WANDERING WOMEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21431, 4 September 1931, Page 3

WANDERING WOMEN

LURE OF THE ANTARCTIC CURIOUS AMERICAN PROJECT VISIT TO BAY OF WHALES Several unquiet souls forever go to and fro in the world, and up and down in it. There arc the Wandering Jew and the Flying Dutchman with reasons of gravity for their restless doom, but it would appear that the ranks of such people are to be supplemented to the extent of 200 American women who have conceived the remarkable idea of taking a trip to the Antarctic. The question, of course, is why? No doubt tl\c return of the Byrd Expedition to America has fired these enthusiastic females with the desire to _ find • fresh worlds to conquer, but there is a danger that “they know not what they do. The challenge contained in the moving picture of the Byrd Expedition the Bay of Whales that it was a land where no woman had yet set foot " has probably had a good deal to do with the proposal to charter the s.s. Vblendam, of the Holland-Amerlea Line, for a cruise around the world, which ultimately includes tho Antarctic. The vessel is scheduled to Sail from New York on December 13, and will proceed to the Bay of Whales after ,a leisurely voyage through the Panama canal and the Pacific Ocean, with frequent stops at several islands. Then it is proposed to come to New Zealand, and,. although Auckland is mentioned in the itinerary there would appear to be no intention on the part of the travellers to visit Dunedin. The fact that the port of Dunedin was Byrd’s base and starting point appears to have escaped notice altogether. Still, although it might be possible to set off for the Antarctic from Auckland, the difficulty of tho lateness of tho season will prove a much harder proposition, Byrd found that by leaving Duned n in the middle of December vessels could just get through the ice, but the Amenean tourists anticipate that by setting sail on December 16 from New York, and arriving in the Dominion in about six weeks, they will still bein time j 0 get through the pack ice. that Is likely to prove the most costly and disappointing mistake of all if the voyage really eventuates. The following clipping from an American paper, the Binghamton Press, gives full particulars of a project winch to the initiated has all the appearance of a very transparent hoax; Another field for women of Bmghampton to conquer. Women of the country are planning an invasion of Byrd’s Little Amei ica, and are already bidding for the honour of being .the first of their sox to set foot in Antarctica, the land of ice and snow, with Lieutenant Commander J. R. Stenhousoj who will be In charge of the cruise of the s.s, Volendam of the Hoi-land-Araerlcan Liue when it sails from New York December 15. Of the first returns which came in, 75 per cent, were from women,” said Mr Liman. ~ The first passenger booked was Mrs Charles M. Joslyn, of Hartford, Conn. A bonus of several hundred dollars was offered by a woman from Pittsburg to be permitted to be the first off the boat at Little America. The capacity of the vessel is 460 persons, but the cruise will be restricted to 200. After leaving New York the Volendam will cruise southward, stopping at Havana, the Panama canal, _ Galpgos Islands, Marquesas Island; Tahiti, Cook Island, Auckland, N.Z., and the Antipodes. Then to the' Ross Sea, to M'Mnrdo Sound, and the Bay of Whales.

From there the South Pole will be only 700 miles away, and to north of it the Groat Ico Barrier. Blue whales, seals, and penguins will be plentiful in the water and on the ice shelves. "It really isn’t so dangerous as it sounds," said Mr Liman. “On summer days there ia more danger of sunburn than' pneumonia, but then the. days are 24 hours long. , Some members of Admiral Byrd’s expedition probably will be among the crew, Mr Liman said. And the ship will have its own aeroplane. Commander Stonhouse is known as one of the greatest Antarctic sailing experts. He was in command of the Aurora during Sir Ernest Sliackleton’s Imperial Transantarctic expedition and also captain of the British Royal Research ship Discovery,