SOUTHWARD HO!

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 842, 10 December 1929, Page 9

SOUTHWARD HO!

WILKINS ALMOST READY TO START FLIGHT OVER ROSS SEA United I’.A.—By Telegraph—Copyright Reed. 9.5 a.in. LONDON, Monday. Sir Hubert Wilkins wirelessed from Deception Island on Friday: “I am delighted to hear of Commander Byrd's success. Our preliminary preparations are almost complete. The time when good weather may be expected is approaching. “We must soon seek a more southerly base. Consequently, we have been carefully checking everything. Today's test flight showed that everything was practically ready. We have arranged to accommodate one machine, fitted with any type of landing-gear, aboard the William Scoresby and start loading supplies immediately. “About next week-end, weather permitting, Cramer, Cheeseman, Porter and myself will sail with the plane, probably going outside the Antarctic Archipeligo, and trying to reach as far south as possible, to locate a good ice-field for a take-off over the Ross Sea. Our plans depend on the condi tions; but if the position reduces the total distance to 2,000 miles, we might attempt a non-stop flight, or await our second plane before setting out.” WILKINS WARNED PROPOSED POLAR EXPLORING IN SUBMARINE “AN ABSURD PROJECT” Reed. 9.45 a.m. BERLIN, Monday. Writing in the “Berliner Tageblatt,” Professor Oswald Flamm warns Sir Hubert Wilkins of the folly of attempting polar exploration in a submarine. He describes the whole project as absurd, and asks how he is going to rise to the surface to re charge the accumulators. He points out that the indicator with which Sir Hubert hopes to keep in touch with the air would be destroyed by blasting the ice cover. The other idea of fitting the bow with a buffer would be nonsensical, because the buffer would have to weigh 450 tons, and this would upset all calculations about speed. STORIES IN STONES GEOLOGICAL PARTY CLIMBS MOUNT NANSEN GOULD REPORTS PROGRESS By RUSSELL OIVEN Copyrighted, 1928, by the “New York Times’’ company and the St. Louis “PostDispatch.’’ All rights for publication reserved throughout the world. Wireless ! to the “New York Times.’’ Reed. 9.5 a.m. BAY OF WHALES, Sunday. Dr. Gould’s geological party in the Queen Maud Range lias climbed part of the way up Mount Nansen, west of the Axel Heiberg Glacier. The leader reports iinds of tremendous interest. Dr. Gould’s message is as follows: December 6. —The present camp, which is west of Mount Betty, on the Axel Heiberg Glacier, is at S 5 degrees two minutes south, and 165 degrees 30 minutes west longitude. O’Brien, Thorne and I started for Mount Betty today, but heavy fog came up and we bad to return. We have established our mountain base here. With better weather, we shall start up the glacier tomorrow, with two weeks’ supply, in an attempt to reach the flatlying rocks that cap Mount Nansen. December 7.—We came up the west portion of tile Axel Heiberg Glacier yesterday. We camped in a snowstorm on tile north side of Mount Nansen. The rocks are very difficult to reach, through crevasses on all the borders of the glacier, but we climbed 6,500 feet up the flank of Mount Nansen today, and found a series of rocks that has told us a geological story of such amazing interest as to make the whole trip wqrth the effort. We have only started and have been in the clouds most of the time during the last three days, and this greatly interferes with our work.