A SOUTH POLAR EXPEDITION.

Otago Witness, Issue 1024, 15 July 1871, Page 2

A SOUTH POLAR EXPEDITION.

(Pali Mali Gazette.)

At a recent sitting of the Berlin Geographical Society, Dr Neumayer, who was, for many yearß director of the Observatory at Melbourne, read an interesting paper, proposing a new expedition to the South Pole. Dr Neumayer brought forward various arguments in favour of hia theory that the warm current from the tropical region of the Indian Ocean, which changes its course off the coast of Cape Colony, passes southward under the meridian of Kerguelen's Land, and probably reaches, as far as the so-called Antarctic continent, where it takes the place of the cold current which flows northward to the Persian coast. This fact, he said, would afford a valuable hint for the discovery of the so little known South Polar region*, and especially for reaching certain points in those regions, or in the neighbouring parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, whence very valuable observations might be made of the transits of Venus in 1874 and 1882. In 1874, especially, it will be of great importance to make ob^servatione from the sou'herly groups of islands in the meridian of the island of Kerguelen. These suggestions have created some discussion among the German astronomers, the principal of whom have during the last few weeks assembled at Berlin to make preparations for observing the next transit of Venus in 1874.