ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 268, 12 October 1932, Page 2

ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION

THE CASE OF ADMIRAL WILKES. Sir Douglas Mawson, in an interesting talk at the Science Congress, m Sydney, on the United States explorer; Admiral Wilkes, said that exploration in the Antarctic had definitely established the existence of « large continent. The French must be given the credit for first having seen it, but Admira.l Wilkes had been only two days behind the French. Admiral Wilkes, said Sir Douglas, had commanded a United States squadron which visited Australia in 1839. In 1840 he had left Australian waters to carry out a summer cruise to the Antarctic, during which, he claimed on his return to the United States, he saw a considerable portion of the Antarctic continent. On the evidence of several of his officers he was court-martialled on a charge of having falsely charted landfall, and was only acquitted after a long trial. The British explorers, Ross and Scott, however, had subsequently discovered that much of the land be had charted did not exist. There could be no doubt, however, that he had seen land in one or two instances, although much of the land he charted was very vaguely outlined. Nevertheless, his achievement was remarkable when one considered that his ships were not built for Antarctic work. He might have mistaken distant icebergs for land, or Ire might have been a victim of the mirage, which sometimes had remarkable effects, especially at night, as the speaker himself could testify. He was convinced that Admiral Wilkes had not deliberately “faked” his charts. The United States explorer deserved more credit than he had been given, especially in British literature. Sir Douglas said that he trad come across traces of sealers who had been in far southern waters more than 100 years ago. • Often these intrepid, hunters were the first explorers.