Fiordland camp site

Press, 25 May 1984, Page 3

Fiordland camp site

Earshell Cove on Resolution Island in Dusky Sound has been chosen as the camp site for the New Zealand phase of Operation Raleigh, the four-year, round the world expedition which will begin later this year.

Mr David King, the deputy chairman of Operation Raleigh in the United Kingdom, and Mr Murray Bennetto, an honorary director of the project in New Zealand, have just returned from a reconnaissance trip to the area. The expedition will involve 4000 young people (called venturers), aged 17 to 24, who will join Operation Raleigh for a threemonth period. The base for the expedition is a 1900-ton former North Sea exploration ship, to be named Sir Walter Raleigh.

Fifty places on the expedition have been allocated for young New Zealanders. Applications for these places were opened at the official launching of the project at Government House on Monday. Mr Bennetto said that he and Mr King had made the trip to Dusky Sound which will be used at the end of 1986 and early-1987.

They had also found an anchorage for the Sir Walter Raleigh off Cooper Island.

Mr King came to New Zealand for the Dusky Sound inspection and also for the launching. He said that in Britain 8500 applications had been received for the first four three-rnonth phases of the expedition. Of that number, 6500 people had been interviewed and 1400 chosen to attend selection week-ends. At

those week-ends 500 would be chosen for the expedition. Dusky Sound has been chosen because of the vast amount of interesting work that could be done there by the venturers, Mr King said. About 40 venturers would camp ashore during the ship’s visit. About 400 scientists will be involved in some part of Operation Raleigh, with a handful of them remaining for the entire expedition. The scientific side of the expedition is directed by Dr Stephen Sutton, a zoologist from Leeds University. He has already done several expeditions with Colonel

John Blashford-Snell, the leader of Operation Raleigh, and he was involved in Operation Drake, the successful expedition which preceded the more ambitious Operation Raleigh. Mr King said Operation Raleigh was a good opportunity for scientific research because comparative research could be done, venturers could assist in gathering information requiring high levels of manpower, and involvement was cheap for the scientists. A further 1500 staff will work as signallers, mechanics, expedition leaders and doctors on the expedition.