FOR THE ICE

Evening Star, Issue 21622, 18 January 1934, Page 8

FOR THE ICE

equipment expected to-morrow BEAR WILL PROBABLY SAIL Lieutenant English, master of the , Bear of Oakland, stated this morning , that the material for which the ship has been waiting since Monday should 1 reach Dunedin to-morrow, and the ship will sail as soon as everything has been placed aboard. Arrangements _ were made in November for tho material to i reach Dunedin in time to be taken by the Bear as soon as possible, but the Ashburton,' on which it was being brought from the United States, was 1 diverted, with the result that con--1 siderablo time has been lost. The Ashburton reached Auckland yesterday, and as soon as the required material is unloaded it will be brought to Dunedin by air. A Fairy IIIF seaplane will be utilised, the floats be--1 ing replaced by wheels for the purpose. The first portion, should leave the northern city about noon to-day, and will be in Christchurch this evening. It , will be placed on the railway there for , transport to Dunedin, and should arrive to-morrow morning. Meanwhile the aeroplane will return to Auckland this evening for a second load, and is to , leave early to-morrow morning. It is expected to reach the Taieri airport early in the afternoon, and the ship is to sail as soon as the material is taken on board —probably about 3 o’clock. , A Press Association message from , Auckland states that the equipment which is holding up the departure of the Bear comprises clothing, special boots for wearing in the Antarctic, and parts for the tractors. But for the delay in the arrival of tho Ashburton the Bear of Oakland 1 could have sailed on Monday evening, and during the whole of her time in Dunedin full head of steam has been kept on the boilers so that the vessel 1 could have sailed at half an hour’s notice if orders to that effect had been ’ received from Rear-admiral Byrd. The spare time in port has been utilised by ■ the ship’s company in overhauling all the rigging and in making the deck' | cargo secure against the force of the \ Antarctic storms. ; Though the length of time the Jacob ’ Ruppert and tho Bear of Oakland will ; stay at the Bay of Whales is indefinite, ; Lieutenant English is of opinion that ' that they should be back in New Zealand early in April. The vessels will remain in one of the New Zealand ports —probably Dunedin—and will undergo , a thorough overhaul from truck to keelson. The rigging, machinery, and ap- ' paratus of both vessels will be attended to, and when they return to the ice next summer they will be in excellent ! trim. o