ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 70, 26 March 1901, Page 3

ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

GERMAN VESSEL TO SAIL IN „. AUGUST, ed )w By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyri| iti London, March 25 a The German Antarctic Expedition s: in August. lis ‘ n- THE “DISCOVERY.” en, A few morning’s ago the Times cab noted that the “ Discovery ” had be launched. The preparations for the National A tarctic Expedition promoted by ihe Roy Geographical Society and the British Go eminent are already far advanced, and August, says a London correspondent, t j. stout ship Discovery will wend her w; to the Antipodean icy regions. Althou; n the Government have contributed £4S,CM , and private subscriptions have add< , £46,000, the promoters of the schen _ hope to raise the total to £IIO,OOO, ar not to let the equipment or extent of tl exploration of the English expedition 1 in any way inferior to that of the Germ a: a which is to start at the same date, Tl ’ two expeditions are to. work in harmon; and have come to a mutual arrangemei for the division of the work. The Gernia J boat is being constructed on the lines c the Fram at Kiel, will have engines and 1 full rig of sails, be able to make aboc ’ seven knots an hour, carry four seientifi 1 men, and have a good crew and fifty Si ’ berian dogs on board. J The British ship (tho Discovery) wa ' building in the yard of the Dundee Ship ’ builders’ Company, where the North Pol ' Discovery of the 1875 expedition came in to being. She will be, says a eorresponden of the Pall Mall Gazette, the most remark able exploring vessel ever built. Strengtl has been the first and last principle o her construction, and she will be superioi to the German boat in this respect, and ir most others, although the Continental: have had a less limited purse to draw upon. She will be built entirely of wood, the outside plankiug being of hard wood covered with a thick sheathing of greenheart and ironbark. Her stem, from outside to inside, is about nine feet in thickness, and the sides in the way of the main deck show a thickness of two and a-half feet of solid timber. The framing is of oak grown in Scotland. A peculiarity in modelling has been effected, so that, should she become tightly enclosed in the ice, sho will rise above it as it presses jn upon her. A novel arrangement has been effected to prevent tho penetration of cold blasts when a person enters from the outside, for thero are two doors—an inner and an outer with a sort of lobby in between —to each entrance from the upper deck, so that the person entering or leaving will first close ono before opening the other. Below will bo a number of store rooms, in which provisions will be carried for three years’ living. During the long winter months the Discovery will bo covered with a heavy tent-covering, laced closely down at tho sides to secure a complete protection from the snow and wind. She will be rigged as a full barque, and liavo a large complenicnt of boats, built specially for this class of work. Engines of 450 horse-power will be fitted aft as auxiliaries to tho sail powor, the propeller and rudder being so arranged that they can be taken on deck when the vessel is in the ice. She will be 178 ft long, 34ft wide, and 20ft deep, and is expected to be ready about April. Funds permitting, she will carry a captive balloon. Her commander will be Captain R. F. Scott, R. N., who is only thirty, but enthusiastic and scientific. Till last autumn, he was torpedo lieutenant on the Majestic, and was in charge of the wireless telegraphy arrangements during the Channel Squadron manoeuvres. Lieutenant Charles Royd, R.N., will be second in command; Mr R. Sfcolton, R.N., enginheer; Dr Koettlitz, who went out with the Jackson Harmsworth expedition, will be ship’s doctor ; Professor Gregory, of Melbourne (who is referred to in the cable), will be chief of the civilian scientific staff; Mr Hodgson, biologist. Tho officers and crew will number fortyfive, against the Gorman thirty. The German expedition will be out for three years, and it is hoped that the Discovery may he engaged for a similar period, but £90,000 would only be sufficient for a two-years’ trip to the Antarctic, and might in other respects cripple the usefulness of tho voyage, as well as increase its risks. It is believed that these difficulties will melt when the ship is afloat, and public interest in her is increased.