DISCOVERIES IN ANTARCTIC

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21793, 27 May 1936, Page 11

DISCOVERIES IN ANTARCTIC

WORK OF BRITISH EXPEDITION exploring in graham LAND SURVEY OF WEST COAST COMPLETED (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT.) (Received May 26, 11.15 p.m.) LONDON, May 26. A world copyright message to “The Times” from Captain D. Rymili’s Antarctic expedition in Graham Land says: “Since the discovery of new land southwards, the expedition has made further discoveries northwards of the present base on Marguerite Bay. “On a flight over JLaubeuf Fjord, which is a .steep-walled cleft between two high mountain regions, so high on the east side that Mr Hampton and Mr Stevenson (the chief surveyor) could not see what lay beyond it. Charcot believed that a second strait, which he named L’AUemand Fjord, might extend between Matha and Marguerite Bays, parallel with and eastward of Laubeuf Fjord, “Taking off from Argentine Islands in good conditions at 3 p.m. on March 31, Mr Hampton and Mr Stevenson returned at sunset, after a most satisfactory flight. Laubeuf Fjord proved to be the only through channel between the bays. The whole region eastward is mainland. L’Allemand Fjord is only a bay, lying south of Matha Bay. The aeroplane flew the entire length of a wide low-lying snowfield in a valley leading through the mountains to Marguerite Bay. “We now know the trend of the major fjords, what part of the mountain groups form islands, and what are mainland promontories. We now possess a map indicating in some detail the west Graham Land coast from the old base to the newly, discovered mountains as far as Alexander Island, a distance of about 400 miles. The north part of the coastline has been properly surveyed. There remains the ground survey of the southern section. The main work of the coming season will be exploration of the litt’e known Graham Land Antarctic coast south-eastwards to Liutpold Land and south-westwards to Charcot Land.

[The Rymill expedition left England late in 1934 with the intention of spending 32 months in Antarctica, exploring 1000 miles of coastline east and west of the line of Sir Hubert Wilkins’s flight over Hearst land in 1929. As a result of two scries of flights undertaken early this year, a large expanse of new land was discovered, and it was found that a range of mountains apparently connected South Graham Land with Alexander Land, which had previously been thought to be disconnected. It was thought then that the ground survey would not be possible until October. Captain Rymill is a South Australian who twice visited the Arctic with the Watkins British Arctic Air-Route Expedition. Five members of that expedition are with the Graham Land party. The expedition’s vessel, the auxiliary ship Penola, is of 120 tons.l