INTO THE SOUTH

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 207, 2 September 1938, Page 8

INTO THE SOUTH

'PLANE AND SHIP. SIR HUBERT WILKINS. ANTARCTIC ADVENTURE. SUBMARINE TO NORTH POLE. A geographical reconnaissance of hitherto unexplored areas In Antarctica and the collection of data that will lead to the establishment of a permanent meteorological station in the southern continent are the principal objects, of the expedition led by the famous Australian explorer, Sir Hubert Wilkins, who arrived by the Monterey to-day en route to Capetown to join Mr. Lincoln Ellsworth. The party will leave Africa it the Wyatt Earp on October 25 and will arrive at the Antarctic mainland about the middle of November, remaining until January. On his return, which may be by way of New Zealand, Sir Hubert intends to complete the building of a new submarine for the carrying out of important explorations at the North Pole. "I sent the Wyatt Earp out from Canada, and Mr. Ellsworth and I will join it at Capetown," said Sir Hubert in an interview to-day. "We will sail straight to Enderby Land or in an easterly direction to Lars Christensen Land. On some maps this is shown as Macßobertson Land, and is so shown on all Australian maps. From one of these points it is proposed to make a geographical reconnaisance to a distance of 500 miles or more inland, and possibly to make a trans-Antarctic flight to the Ross Sea. However, tills will depend entirely upon the weather and conditions generally. If the flight is made it is likely that we will return by way either of New Zealand or Australia."

Never Explored Before. Sir Hubert stated that this area had never before been explored. Brief visits had been made by Sir Douglas Mawson and Norwegian expeditions, and the coast in plaeep had been roughly sketched. But no one had landed on the mainland or had been more than a mile inland. Sir Douglas Mawson had landed on an outlying rock, where he hoisted the British flag and took possession in the name of the King. The area was known as the Australian sector of the continent, but whether the action of taking possession of portion of a continent from a rock on the coast was legal was not known, he said. ! One of the particular objects of the expedition was to find some point along i the coast which would appear to be ! accessible every year, and which would offer a suitable site for a permanent meteorological station, said Sir Hubert. "In my opinion the time is almost ready for the Governments of the Southern Hemisphere to establish at least three or more- experimental stations in the Antarctic, and maintain "them over a period of several years," he said. "With the results obtained, correlated with the very fine and extensive observations carried out in the Arctic, we would be able perhaps to undertake long-range seasonal forecasting. A natural sequence will be the establishment of permanent stations both in the Arctic and Antarctic."

Equipment of Tlanea. Sir Hubert said that the expedition would take to the south a long-range Northrop 'plane, somewhat similar to the machine used on the previous expedition, and which passed through New Zealand. It would have larger cabin accommodation, a single 750 h.p. Eagle engine, and would be equipped with pontoons, skis and wheels. This would enable the 'plane to rand 011 any surface. The second 'plane was a smaller machine, an Aeronca seaplane, which would be used for scouting during the passage through the ice, and possibly for transferring supplies from the ship to the Barrier. The floats on the machine had been strengthened so that it would serve both as a seaplane and on the snow. "The work in the South will complete all of the programme for the Antarctic that I set for myself in 1920," added Sir Hubert. "On my return I hope to build a new submarine and carry out the expedition to the Arctic, which will complete the programme in the North. I then hope to make every effort to encourage the Governments of the southern hemisphere to inaugurate an international meteorological bureau, which will establish and maintain the permanent stations in the Antarctic. Submarine Base. "The submarine Is expected to be used as a base for the scientists, who will occupy a position at a part of the Polar Sea where there are no islands, and where it is impossible to maintain a base on the top of the ice. We know, both from my own experience and that of the Russian scientists who drifted about five or six miles a day last year,

that the ice is always moving, and it is impossible to maintain a selected position while camped on top of the pack. "However in a submersible vessel underneath the ice, with access to the surface through a tube or funnel, the scientists, after having drifted with the ice for one day, may retract the funnel and skid slowly beneath the ice back to their selected position, and so maintain a base that will be somewhere between the Behring Sea and the North Pole. "This base, which will be permanent, can be provisioned by means of aircraft once it has been established, since the submarine can move at will to a good landing field at the time when the 'plane is expected. Living Below the Ice. "While the living accommodation will bt- in the vessel below the ice, all observations will be carried out on top of the ice as *k?y would be at any other base. The equipment may include a wireless direction finder, as well as all the meteorological requirements. "Although it is now possible to establish automatic recording instruments at various points on land, it is hardly possible to do this on the Arctic ice, which is continually in motion and subject to crushing and disturbance. Tlierefor£ in my opinion it will be necessary to maintain a station occupied by men in that area; and the safest, most comfortable and most economic method of doing this is in a submersible vessel." Sir Hubert intimated that work had already been started on the submarine. The engines were ready, also the propellers, which would be hydraulieallv propelled. The hull had not yet been constructed. and whether it would be built in England or the L T nited States depended upon where he got the additional support needed. Seventy-five per cent of the capital required had already been provided.