Scientists On Island Relieved After IS Days

Northern Advocate, 31 May 1949, Page 4

Scientists On Island Relieved After IS Days

THICK FOG -ENCOUNTERED

AFTER being marooned on the Hen Island for 13 days, the party of scientists was relieved yesterday when the seas had abated sufficiently to allow a launch to make the crossing from the mainland. ■

Three of the party will remain on the island for another week in order to complete their investigations. The relief was not a very dramatic affair but the trip out to the island was an eventful one in several respects.

The party was led by Mr Logan Bell of the wild life branch of the Department of Internal Affairs Its members were Mr F. Woodrow, also of the department, Mr A. S. Wilkinson, who for many years was caretaker of the Kapiti Island sanctuary, and Mr E. G. Turbot, ornithologist of the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

The next blast from the fog-horn was answered by a cheerful shout as a figure emerged from the mist-shroud-ed bush.

In quick time the anchor was over, the dinghy-away and the good news received that everything was well with the shore party.

Actually, the expedition was an Internal Affairs Department undertaking. Mr Turbot had been invited to accompany the expedition because he had made five previous trips to the Hen Island, and had a wide knowledge of its character. The other three members of the party had not previously landed on the isiand

A few minutes later Mr Turbot was on board the launch, and supplies of bread, meat and other edibles were ferric-d ashore to be taken up to the camp which lay hidden in the bush. The heavy storm which swept the mainland and caused such disruption on Friday and Saturday, almost missed the island, Mr Turbot said.

Earlier in the week the ■, scientists from their camp could see heavy rain clouds blotting out the coastline, but no rain was experienced until Saturday morning.

They made the trip durmg the winter months in order to observe winter conditions at the sanctuary At least one storm was expected, and tney were well-prepared for it.

For the past few days a strong easterly wind had been whipping up the seas, but the camp, in its sheltered position on the western end of the island, missed most of the force of the gale. At midday on Saturday the wind swung to the north and the centre of the storm seemed to pass right over the camp. The tents strained at their but everything held. Then the storm quickly passed away and sunshine. broke through again. NEEDED TOBACCO The only real need of the scientists was tobacco.* When this was made kifbwn, those on board the Oleo pooled their supplies and sent ashore just about all they had. After a short spell at anchor in the bay, the Oleo headed north through the mist for the Chickens Islands where Mr Turbot wanted to land for an horn’ in order to make a brief study of bird life there. 'The landing was made in SouthWest Bay. By this time the skies had cleared in the Chickens vicinity, although the Hen remained shrouded in fog until about 1 p.m. The trip back to Whangarei was uneventful and the Oleo tied up to her jetty in the Town Basin at aboijt 6 p.m. Personal . . . The National Party candidate for tha Lyttelton seat at the gener.. elections this year will be Mr R. R. Beauchamp. This was announced at the annual meeting of the Canterbury division of the'party. All six National Party members of Parliament in the Canterbury division have also been unanimouslyconfirmed as candidates this year. They are Mr R. G. Gerard, Ashburton; Mr S. G. Holland, Fendalton; MrW E Gillespie. h eunui; Mr J. T Watts, St Albans; Mr J. K. McAlpine, Selwyn; and Mr D. C. Kidd, Waimate. The Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) attended the American Memorial Day ceremony at the Cenotaph yesterday and laid a wreath on behalf of the Government He was later occupied with departmenta business, and was present at the opera lasi night He will have further departmental business in Auckland today and will leave by car late this afternoon for Hamilton. where he will attend the Waikato Winter Show.

In pitch darkness, at 6.10 a.m., the Oleo left the Town Basin on the 30mile trip. Down the harbour as the dawn broke through, thick fog could be seen in the valleys on either side, while a grey wall of mist. stretched acros the harbour from Manganese Point.

In addition to Mr E. Wright and his crew, the ship carried Mrs Turbot, Mrs W. Reynolds with whom she has been staying, and an “Advocate” re porter. The Oleo entered the fog, which stayed with her, for four and a half hours.

After passing the Frenchman, which loomed high in the mist, the launch rose to a heavy ground swell. She was shut out completely by the grey,, cold fog, which became so dense that visibility was reduced to about 25 yards. Every two minutes her mournful fog horn sounded as she climbed over the swells and rode down into the deep troughs. Now and then a sea bird would fly through the small, clear space, which surrounded the vessel and seemed to be moving with it. On and on through the fog, with no land and no sky in sight. By 10 a.m., when It was expected that the Hen would appear, feveryone was peering ahead through the mist. If the compass course was true the island must have been ahead. dramatic landfall Three minutes after 10 a.m ihere was a shout from the skipper. Directly ahead not 50 yards away, a white explosion seemed ,to burst the sea. It’s background was the grev fog Then a boiling line of white showed where the high swells flung themselves on a jagged reef No island could be seen but the fearsome reef jutted out from the north-west corner of the Hen It was a dramatic and eerie landfall, probably because it came =o suddenly. The Oleo’s motor, which had been idling since the reef was first seen, throbbed again as the vesel was turned to starboard to skirt the unseen island. Then a headland of solid black rock showed through the greyness as the Oleo felt her way along towards the bay where the scientists had been put ashore 14 days previously. CHEERFUL SHOUT

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Sheltered from the swell and flanked by large boulders, the beach showed up.