Amazon; Dr Hamilton Rice

Take a journey with Dr Hamilton Rice as he embarks on his final expedition of the easterly tributaries of the Amazonian basin.

Take a journey with Dr Hamilton Rice as he embarks on his final expedition of the easterly tributaries of the Amazonian basin. This stunning piece of film documents the 1924-25 expedition, which pioneered technological innovations including the use of two hydroplanes for reconnaissance and aerial photography, as well as shortwave radio in the field (marking the first radio communication transmitted from the field to the Royal Geographical Society). Filmed along banks of the Rio Branco-Rio Negro rivers and its tributaries, the skills and assistance of local indigenous tribes are also recorded.

Dr Hamilton Rice (1875-1956) was an established traveller, especially around the Amazon basin, a voice of authority on exploratory survey as well as a Gold Medallist and generous benefactor to the Royal Geographical Society. In 1915 Hamilton Rice married wealthy heiress, Mrs Eleanor Elkins Rice, who both survived and was widowed by the sinking of the Titanic. Devoting much of her fortune, enterprise and time to Hamilton Rice, she would join him on his later expeditions and can be seen briefly towards the start of the film aboard the paddle-steamer; although she would only be present on the first phase of this final expedition.