MAWSON EXPEDITION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20620, 19 July 1930, Page 11

MAWSON EXPEDITION.

ALONG THE PACK-ICE. AEROPLANE OF MUCH USE. NEW LAND DISCOVERED. nv Silt DOUGLAS MAW SON'. (All Rizlita Reserved.) No. H. When we were steaming south Irom our first meeting with tin* pack, a colossal quantity of ice was passed, much of it of an exceptionally heavy nature derived from crushed and hummocky floes. After traversing a navigable belt 500 miles wide, (lie vessel was brought to a halt in impenetrable pack- in latitude 65 degrees 5 minutes 5.," longitude 81 degrees 1 minute E. Fifty-eight years previously tho Challenger had sailed south in that neighbourhood and found open water where now was formidable pack. It was evident that the present season was a bad ice year in that neighbourhood.

December 13 foujid us frozen in the pack, but on the 151 h the temperature rose, and (lie ship pushed her way out (o a lead of open wa(er It was decided to work (o the west with the licpe of finding better ice conditions in that direction. At this time all hands were busy unpacking the aeroplane, which, for lack of space and proper housing, had been carried out from London as deck cargo iu the original large packing cases. Owing to the special circumstances, limited space, adverse weather, and rolling of (lie ship, it was not until December 22 that all was ready for flight. Then, unfortunately, the weather and ice conditions proved unpropiticus until December 31, when the first flight was made. From that time on the aeroplane, as a scout, was of (he greatest help in (lift geographical work of the expedition. Ship in a Blizzard. By December 20 latitude 60 degrees 13 minutes was reached, and the depth of (he sea had diminished to about 1000 fathoms. A blizzard then blew for some days. On Christmas Day the wind abated, and a passage to the south and west was found practicable. The sea floor shoaled rapidly in that direction. Next day further progress was. barred by solid, unbroken, hummocky floe ice extending as far as the eye could reach south south-west. In the evening could bo seen what had every appearance of land ice slopes, miraged up above the floe between south south-east and southwest. Although the ship was apparently within 30 or 40 miles of an ice-covered land wo were not able to reach it on account of the many miles of unbroken floe which intervened. Unfortunately, the wind was still too strong to allow of an aerial reconnaissance and pack-ice was drifting down and menacing the ship. Samples of stones dredged from the iea floor clearly indicated the continental nature of the adjacent land, thu"* indicating the new land to be a further continuation of the known coastline of tho Antarctic Continent. On December 30 there was fine weather and the prospect was beautiful save that we were again barred from further southerly progress by heavy unbroken tloe. Conditions being favourable, Flight-Lieut-enant Campbell and Air-Pilot Douglas ascended in the aeroplane to an elevation of 5000 ft. After a flight of an hour and a-lialf they returned to the ship. They reported a wide sheet of continuous heavy floe extending to tho south, about 40 to 4fi miles in width, beyond which was open water some ten miles across leading to low, undulating, ice-covered land. Also away to the southwest, embedded in the lloe, were seen a group of small, black, peaked islands.

Aeroplane Again Aloft. By January 3 good progress had been made to the south. Many glacier-icebergs were passed. Next d&y the denser pack was met and further effort to make southing discontinued. The depth of water was only about 550 fathoms, but as we drifted with the current, which moved consistently to the west at the rate of about seven miles per day, tl e bottom was found to be subject to lapid fluctuations rising or falling 500 fathoms in several miles. The following day, as tho weather was favourable for flying, the opportunity was taken to examine the new land from the air. Campbell and I ascended to 4000 ft. and flew some distance east and west and toward tho land. It presented a magnificent spectacle from the air. exteudinff to tho eastern and to the western horizon. To' tho south it rose rapidly, as a high ice plateau studded with, isolated peaks.To tho south-east, rising from,tho land ice sheet, several miles back from the coast, was observed a dark, rocky mountain mass of considerable extent, t A Sudden Terriilc Storm. It was decided to move tho ship slowly to tho west during tho evening hours, with tho expectation of next day reaching the coast in that direction. There was a weirdness about the scene that might have been regarded as a portent, but it was unthinkable that the glory of that evening could give placo within a few hours to a raging hurricane. Yet never had anyone of us experienced in the polar seas a more severe storm than burst upon the ship on the morning of January 6. The hurricane moderated to a gale tho following day, and gradually the wind fell off. It, was* not until January 11, however, that it was possible to continue with geographical investigations owing to continuance of thick and windy weather. Tho new land so far discovered tve named Macßobertsou Land to commemorate tho princely assistance rendered to the expedition by Mr Macßdbcrtsnn, of Melbourne. At noon on January 12 we were off tho coast of Kemp Land' in latitude 66 degrees 3 minutes south and 57 degrees- 43 minutes east, with only 146 fathoms of water beneath Ihe ktel. Land Claimed for Britain. Kemp Land as plotted on most charts wc found io be in error. In latitude th« coastline reported by Kemp in ISS3 airreed closelv with that, of the land off which wo lav on January 12. In JongiIu d e it also agreed with the posit.oninr'caled hv one of his chronometers. It has been usual to accept the longitude 1,1cated l.y Kemp's other chronomotei, but j„ longitude indicated thereby land exists only well south of Kemps indicated at itude We were thus forced tu couctudo that" m al! probability Kemp Land as appearing on most charts is 2\ degrees oast of that actually seen by Kemp. -Accordingly we decided fo chart Kemp Land as limited between 55 and 60 degrees east longitude. The land east of Kemp hand we charted as Macßohet(son Land. West of Kemp Land lies a landfall seen by a sealer, Biscoe, in 1831. and referred to hv him as Enderbv Land.

Continuing west along the ice-cliff coast we arrived early in the mowing-of January 13 off a small group of islets bordering the coast of Enderby Land. Wo had now traced the coastline of the Antarctic mainland west through many degrees ol longitude, and arrived at territory definitelv sighted by British sealers upwarcN of 100 years a so. Ibis was felt to be a fitting opportunity to raise 'hn Ihtg and reaffirm British interest in this territory Accordingly, before e;nbarkation. the time-honoured ceremony was conduct "d with mucb enthusiasm.