TO THE ANTARCTIC.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 853, 27 June 1910, Page 8

TO THE ANTARCTIC.

AH AUSTRALIAN PARTY. START PROPOSED NEXT YEAH, All going well, an Australian expedition will start for the Antarctic next year. Tin- sailors, the scientists, the doctors, the observers will all be Australians, if ifc is possible to get them. "'lie lender will, if possible, bo. Sir Krnest Shackleton. But if Shaekletou is unable to go the leader will be an Australian—Dr. Douglas Man-son, of Sydney and Adelaide Universities, who was a member of the Shacklcton expedition, and who arrived in Sydney by the Makura last week fr,, m Vancouver and London. If it is impossible to raise the necessary fmuls through Australian support an exclusively Australian expedition will probably not be able to lie organised, and in that case a British element may be taken in as well. "If things proceed as we expect them to, said Dr. Mawson to a '"Sydney Morning. Herald" representative, '"it is behoved that the scientific material collected by the Australian expedition or ]911 will outclass any previous undeitakmg of the kind." "Are you going to the Pole?" he was asked. "Oh, Scott will have got there," he said promptly, in a tone which showed that Dr Mawson, at. any rate, lakes Capiam Scott's success for granted. "I din t think there's much doubt about that. |t i S a p-reat f eat ot - i ea< iersliip to get to the Pole, and I think Scott is most hkoly to manage it. Of course, ii he didn't, we might undertake it for the oi keeping the achievement in our oirfi country. J]nt there is ten thousand times more to be done than that at the particular part of the Antarctic to which we propobe to go. The part which it is most important to explore scientifically is the great unknown coastline which lies directly south of Australia. It covers a length ot J4OO miles between Cape Adare at one end and Gauss Berg at the other. Only once in the whole of history has that coast been touched, and then only during ono isolated call of a few hours. It was no less than 70 years ago. Whatever material of economic valuegold and mineral wealth, whale oil, seal oil, or anything else—this shore ma? contain will, of course, be to the advantage of Australia. If the results are. purely scientific they would be of the highest value to Australia. We should have a station close to the magnetic Pole, and make more definite the magnetic work which Australia already has the credit of acbieviug. "The lirst notice of the expedition was in the 'Dady jlail' of March IS last. It stated that the expedition would he in charge of Sir Ernest Shackleton, and that 1 myself would accompany him as director of the scientific work. In the event of unforseen circumstances preventing Sir E. Shackleton's setting out, the expedition still would not be interfered with, but 1 should take command. It is intended that we should sad about this time next your. Sir Ernest Shaekletou has approached several supporters who are Australians, or. have Australian interests, and two of these promised him £11,000. Shaekletou is returning about this time to London, and he has arranged to push on with the- proposal. It was our intention to make the expedition an entirely Australian one. The members will all, or nearly all, be Australians. Sliackleton still 'has the Ximmd, hut it is hoped wo shall be able to get a larger lioat." Dr. Mawsou brought the following details of Captain Scott's expedition": —"The ship.' , he said ; "has started. Captain Scott is coming on by mail steamer. He will come by way of Australia. At present there are two Australasians going with him. One is Mr. T. O. Tavlnr, a geologist, formerly ■ of Sydney • University. The other is also a geologist, Jlr. Thompson, who is conducting some studies at Sydney University at present. He was formerly of Duncdin, Now Zealand.