POLAR EXPLORATION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21782, 23 April 1934, Page 6

POLAR EXPLORATION

ANOTHER ANTARCTIC PARTY group of young-men SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION [from OUIt OWN correspondent] LONDON, March 13 Another Antarctic expedition, backed by the Colonial Office and the Royal Geographical Society, is being planned. The grant from the Colonial Office, which makes the expedition possible, it is said, comes from the royalties paid by the Norwegian whaling stations to the Governor of Falkland Islands. The expedition, which is to leave in September on a two years' exploration of the Antarctic Continent, will;be led by Mr. J. 11. Rymill, with Mr. W. E. Hampton a.? second in command.

Dr. H. R. Mill, an authority on Antarctic geography, discussing the matter, said "What Mr. Rymill has undertaken is no 'stunt,' but a solid piece of scientific research. Of the little group of young men who form the main personnel of the expedition, four, including Mr. Rymill and ' Mr. Hampton, were with Watkiris in the Arctic. They are experienced in Polar conditions. Mr. Rymill is above all a sound man with the dog sledge. He is. an aeroplane pilot, too, but the emphasis in this expedition is less on aerial survey than on more solid work down below. Equal Social Status "These young explorers are all of the same social status. There is no division of officers and men. Apart from the officers who we hope will be lent by the Admiralty—a ship's master and a ship s surgeon have been applied for there will be no paid members of the party, and so there is no question of pecuniary advantage." Mr. Rymill's objective is the practically unknown part of the continent south of South America. His plan is to sail to Deception Island, and thence down the coast of what is sometimes called the Antarctic Archipelago, to Marguerite Bay. "This," said Dr. Mill, "should be by no means impossible. There will be an aeroplane scouting ahead before the ship is brought down the coast of the archipelago. It will then be possible to investigate whether the Crane Channel, which Sir Hubert Wilkins saw from the air separating North and South Graham Land, is really a channel, or, as seems more likely, a glacier "Then, if good fortune holds, Mr. Rymill hopes to sail to Stefannson Strait, separating the archipelago from the main continent, 'which Wilkins photographed and two whale gunners looked down on some years ago. Here Mr. Rymill hopes to set up a camp on the mainland and explore the Weddel coast. Prospects of Success "If ever this camp is set up it will mean that a great measure of success has been achieved. The chances are, however, that it will be impossible to sail south of Marguerite Bay. To leave the ship there entails a dangerous and difficult journey along the coastal ice: and thus much of the expedition's hopes turn on the navigability of a comparatively few miles.

"I want to say, too," added Dr. Mills "what satisfaction is felt that a British expedition is at last setting off to these coasts. Here is a part of the Antarctic Continent which is counted among the Falkland Island Dependencies, and, therefore, a British possession; and yet for years we have consistently left its exploration to other nations. French and Scandinavian explorers, in the remoter past, Russians, and, more recently, Sir Hubert Wilkins, backed by American money, have done most of the work here."