EXPEDITION TO ANTARCTIC

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 66, Issue 271, 28 August 1946, Page 5

EXPEDITION TO ANTARCTIC

Survey of x< Oasis” , LONDON, Aug. 27. An expedition to survey the “oasis” of mountains bare of snow and ice in the extensive area known as Queen Maud’s Land in the Antarctic is expected to take place in about two years time. British and Norwegian explorers will take part and, in the words of Mr L. P. Kirwan, Director and Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, “there will be considerable discussions during the next year and we hope New Zealand will be in them.” Mr Kirwan, who emphasised that the plans are in their earliest stage, said the matter had been discussed with- Dr. E. Marsden and other New Zealand scientists recently at Cambridge “in a purely informal, scientific way.” There was a possibility, he added, that the expedition would leave for the Antarctic from New Zealand, and the Dominion would be kept fully informed on the progress of the talks. Mr Kirwan said, that from a scientific viewpoint “oasis” v r as an extremely important area. There were a number of things that might be discovered apart prom purely glacialogical and meteorological conditions. It could be seen whether there was plant or animal life which it was impossible to detect from the air, while the relation between the area and the nearest continents geologically was also of interest. Discovery By Nazis / One of the problems to be solved by those planning the expedition is to secure a ship capable of carrying aircraft, snow jeeps and equipment. “We have got to do a lot to get around that one,” remarked Mr Kirwan. The existence of “Oais” was discovered on the eve of the outbreak of war in 1939 by Nazi explorers. They surveyed and photographed the mountains from the air and dropped swastika flags in an attempt to lay claim to the territory, which is Norwegian.

The valley, which is believed to be volcanically warmed, is thought to lie 200 miles south of the sea in an unmapped area. ‘> The real purpose of the German expedition was to establish a meteorological base to aid their ocean raiders. A German report with photo graphs was published at Leipzig in 1942. As well as Professor Kirwan, Professor H. W. Ahlmann, of StockholmUniversity, is associated with the new expedition, the operational base for which is likely to be New Zealand or Tasmania. It is reported that a former German motor ship carrying snow jeeps and air craft is being prepared at Oslo. t