THE DASH FOR THE POLE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXII, Issue 9632, 22 March 1910, Page 5

THE DASH FOR THE POLE.

SHAOKLETON'S PERFORMANCE

SOME REALISTIC PICTURES

Iα the Towu Hall, last night, the public of Masterton svoro givon an opportunity of witnessing for themselves Shackletou's dash for the Polo, without exporionoiug any of the atteudaut discomforts, except tliey were possessed of a very vivid imagination. It they were, they would lie able to imagine, to some small extent, what these hardy men who faced, the terrors of the unknown had tq endure. The great stretches of bleak wastes that wore shown last night were convincing enough iv nil conscience. For the spactafcors, however, there were many ofuor. thin«a tO hold their interest. Every incident of the expedition possessed an absorbing interest of its own. There was the embarkation at Lyttelton of the sturdy little ponies that played so important a part in the project, aud the cheering crowds as the good ship Nimrod moved away from the harbour. Then fcliero' were the colonies of penguins, the sentinels of these great lonely regions. Some of the films of these birds were decidedly amusing, aud certainly very interesting. Mt. Erebus was shown iv eruption, surrounded by the barreu wastes of snow and ice. Then a film was presented of the party of explorers breaking camp preparatory to the final dash for the Pole. Iv this clash they lost one of their ponies down a crevasse, and the other two were eaten. It was a great dash, aud when Slmokletou was finally seen planting the flag ou the laost southern point reached, a ripple of applause broke from the audience. Tin motor car that was taken with the party appeared to have beau made good use of. It was shown as it was lauded from the Nimrod, aud afterwards being driven across the ice with two well-laden sledges in tow. Taken altogether, these films were iuteusely interesting, aud alone well worthy a visit. Next m point of interest were those shown of Australia's Alpine resoit. Mt. Kosciusko. This snow-bound district in New South Wales was displayed in all its graudeur aud beauty. -Apparently it is a very popular district, too, for crowds of people were seen on sledges and skis. The latter, as a means of locomotion, did not appear the simple affairs one might imagine, and much amusement was caused by the fails of the inexperienced who were making their first attempt. A number of other films were shown, which had the advautaga of being j „,„,,„ mm , a ai , iecs jutprgstnew, auu >,„_ " """ ing. One that caused much merrimum.. was entitled "The Invisible Dog." By some mysterious means the owner was able to render the animal invisible, and,thus secure from observation, it would commit till manner of daring thefts, the final one being a string of very long aud very tough sansages. "The Race for Inheritances" was also amusing, while "Panther Hunting" was interesting as showing the manner iv which these savage denizens of the jungle are trapped. The light throughout was good, and tho pictures excellent.

The films depicting tho dasli for the Pole will again be shown to-night, and can confidently bo recommended to the public.