ANTARCTIC VENTURE

Hokitika Guardian, 15 March 1934, Page 8

ANTARCTIC VENTURE

BYRD’S CHIEF OBJECTIVE

RETURN OF NAVIGATOR.

AUCKLAND, March 12

On his return from, the Antarctic, where he has been in command of the ships of the Byrd expedition, Commander H. F. Gjertson arrived iu Auckland yesterday en route for America and Norway. Almost all of Commander Gjertson’s life has been spent in Arctic or Antarctic waters and be statod yesterday that his greatest interest lay in the problems of the Antarctic.

Commander Gjertson served with th e Fram expedition under Amundsen in 1310-12, and with several expeditions in Arctic regions and he was appointed ice pilot to the Sir James Clark Ross on the first commercial whaling venture in the Ross Sen. His reputation as a successful navigator under difficult conditions in polar seas was responsible for his services being sought by Admir al Byrd a s commodore of th e two ships the Jacob Ruppert and the Bear o» Oakland.

Speaking of the. accomplishments of the Byrd expedition up to the present, Commander Gjertson said that consderable work had already been done in the preliminary exploration of the vast area of unknown land and sea that lie s between Graham’s Land and the Ross Sea. This area formed the real objective of the Byrd expedition. What had previously been suspected as being a possible shoreline had proved to be a vast expanse of open water, and air though on ionc aeropWne flight vis ibility had been uood. there had been no sign of land to the south. However, there had been enormous icebergs and an unusual number of smaller ones Many of these had been observed to contain rocks and collections of these had been made. From this it had been decided that there was in all probability a huge ice shelf similar to that on the shore of the Ross Sea, but of much vaster size. The extension of this re search was one of the major objects of the Byrd expedition. ••'••■• ’

liitero'sting details of the life of the shore party were given by Commander Gjertson. [Every member of the (expedition would he so fully employed with scientific work that the long winter would in no way he monotonous. The expedition was very well equipped in every way, and the task of looking after four aeroplanes, and six tractors, not to mention 150 dogs and the Guernsey cows would keep the party busy. Commander Gjertson will sail for America oh the Monterey; and before proceeding to Norway will deliver a series of lectures in the United States. He will return next year to command the two. ships of the expedition on their voyage to Antarctica to bring off the shore party.