SOUTH WITH BYRD

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIV, Issue 83, 20 March 1934, Page 5

SOUTH WITH BYRD

AUCKLAND STOWAWAYS Hard Work on Icefields ANXIOUS 10 GO AGAIN After three months p the Antarctic with the Byrd expedition, Mr. Geoffrey Wray, of Lucerne road, Remuera, returned to Auckland on Saturday morning and related some of his experiences which started with his stowing away on the expedition vessel Jacob Ruppert When the ship left Wellington on December 12. hidden in one of her boats were three young men who had been together on the Coromandel goldfields and had sought to enlist with the expedition. With Mr. Wray were Mr. Robert Christian and Mr. Michael Pilcher. About six hours after the Jacob Ruppert had left Wellington, the ship’s company was called to boat drill and the stowaways were discovered and taken before Admiral Byrd. Contrary to their fears the admiral treated tho matter quite pleasantly and immediately ordered the stowaways to be put to work. Mr. Wray said they were then so close to port that it would have been a fairly simple matter to have returned them to the shore. From that moment the stowaways were treated as members of the party and served either as deck hands or in the engine room. The trip south was through comparatively good weather, but when the wind reached over 30 miles an hour the vessel hove to in order to protect the aeroplanes on the deck. DIFFICULT TO KELP WARM. Describing the Ross Sea, Mr. Wray said it was almost free of icebergs, a phenomenon which the expedition hoped to investigate. The Ellsworth expedition was not actually seen, although they were within 100 miles of the Jacob Ruppert. Eventually the ship reached the shelf ice within sight of the Great Ice Barrier and made ready for the arduous task of unloading the large quantity of stores. The stowaways got their first experience of shore life in the Antarctic when they were sent ashore to dig holes in the ice for the ship’s ice anchors. The temperature was well below zero and the New Zealanders found that even with the strenuous work of digging in the hard ice they could hardly keep warm. Then came the work of unloading ship and hauling the heavy loads by tractor to the shore. The New Zealanders spent some of the time on board the ship, but there were periods when they slept in tents without stoves. During the day, with the constant work it was easy to keep warm, but it took some time to generate heat in the cariboo skin sleeping bags on the snow. Another strenuous task allotted the shore party was the transference of 200 tons of coal from the Jacob Ruppert to the Bear of Oakland while the two ships were alongside one another at the ice edge. Work often went on uninterrupted for as much as 36 hours at a stretch. The fact that there was no division between night and day made for very irregular hours, but the weather was phenomenally fine throughout, which made for uninterrupted work. TESTIMONIALS RECEIVED. As the time came for the last ship to leave for New Zealand the three New Zealanders made earnest pleas to be allowed to remain with the winter party, but this was not thought to be advisable. They were, however, given every indication that their services would be accepted next year, and each member was given glowing testimonials referring to their loyal and energetic services, by Admiral Byrd, Lieutenant-Commander G. O. Noville, the executive officer, and Mr. Harold June th,l chief pilot. Asked for his impression of the country around Little America, Mr. Wray said it was one vast desert of snow, with miles of rolling ice fields. He was taken up in an aeroplane on severa, occasions and even from the air there was nothing to relieve the white monotony of the landscape. Tfie camp itself was about 300 yards square, like a compact village. Conditions in the huts were very comfortable, it being warm below the snow which covered tho buildings, and there was ample provision for drying clothes and bathing. Each hut was well wanned by stoves and Air. Wray expressed his very genuine regret at not being allowed to stay on and work through the Antarctic winter. The other stowaways also have returned, Mr. Christian is at Coromandel and Mr. Pilcher at Panmure.