SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Otago Witness, Issue 3512, 5 July 1921, Page 19

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

SIR ERNEST SHACK LETOVS I* LANS. LONDON. June 28. Sir Ernest Shackle ton's tiny auxiliaryvessel, the Quest, is little more than 200 tons. She has been built to withstand i. pressure, and is equipped with the mostmodern instruments for scientific research. The ship will carry a captive balloon and gear, a seaplane and platform, and a powerful wireless plant. Sir Ernest- Shackieton will undertake to- complete a hydrographical survey en- route, and will also make chart* of the air currents and investigate the bird, animal, and marine life. The staff includes a- number of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s colleagues on the Nimrod and Endurance expeditions. No crew other than scientists will be carried on the jour-

ney to Capetown, where .the ship will finally be fitted out. calling en route at the Salvages Islets and South Trinidad. From Capetown the Quest will head direct- south to the Sandwich Islands and South Georgia in search of suitable whaling station#. After refitting he will explore the littleknown sub-Antarctic Ocean islands, where lie expects tp find traces of the supposedly extinct vahi’able southern fur seal. Later the Quest will call at New Zealand, proceeding thence in search of the lost island of Tuanoki, mentioned in missionary records and native legends. Afterward* the expedition will go southward, seeking the mysterious Dougherty Island. If discovered. and an accessible landing place is available, the island will be made an oceanic wireless relay station for message* between New Zealand and South America. The survey will be continued thence via Cape Horn, Homeward by the Atlantic.