit knowledge that finally helped locate the wrecks of the two lost ships.