Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1935. ANTARCTIC EPIC.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 110, 19 February 1935, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1935. ANTARCTIC EPIC.

Rear-Admiral Byrd has reason to be gratified at] the success of his second expedition to the Antarctic, and the personnel have equally good grounds for attributing much of that success to the qualities displayed by their leader. It is due to all who took part in the great venture to say that they have all earned high praise and that the warm welcome extended to them at Dunedin was but typical of the sentimems that animated all New Zealanders, who are ever ready to applaud ability, resourcefulness and courage such as characterised the community of Little America. The way in which Admiral Byrd performed his responsible share of the task confirms the excellent opinion of him created by his previous achievements. In organising and directing Byrd again proved his skill and enthusiasm; but added to these fine qualities of leadership has been one finer still —his inspiringly courageous taking of a major part of the work and its hazards. At the advance base, where essential observations had to be taken, he bore the brunt of the hardships through three months of darkness in the polar winter, heroically facing the bitter cold and the crowding perils. He did this alone rather than expose others to the risk, grappling with the solitude that must have heavily taxed all resources within him. Dangerously ill, confronting death from the poisonous fumes of his necessary oil-stove, and threatened with loss of mental balance in the protracted ordeal, he held on undaunted till relief could come at the appointed time. When survival seemed impossible, he calmly wrote instructions for his chief assistants, should he be found deadf "Don t worry; carry on normally; go as far as you can, carrying out our scientific programme, but put the lives of my men "first; do what you can for Ellsworth." So, unwilling to summon help, the bringing of which would imperil others, he fought on singlehanded, thinking, to what might be the last, of the job in hand, of the safety of the survivors left to complete it, and of the brotherhood of explorers devoted to the Antarctic quest. So far as the scientific value of the work is concerned, the full tale will not be told for some time, jbut even now it is certain that a rich harvest will be reaped. A vast area outside human ken a handful of years ago has been mapped with much certainty, and With this progress is associated material won as a guide to research in i many departments of science. Previous theories have been patiently ! checked, some substantiated after misgivings about them, some patiently corrected, and all subjected to the test of brave inquiry.