Minister sees work at Pole

Press, 7 December 1976, Page 12

Minister sees work at Pole

PA Scott Base The Minister of Science and Technology (Mr Gandar) has returned to Scott Base after a quick trip to the South [Pole.

At the Pole, Mr Gandar was shown the American scientific programme and met the three New Zealanders who have been running the meteorological section there since early November. Two of the New Zealanders will spend the winter at the Pole. Some of the data the meteorological team collects is sent to Melbourne as part of a weather forecasting network. With Mr Gandar are Mr R. B. Bell, the National member of Parliament for Gisborne; Mr L. Cameron, chairman of the National Research

Advisory Council; Mr P. Thomson, former directorgeneral of the Forest Service and a member of the National Research Advisory Council, and Dr M. Probine, director of the D.S.I.R. physics and engineering laboratory, and a member of the Ross Dependency Research Committee. They were accompanied by Mr P. B. Thomson, superintendent of the Antarctic Division of the D.S.I.R. . The visit to the Pole was the highlight of their five days in Antarctica, during which they have been to New Zealand’s Vanda Station and the dry valleys. On Sunday they visited Shackleton’s Hut at Cape Royds, Scott’s Hut at Cape Evans, and also went to Cape Bird.