THE ANTARCTIC

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 104, 29 October 1925, Page 20

THE ANTARCTIC

CAPTAIN G. WILKINS'S NEW EXPEDITION

AEROPLANE FLIGHT

SCIENTIFIC AND ECONOMIC PURSUITS. (FROM OUil OWN CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON, 26th August.

Captain George Wilkins, who returned recently from Australia after spending two and a half ytars in the wilds collecting specimen for the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, has lost no time in making plans lor a new expedition. Captain Wilkins was with Stefansson in the Arctic, and he was a member of Shackleton's last expedition, and this time his thoughts are turned again to the Antarctic beas.

It is proposed tu. set out in 1926 and follow tlie coastline from the Bay ol Whales to Graham's Land, covering 1500 miles by aeroplane. As the scheme is not too ambitious, and there will not be the expense of ■ fitting out a vessel, it is likely tliat the expedition will be commenced up to time und carried out with success. Captain Wilkins has just ben to Norway, where he has been making arrangements for the purchase of. the aeroplane in which Amundsen attempted to reach the North Pole. He found thj Norwegian explorer sympathetic with the new scheme. Hie 'plane, which was used only lor twenty-five hours, shows signs ol contact with the ice, but it is in good flying order. Although the arrangements have not yet been completed, it is likely that Captain Wilkins will obtain the 'plane, which will bo down from Norway to England about I lie end of September.

"Having competed these arrangements with Amundsen's representative," said Captain Vyilkins, "1 proceeded to Sandjcioid, which is the centre of the whaling industry. From that centre the wilaling ships leave each year for Graham's Ijand. The Norwegian whalers realised the importance ol the work we have in hand, and were only too glad to help convey my machine and supplies to the Bay of Whales, whence 1 expect to start the flight at the end of Utec-. "We expect to follow the coastline to Graham's Land, covering 1500 miles of the new coastline, and arriving at the areas visited by several whaling companies that employ between forty and fifty boats during the whaling season. 1 have spent two summers with the whaling captains, and they arc prepared to give further assistance to a British expedition, and have agreed to take, my aeroplane on its arrival and convey the party back to civilisation. This will eliminate the necessity of going to the expense of furnishing two boats, one to convey the party to the Ross Sea and one to meet the expedition on its arTHE ARCTIC FLIGHT "Captain G. H. Mathows, who was very nearly successful in reaching Australia during the first Australian flight, will bo the first pilot, and a Norwegian will bo the second. We do not expect that wo will meet with great difficulties' on our Antarctic flight, for wo shall be following a coastline from one known point to another, and if suitable conditions are found we will alight at several points to fix our position astronomically. "If the work is successful it will result in the exploration of more than double the coastline, discovered by any other Polar expedition, and give an idea of the geographical features Eome distance inland from the coast." WHALING RESEARCH

Captain Wilkins also considers that the expidilion will be advantageous from the point of view of whaling. "It is known that (he whales leave Ross Sea, and travel in an easterly direction," ho said, "and that they also arrive at the other side of the Pacilii: in a westerly direction. But it is believed that the whales found in the Ross Sea are of a slightly different specie from those killed on the Graham's Laud side. If this is true there must bo a point lying somewhere in the area wo hope to explore where the two migrations of whales must, part which would be a most suitable spot for whaling. Such geographical exploration as we do may give us a knowledge of a favourable harbour for a whaling base."' The meteorological objective is to locale a position which will be suitable for the establishment of one of the stations in counectiion with a scheme for collecting meteorological data from the Antarctic.