OFF TO ANTARCTICA

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2262, 23 September 1914, Page 9

OFF TO ANTARCTICA

WITH SHACKLETON A MAWSON MAN AT THE NEW ZEALAND CLUB At tile New Zealand Club's luncheon yesterday Mr. Frank Hurley, the official photographer of the Mawson Scientific Expedition, who is now on his way to join Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition at Buenos Ayres, told of his interesting experiences in Antarctica. He said that the object of Sir Douglas Mawson's expedition was to scientifically explore that quadrant of the great continent which lay to the 60uth of Australia and New Zealand. . A great number of people had asked what interest there was to be served in Antarctic exploration. For one thing, the conditions of Antarctica greatly influenced the weather conditions of both Australia- and Now Zealand. Apart from meteorology, there were other phases of science that were studied and observed which' were of value to the outer world. As to whether there was gold or coal, or whether the place was habitable, he left for others to say.

Life in Adelle Land. They landed on Adelie Land on a heavenly day; the sea- was without a ripple, and the tall ice cliffs were perfectly mirrored in the deep indigo depths of the Antarctic Ocean. There they built their hut, loading it down, witn 12 tons of rock blasted for the purpose. They soon had reason to thank Mawsou for his foresight, for gales and blizzards soon descended upon them. Gales which blew at the rate of 70 miles an hour were common. In June, 1912, a record of 118 miles an hour was reached, and on June 20 it blew 90.1 miles per hour the whole day through. Walking was at first impossible. After a time they went out on all fours, for exercise, and developed all sorts of curious muscles by adopting that method of locomotion. After a time they were able to get about by leaning on the wind at an angle of 45 degrees. The wind .was bad enough, but when it snowed—well, it came so thick that one could not see one's hand held out at arm's length, and. it froze on the face and made an ice-mask, which proved to be a valuable protection. The routine of the day when confined by weather was as follows: —Rise at 8 a.m.; breakfast; hands to assist meteorologist to go to the screen, a quarter of a mile away; attend to dogs; 6hovel snow away from the hut (which was like a child trying to scoop away tho sand from an ocean beach); and prepare the sledging equipment for the approaching season. This, with meals and amusements, kept all hands pretty busy the whole time. On one occasion Mr. Hurley said ho was attached to a party that got within 45 miles of the South Magnetic Polo, and had a bad time on the way back through-missing, a depot. That was a very simple thing to do, as when bo near the Magnetic South the compass was of no use at all, and one had to depend on the theodolite and sextant to locate the .points of the compass. They were three days without food, when they decided to relinquish the search for the depot (which at best is only a heap of snow), and dash the 671 miles back to tho hut.' This they were able to do through sheer will power. Then came the reaction, and ten days in bed..

How Mawson's Life was Saved. What it feels like to be lost in the snow without provision he would leave Sir Douglas Mawson to tell wnen he lectured , nere in a few weeks' time. Mr. Hurley was one of a. party who went out to.Bearch for Mawson when the latter was three weeks overdue. They searched for fifty miles round the hut, and then made a series of depots five miles apart. As luck would nave it, Mawson, in. a terrible state .of weakness, stumbled across the farthest-out depot in a blizzard—stumbled upon .it blind almost—and it saved his life. Curiously enough, he reached the deuot only seven hours after they had finished building it, but he was so frightfully weak that it was ten days afterwards before he reached the hut.