SOUTH POLE EXPEDITION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 14, 29 December 1911, Page 3

SOUTH POLE EXPEDITION

AUROiIA S ROUGH TRIP. PORTIO.N OF BRIDGE WASHED AWAY. (.Mail News.) liribtiiT, Dec. 21' It appears that the Aurora had a rough i rip down Io .Macquarie Is land. According to the news brought bmk by the Toroa, which reached Hobart this morning, the -Aurora met with very had weather ami high sc;-.-;. ()u one occasion half the bridge was swept away by a heavy sea. Fortunately the chief mate (Mr. I’o icher). who was on the bridge at the time, was on the half that was not carried away. Later on one of the seamen was washed ovcrboaul Ly a big sea. A rope was thrown to him. which h? managed to catch, and iie was drawn on board little the worse for the immersion. The Toroa iia«i a fairly good trip down. but eight, of the seventeen members of the expedition on boa: d were suffering so milch from seasickness that ♦ hey were unable to turn to at transferring coal to the .Aurora on at rival. The Toroa met with exceptionally fine weather while at tlie island, and the cargo was transferred to the Aurora or lauded without ihe slightest difficulty.

Captain Holyman handled the Toroa splendidly, and was given the' following letter by Captain Davis. ! as master of th- Aurora: "I wish} io thank you for the assistance you i have given the expedition, and the! prompt way you have discharged ! your vessel, and the help you hare! given in the transferring of storesi and coal. After seeing the way in j which you hare handl'd the vessel; without a chart in a practically unknown place. I can only say I am sorry you are not accompanying us to the Antarctic."

(loud progress has hern made with ; the erection of the wireless .station' rm Macquarie Island, and to-morrow ' night an attempt is to be made to J open comimimcation between it and H.M.S. Powerful, now in Hobart. > What is. considered an excellent site is being sis;■<! on the north end old the island. The Aurora was to; leave Macquarie Isianri for the Ant ( ! nrclie today. All the members of, llie expedition were well, and the! dogs have picked up wonderfully dur-j ii'g their stay on tl.o island, and hail ’ plenty of seal meat io ent. Air. Eitel. s- i-rel-iry of the exjiedi-i lion, who returned with the Toroa. j says that nio.d. valuable assistance ; .vonlrl be given to members of the, e.'.pedit ion by several iuc:i employed ; on the island by lessee, and espcci-i ally l>y the headman. Otto Bauer. ; Bancr gave them a li'.it, and also provided large quantities of penguin i < ggs, sea elephant meat, Maori: liens, and older provisions.

Captain Davis stated that the] number of penguins on the island : had much increased since he was | there before. He and Mr. Mawson estimated the numbers at not less \ than 1 50.000.000. There were also pl nty of sea elephants, which were v< i v tame.