OVER THE POLE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16628, 23 April 1928, Page 7

OVER THE POLE

MAN OF MANY PARTS

A GREAT AVIATOR AN ADVENTUROUS CAREER Captain George Herbert Wilkins, trho led the North Polar ilighfc, lias been described as "the greatest aviator of all world explorers, and the greatest explorer of all aviators." He has been Hying in balloons and aeroplanes since 1910. * Captain Wilkins first came into the international public eye in 1912, when lie drifted over the South of England in a balloon and was posted as missing by the cable correspondents throughout the world.

A few days before, the London billboards had announced: "Santa Clans has ballooned from the Pole to Loudon. See him drop from the sky !" It was to be a Christmas show, one of those stunts. that aeroplane pilots and balloonists were doing in the days when any sort of flight was stunt enough to draw a crowd. Thousands gathered near London to witness the exploit and hear Santa Claus tell about the Pole.

The parachute unfolded, and the young miin in the false whiskers and the red suit reached the ground in safety. The crowd cheered. Then something unexpected happened. The balloon was to have followed Santa Claus to the ground. But, instead, it started off across the December sky, and the crowd grew silent, watching the pilot and the young photographer, who had taken pictures of Santa Claus in the air, make countless unsuccessful efforts to free a tangled release cord. To-day the Santa Claus photographer is known to scientists and explorers, as Captain George Hubert Wilkins, explorer, aviator and engineer. The Santa Claus incident was not the first of Captain Wilkins's adventures in the air. It made him a threeday celebrity, however, because the balloon went drifting about over England until Santa Claus himself was certain that Wilkins and the pilot had been lost at sea. A fleet of trawlers searched for them in the North Sea and the Channel. Ultimately the halloon came down in a clump of trees, 50 miles from London. BORN IN AUSTRALIA

Wilkins was born on an Australian sheep station in 1888. His boyhood was spent astride a horse, mustering sheep, boundary riding, and so on. He handled a riflo when he was ten. The outdoor was his back yard. He went to the State school and studied electrical engineering at the Adelaide School of Mines. He learned photography for the purpose of working his way around the world, and in 1911 he found himself in London, preparing to start for the Balkans to take action pictures of the Turks and Bulgars. ACCOMPLISHED . PHOTOGRAPHER In London he had proved himself an accomplished air and land photographer. He had photographed the German army manoeuvres from the air, the naval review at Spithead, and had seen Algiers, the Sahara, Vienna, and Portugal from a plane.

With a naval lieutenant he had flown the hrst monoplane equipped with a 100-horse power motor. The French had watched him sitting on the wing of a Maurice Farman plane, photographing a haro hunt. The Turks with whom Wilkins was billeted had three aeroplanes. But he found them unsuitable for photographic purposes. And so ho loaded his movie camera on a horse, and rode along with the Turkish cavalry. At Tchatalja in 1912 ho took, what were said to be the first action films of a battle. His camera caught a dozen Turkish soldiers as they fell dead. He obtained a panorama of a battle and of the Turkish retreat.

Following the Balkan War, the Gaumpnt Co., of London, gave him other hazardous assignments. Later ho went to the West Indies, and while there was asked to go to the Arctic with the Canadian Arctic expedition of which Stefansson, the American-Canadian explorer, had been named commander. Stefan'sson accepted him for what he was —a movie cameraman.

PREVIOUS ADVENTURES IN THE ARCTIC

But -when the Mary Sachs, one of Stefansson 's three boats, put into Teller, near Nome, Alaska, her engineer became incapacitated. The expedition was delayed. Wilkins announced casually that he could run a gasoline engine. He took the throttle, and the Mary Sachs went to sea. Later Stefansson transferred Wilkins to the Karluk, and when the Karluk jammed into the polar ice pack, Stefansson took "Wilkins and two other men and went ashore.

The four men headed west, and walked to Point Barrow, a journey of 200 miles. There they learned that the two smaller ships had gone east, and so thej r started east again. They walked 300 miles on this trip. "Wilkins meanwhile had given up his position with the Gaumont Co. to accompany Stefansson. The party went on to Coronation Gulf, living off the land and the ice. They made no pretence of carrying supplies. "When on tho land they shot caribou. When on the ice they shot seals and polar bear. Stefansson said some time ago that Wilkins and Storker T. Storkerson are the only other Arctic explorers who have practised the Stefansson method. Wilkins was sent back by Stefansson to bring up the ships which were then in the command of sea captains. He navigated the Sachs and the North Star across the Polar seas, and made contact with Stefansson.' The sea captains had believed this trip impossible, and had refused to make it. During the winter of 1915 he freighted supplies across Melville Island, and in the spring went north with Stefansson on another 600-mile ico trip. . SOME OTHER ADVENTURES

Word of the World War reached the explorers and Wilkins headed back to join the Australian army. He was given command of the Australian's photographic section on the Western Prortt, and is said to have participated in more major offensives than any other Australian army officer. Ho received tlic Military Cross with one bar, and was twice mentioned in despatches. After the war ho went to Turkey to photograph the Gnllipoli front. He went' on from there through Anatolia, Syria and Palestine, and arrived in Cairo in time to take part in dispersing tin' anti-British riots. He was ba<;k in London in time to command the Kangaroo, one of the planes that started on the London to Australia flight. A broken oil line required -a forced landing at Crete.

After' this venture he became jfche second in command of the British Imperial Antarctic expedition, which went to Graham's Land in the autumn of 1021. While on this cruise he made a 300-mile trip along the Antarctic coatft in,a wh^leboat. In 1922 he joined Sir Ernest Shackelton on the Quest expedition,

and was' with Shackclton when the British explorer died. Ten days after ho reached London he left for Russia to do special service work for the British Government. He returned from Australia to London after spending two and a half years in command of the Wilkins Australian and Islands Expedition. This expedition was organised by the British Museum of Natural History for the purpose of studying bird and animal life in little-known parts of Australia. During the summer of last year Wilkins led an expedition to Alaska with a view of flying across the North Pole, but owing to the difficulties encountered was unable to accomplish his object.

WILKINS' GREAT FLIGHT TRIUMPH ENDS SILENCE ALASKA TO NORWAY. (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Australian and N.Z. Press Association.) OSLO, April 21. The newspaper Dagbladet says that Captain Wilkins and Lieutenant Eielson arrived at Dauholmen after flying over the North Pole in -21 hours from Point Barrow. Both airmen aro well. Tromso reports that Wilkins landed in Green Harbor under the best conditions. The machine was in no way damaged. She has special wooden skids fitted to enable landing safely on the ice and snow.

A wireless message from Green Harbor states that Wiikins and his companion, owing to tempestuous weather and snowstorms, were forced down on the small uninhabited island of Dauholmen, situated ■ north of Spitzbergen, where they were obliged to stay live days, awaiting favorable weather before the flight to Green Harbor, which has a wireless station and is a centre of coalmining. Wilkins and his companion will be obliged to stay at a small village called Long Year City, near Green Harbor, until the first few weeks in May, when a general'thaw of the Polar sea, sets in. . Hole 400 men from the surrounding mines spend winter, as the terrible conditions make work impossible.

201 HOURS IN THE AIR ARRIVAL CAUSES SURPRISE (Australian and N.Z. Press Association.; DETROIT, April 21. A radio message from Captain Wilkins at Svalbard announced that he reached Spitzbergen from Point Barrow in 20£ hours' flying time. He experienced five days' bad weather. Two previous attempts were unsuccessful. Captain Wilkins reported that his arrival caused surprise there. Although the plane carried radio, complete silence enveloped his activities from the time ho was expected to take off from Point Barrow.

PERSISTENCE LAUDED WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENT NO LAND SIGHTED (Australian and N.Z. Press Association.; NEW YORK, April 21. Eielson, who is a native ot Hatton, North Dakota, is 30 years old. He studied at the State University and enlisted in the American Army air service during the war and won his first lieutenancy. Ho became a commercial aviator after the war, and in 1923 he undertook for the Post Office Department a solution of the problem of winter air mail delivery to Alaska.. His work brought commendation from President Coolidge. The airplane in which the flight was made is the smallest craft which has been used in Arctic exploration. ..It is a Lockhead-Vega, and compared witli the Dorni Wales used by. Captain Amundsen, and Commander Byrd'a iri-pianed Fokker, this monoplane appears insignificant. It is, however, extremely speedy. It is interesting to note that the American Geographical Society received a message from Captain Wilkins: "No foxes seen." . This was the code arrangement by which the explorer indicated that he had seen no' land in the Polar regions. All comment is unanimous that. Wilkins' flight is epochal. United States joined in congratulating the aviator, and hailing his persistence and courage as making him one of the outstanding figures in exploration and aviation. Mr. Kellogg cabled Wilkins and Eielson: ■' Heartiest congratulations on your splendid flight; it is a wonderful accomplishment." Commander Byrd said: " I have nothing but admiration for his persistence in the face of discouragement. His flight is of great scientific value; his navigation is worthy of the highest praise. I congratulate him most heartily." Commander Douglas- Jeffery, who, with Captain Wilkins, accompanied Sir Ernest Shackleton, said : "We felt .he should pull through, lie is a resourceful sort of fellow." . Steffansson expressed delight at his success, and said Captain Wilkins was the best man they had in their Canadian Arctic Expeditions of 1913 and 1918. and referred to Sir John Monash s statement thai Wilkins was the bravest and tho ablest man Sir John had had. LONDON EXCITED OVER THE ROOF OF THE WORLD (Australian and N.Z. Press Association.) LONDON, April 22. Captain Wilkins' feat in flying over the roof of the world excited the greatest interest. London would have known sooner but for the sudden death of the wireless operator at King's Bay, Spitzbergen.

. CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENCE NOT INTERESTED IN STUNTS (Australian and N.Z. Press Association.; (Received April 2v, 11 a.m.) NEW YORK, April,-21. " The dream of ages, a north-west passage across the world, has been brought nearer practical achievement through the pioneering of Captain Wilkins," said Vilhjalmur Steffansson, in picturing Role crossroads, where future enntinent-to-continent caravans would meet, shortening distance by hundreds of miles. nr^ Mr. A. M. Smith, of the pedition, paid : " Captain Wilkins' flight will mean much to meteorology. Wilkms is not interested! in stunt flying. He has set out -to make a definite contribution to science."

SEARCH FOR LAND SCIENTISTS' BELIEF Although it was not Captain Wilkins' purpose to hunt for land, many able scientists believed that he would find land. They nave many reasons for believing that a polar continent exists between Point Barrow and the Ice Pole. Roughly, these leasons are concerned with the following facts : First, the prevailing Arctic winds, as observed and recorded! by many explorers, indicate tha possibility that a high land point exists in the neighborhood of the, ice pole. Second, the Arctic tides, as chartetl by Harris, the American oceanographer, indicate the preseneo of a mass of iand between Point Barrow and the geographical pole. Third, the formation of the earth s surface in other parts of the world, taken with proved geological theories, makes it seem possible that land exists in tho unexplored area.

Fourth, birds—geese, guljs and eider ducks—have been observed flying northward into the Polar Sea from Alaska and Siberia, during the early summer. They have been observed returning with fledglings in late summer. •'' Filth, Pokr soundings, taken by several explorers, indicate that the water of the McKenzie River, pushing its way out under the ice of Beaufort Sea-, is divided ,bv some hind mass. Sixth, Arctic winders who have returned from the edge of the ice pack, believe that land exists somewhere within that pack, Their reasons?' Intangible traditions, founded on the drift of the ice, the winds, the flight of the King eiders, the Ross gulls, and the Hutchins geese!