ANTARCTIC PICTURES.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14346, 4 May 1912, Page 5

ANTARCTIC PICTURES.

EXHIBITION IN SYDNEY

An exhibition of cinematograph pictures taken by'Mr Herbert Ponting, in his official capacity of photographer to the Scott expedition, was given in Sydney last week. Tho "Sydney-Morni-ng Herald" says of tho exhibition:—-

. "There is no make-believe about these pictures. They are genuine photographs of.what actually occurred on the Terra Nova, and within' tho ice-bound region of the South Pole. They are very graphic, and very snappy., and vary eiitortainingi ■• In other words, they are alive with reality—tho reality, of a brave, adventurous undertaking. Look-, ing at those pictures you understood in a flash the meaning of polar exploration. At least, you get, au insight into it- that no , amount of book-reading could givo you. '> . ''They began at the.beginning of the stout littlo ship leaving I.yttelton, N.Z., an a 'cheering crowd on.the whnrf, nnd a cheering -hip's company in tho rigging. That is all you get of crowd-.. The rest is tho silence of tho Polar seas. But you arc first given a glimpse of life on Ixrard. and you see something of tiio _. Siberian j.onics and the 20 Eskimo'dogs Captain Scott i.. relying upon ..o much for liis safety and .success. Then, with a midden transformation, you arc- among the ice —thin -i..', and floating ice, heaving and rolling, groat blocks of it, with the sharp prow of the littlo ship cutting into it and towing it if ions if. v.oy, until, hew. k. and heavier, it resist, th. t.r.._-t of the v_s_o!, and .finally, lays h.r up hard and fast on a whit, r.tul- solid plain that is no more sea.

"And you watch the crew cut upon it, catting it into small blocks that will presently bo the ship's water supply; but presently you have moved on, and the Terra Nova is floating- on a calm sea towards the Great Barrier.. There i« a light en the pictures now that micdit bo moonlight, but- i.s really the light of tho midnigbt- sun ■ which ■ you s<?e among i;he clouds. But presently you. have reached the Great Barrier, and towering cliffs of ice glide p3St the ship in a series of splendid scenes. Then you come to Cape Evans, where the first camp was fixed, and you see the Terra Nova moored hard on to the ice, and you watch the ponies disembarked, and you see how they relish tho first change thoy "have had from their quarters aboard since they joined the expedition. For the vest, you see many thin-?..? at Cape Evans —comical p.nguius by the sccre, life at the camp, the landing. of supplies, the strange and beautiful bird life of the plac?, a:;d other tilings. This first series ot pictures ends at Cape Evans. There ore other series of equal interest to follow." It is to be hoped that these interesting picture? will be shown in New Zealand. "

'THE GOOD OLD DAYS. r '