Explorers Commemorated In Antarctic Names

Press, Volume C, Issue 29524, 27 May 1961, Page 14

Explorers Commemorated In Antarctic Names

Some 2500 miles of coastline in the Ross Dependency have been named by the New Zealand Antarctic Place Names Committee, which comprises the New Zealand Geographic Board and three experts on Antarctica. The areas of coast named extend from Oates Land, down through Victoria Land and the large area of coastline, hemmed in by the huge Ross Ice Shelf, then through to Marie Byrd Land. The names chosen are all those of Antarctic explorers. An effort has been made to apportion the names to the respective areas with which the explorers were closely associated. Two prominent explorers had already been commemorated. Ross has Ross Island, the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf named after him; and Byrd has the Byrd glacier and the big expanse of Marie Byrd Land, named by him after his wife. Oates Land, which was named after Captain L. E. G. Oates, who perished with Captain Scott and three companions on their return journey from the South Pole in 1912, has been renamed Oates Coast.

Pennell Coast 'has been named after Lieutenant H. L. L. Pennell, commander of the Terra Nova, the expedition ship for the British Antarctic expedition of 191013. Pennell engaged in extensive oceanographic work in the Ross Sea.

Borehgrevink Coast is named after C. E. Borchgrevink, who, in 1894, discovered the first plant life observed within the Antarctic Circle. He later led the first British Antarctic expedition which was the first to spend a winter on the continent Because of ice conditions, only local exploratory work was done before the ship returned. Scott and Hillary

Scott Coast is named after Captain R. F. Scott, who lost his life on the return journey from the South Pole in 1912. Much of the exploration of this area of coastline was accomplished by Scott and his colleagues, and many of the names in the region were bestowed by him. Hillary Coast is named after Sir Edmund Hillary, leader of the New Zealand party of the trans-Antarctic expedition. The New Zealand parties . which carried out detailed surveys of different parts of this area added greatly to geographic and other knowledge. Shackleton Coast was named after Sir Ernest Shackleton, wiho accompanied Scott on his first expedition land subsequently led three I Antarctic expeditions. He I w>ae the first to find a practicable route to the South Pole, although lack of food stopped him 97 miles from ihis goal. i Dufek Coast is named after Rear-Admiral G. J. Dufek. I United States Navy, who served under Byrd in his i 1939-41 United States Antarctic Service Expedition, and was later selected as commander of the Eastern Task Force of United States Navy Operation "Highjumip” in 1946-47. He was subsequently appointed commander of the United States .Antarctic research programme. Amundsen Coast is named after Captain R. Amundsen.

the Norwegian explorer who led his own expedition to the Antarctic in 1910-12, and was the first to reach the South Pole in December, 1911. Gould Coast

Gould Coast is named for Dr. L. M. Gould, a geologist who was second-in-command to Rear-Admiral R. E. Byrd in his 1928-30 expedition, and who was subsequently appointed chairman of the United States National Committee for the International Geophysical Year. He took a prominent part in planning the United States Antarctic research programme.

Siple Coast is named for Dr. P. A. Siple, who accompanied Byrd on all his expeditions. He was the first scientific leader at the South Pole station. Prestrud Coast is named for Lieutenant K. Prestrud, leader of the eastern sledge party which carried out the first exploration on King Edward VII Land. Shirase Coast is named for Lieutenant C. Shirase, leader of the Japanese expedition of 1910-12 which explored part of the Ross Ice Shelf and to the edge of the Alexandra Mountains. The above names were suggested by Mr A E. Helm, secretary of the Antarctic Place Names Committee. The names were checked by two members of the committee with expert knowledge of Antarctica, Dr. R. A. Falla and Mr J. H. Miller, and were then submitted to the committee, which agreed with the selection. The final meeting of the committee was held this week under the chairmanship of Mr R Dick. The boundaries of each coast have been fixed at clearly defined natural features, although some of these features have yet to be named.

Naming of these coasts will greatly assist map-makers in that it will make it easy to define the names of maps. It will no longer be necessary to use terms such as "part of Victoria Land” when the Scott Coast, for, example, could give the location of the area shown.