BACK FROM THE ANTARCTIC

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22346, 18 February 1936, Page 10

BACK FROM THE ANTARCTIC

Warmly welcomed at Melbourne on his arrival by the Discovery, Mr. Lincoln Ellsworth has made appreciative reference to the part played by the New Zealand and Australian Governments in the rescue of Mr. Kenyon and himself from their plight in the Antarctic. In view of the quiet style of Mr. Ellsworth's description of their experiences and the constant optimism of RearAdmiral Byrd about their safety, the use of the word "plight" may seem inappropriate. It is not so. They were in imminent danger, cut off by 1000 miles from communication with the nearest help, and this silence, intensified by contrast with the blizzards they encountered, meant more to them than it did to a world anxious to hear where they were. Their flight into tracts of the Polar South hitherto unknown was enough to win enduring renown, but their -struggle back to Little America, accomplished finally on skis and with hand-sledges after their aeroplane had been forced down by lack of petrol, is among the most thrilling epics of exploration when its hazards are understood. The rescue, therefore, was a real achievement, for it found them at the limit of their resources and hampered by effects of the trials they had undergone. And in itself the rescue is memorable, even the navigation of the Discovery from Dunedin to the Bay of Whales in three days being accounted, by those familiar with Antarctic conditions, a remarkable feat of navigation and seamanship. In this achievement the co-operation of the Governments of the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and the splendid service of the Royal Australian Air Force in an unfamiliar region, made possible a 'story that will live long in Antarctic annals. Best of all is its fine example of international comity, an act of friendship in which New Zealand is proud to have had some part. This will give a justifiable touch of special gladness when Mr. Ellsworth is greeted in New Zealand next month.