MAWSON EXPEDITION

Taranaki Daily News, 23 July 1930, Page 7

MAWSON EXPEDITION

ALONG THE PACK ICE AEROPLANE OF MUCH USE. NEW LAND DISCOVERED.

(By

Sir Douglas Mawson.)

(All Rights Reserved.) No. 11. When we were steaming south from our first meeting with the pack, a colossal quantity of ice was passed, much of it of an exceptionally heavy nature derived from crushed and hummocky floes. After traversing a navigable belt 300 miles wide, the vessel was brought to a halt in impenetrable pack in latitude 65 degrees 5 minutes S., longitude 81 degrees 1 minute E. Fifty-eight years previously the Challenger had sailed south in that neighbourhood and found open water where now was formidable pack. It was evident that the present season was a bad ice year in that neighbourhood. • December 13 found us frozen in the ' pack, but on the 15th the temperature rose, and the ship pushed her way out to a lead of open water. It was decided to work to the west with the hope of finding better ice conditions in that direction. At this time all hands were busy unpacking the aeroplane, which, for lack of space and proper housing, had been carried out from London as deck cargo in the original large packing cases. Owing to the special circumstances, limited space, adverse weather and roll- ' ing of the ship,' it was not until December 22 that all was ready for flight. • Then,- unfortunately, the weather and ice conditions proved unpropitious until December 31, when the first flight was ’ made. From that time on the aeroplane, as a scout, was of the greatest help in the geographical work of the expedition. SHIP IN A BLIZZARD. By December 20 latitude 60 degrees. ■ 13. minutes was reached, and the depth of the sea had diminished to about 1000 ' fathoms. A blizzard then blew f.r some ■ days. On Christmas Day the wind abat- ’ ed, and a passage to the south and west was ’ found practicable. The sea floor shoaled rapidly in that direction! Next. ■ day further progress, was barred by. solid, unbroken, hummocky floe ice extending as far as the eye could reach south-west. In the evening could be ; seen what had every appearance of. land ice slopes, miraged up above the floe between south south-east and south-west. Although . the ship was apparently . within 30 or 40 miles of an ice-covered land we were not able to reach it on account of the many miles of unbroken floe which intervened. Unfortunately, the wind was still too strong to allow of an aerial reconnaissance and pack-ice . was drifting down and menacing the . ship. Samples of, stones dredged from . the sea floor clearly indicated the continenta! nature of the adjacent land, thus indicating the new land to be a ■ further continuation of the known coastline of the Antarctic Continent. On December 30 there was fine weather and the prospe.. was beautif-1 save . that we were.again barred from further • southerly progress by heavy, unbroken . floe. Conditions being favourable, Flight-Lieutenant Campbell and Air- . Pilot Douglas ascended in the aeroplane ■ to an elevation of 5000 ft. After a flight of an hour and a. half they returned to the ship. They reported a wide sheet of continuous heavy floe extending to the south, about 40 to. 45 miles in width, beyond which was open water some ten . miles across leading to low, undulating, ice-covered land. Also away to the couth-west, embedded in the floe, were seen a group of small, black, peaked islands. AEROPLANE AGAIN ALOFT. By January 3 good progress had been made to the south. Many glacier-ice-bergs were passed. Next day the denser . pack was met and further effort K make southing discontinued. The depth of .water was only about 550 fathoms,, but as we drifted with the current, which, moved consistently to the west at the . rate of about seven miles per day, the bottom was found to be subject to rapid . fluctuations rising or falling 500 fathoms . in. several miles. The following day, as the weather was favourable for flying, . the. opportunity was taken to examine . the new land from the air. Campbell and I ascended to 4000 ft. . ftnd flew some distance east and west and toward the land. It presented a mag- ■ fiiflcent spectacle from the air, extend- . ing to the eastern and to the western horizon. To the south it rose rapidly, as a high ice plateau studded with iso- ' lated peaks. To. the south-east, rising from the land ice sheet, several miles back from the coast, was observed a dark, rocky mountain mass of considerable extent. • A SUDDEN, TERRIFIC STORM. - It was decided to move the ship slowly to the west during the evening hours, with the expectation of next day reaching the coast in that direction. There was a weirdness about the scene that might have been regarded as a portent, but it was unthinkable that the glory «.. that evening could give place within . a few hours to a raging hurricane. Yet never had any one of us experienced in the polar seas a more severe storm than burst upon the ship on the morning of January 6. The hurricane moderated to a gale the following day, and gradually the wind fell off. It was not until January 11, however, that it was possible to continue with geographical investigations owing to continuance of thick and windy weather. The new land so far discovered we named Macßobertson Land to commemorate the princely assistance rendered to the expedition by Mr. MacRobertson, of Melbourne. At noon on January 12 we were off the coast of Kemp Land in latitude 66 degrees 3 minutes south and 57 degrees 43 minutes east, with only 146 fathoms of water beneath the keel. LAND CLAIMED FOR BRITAIN. Kemp Land as plotted on most charts we found to be in error. In latitude the coastline reported by Kemp in 1833 agreed closely with that of the land off which we lay on January '2. In longitude it also agreed with the position indicated, by one of his chronometers. lc has been usual to accept the longitude .indicated by Kemp’s other chronometer, .but in longitude'indicated thereby land ;.iexNts'only well south of Kemp’s hidi- ’

cated latitude. We were thus forced to conclude that in all probability Kemp Land as appearing on most charts is 24 degrees east of that actually seen by Kemp. Accordingly we decided to chart Kemp Land as limited between 55 and 60 i degrees east longitude. The land east of Kemp Land we charted as Macßobertson Land. West of Kemp Land lies a landfall seen by a sealer, Biscoe, in 1831, and referred to by him as Enderby Land. Continuing west along the ice-cliff coast we arrived early in the morning of January 13 off a small group of islets bordering the coast of Enderby Land. We had now traced the coastline of the Antarctic mainland west through many degrees of longitude, and arrived at territory definitely sighted by British sealers upwards of 100 years ago. This was felt to be a fitting opportunity to raise the flag and reaffirm British interest in this territory. Accordingly, before embarkation, the time-honoured ceremony was conducted with much enthusiasm. ...