THE MAWSON EXPEDITION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 54, 18 October 1911, Page 4

THE MAWSON EXPEDITION.

According to the reports of what is being done, if Dr. Mawson does not got the £50,000 that ho needs for his projected Antarctic expedition, it will not ho because he Jias neglected to use every available argument to induce his fellow-Australians to subscribe. He does not devote himself solely to emphasising the scientific value of the work that he expects to undertake, but throws in some very material inducements for support. “There may be millions of pounds’ worth of gold in Antarctica,” lie said the other day, “there may be millions of tons of copper, and I have reason to believe that there arc millions of tons of coal.” He disclaimed the idea that the expedition was “out to rout out gold mines or copper mines,” but, ho added, “of course, if we bump into a Klondyke or a Mount Morgan, or even a New-castle-Wallsend, it is not likely that ,ve will go away and forget all about it.” He also had a good word to say for Antarctica as a summer resort. It is only ten days’ steam from Melbourne, and according to Dr. Mawson, the climate is ideal in summer. “Given a good harbour, it was quite possible that accommodation houses would be erected in Australian Antarctica, and that when Australia was undergoing a process cloaking during the hot summer, tourists could go there <for relief.” A trip to Antarctica was vaguely mooted in New Zealand last year, but the project was apparently premature. Possibly when wireless telegraphic communication is established between New Zealand and the Antarctic, which may happen some day, the scheme will receive more serious consideration.