ENDERBY LAND

Hokitika Guardian, 28 January 1930, Page 7

ENDERBY LAND

WHAT MAWSON FOUND. INTERESTING OBSERVATION. •; CANBERRA, January 25. A wireless from Sir Douglas Mgwsan, dated January 13th, is as follow s:— Arrived at 5.30 o’clock, this morning off a high rocky peak oil the Enderliy Land coast, which, we found was separated by a mu-row water passage. from the ice cliffs of the main land. There are many rocky out-crops in the vicinity, some being islets, and others projections from the coast ice. These, and grounded bergs, determine the locaj jam of the pack ice, .... rough which the “Discovery” pressed to a large pool on the coast in the Ice of the obstacles, the approximate position of which is 66 degrees 50 minutes south latitude, and 53 deg 30 mins east lon.gtitude. The scientists disembarked, and they spent a profitable day. They observed a luxuriant growth' of seawe<ed 'in the shallow waters, clothing the rocky bottom, which harbours a great variety of marine life. Seals were plentiful and Adelie penguins abound, their rookeries extending from, the short up slopes that are five hundred feet hi oh, This is an ara of -ancient crystalline rocks. On climbing an elevation, we came upon nests of many kinds of sea fowl, thus locating the second known nesting place in the Antarctic. Petrels and their chicks were observed for the first time. From a vantage point 850 feet above the ship, we also had a good view of the neighbouring sea and northern extremity of Enderby Land, Within sight there were 174 large bergs, mostly tabular in form, and over 100 feet high. Large ice slopes were seen rising evenly and smoothly, except where much crevassed patches showed over submerged rocky peaks. Elsewhere, rocky foundations rise through the ice cap as lofty, black peiaks. One such was named.. Mount Codrington by Biscoe in 1831. jit was recognised among a bunch -jof lesser peaks to the south-south-wjest. Our survey over 100 miles of the j. coast, including Macrobertson Land find Kemp Land, is now joined with the- coast, land charted by Biscoe. Overlooking this lone land, we raised a flag on a high eyrie, and deposited a scroll Recording that fact We descended. late in the afternoon, laden with l'VVcks, birds, eggs, etc.; and wo were joined by tlio magnetic-inns, who had determined the magnetic constants,fi.a nd we all embarked. Tim Reproduction of this'inessage, in whole Si- in part outside Australia or Aew Zealand, is forbidden. A Vjh ' NEWS FROM “NORVEGIA.”

6/ OSLO, January 25.Larsdn radioed on Friday 24th., January, from tire “Norvegia” near Enderby Land : “The ice is being broken up in small patches. It is impossible to find a big enough patch lor starting an aeroplane mounted on ski is. I understand that Sir D. Mawson lias found difficulties. The “Norwegia” is at present proceeding westward and is taking oceangraphical observations. We still expect to get an opportunity to use aeroplanes fitted will skiis as well as sleds.” The reproduction of this message, in whole or in part outside Australia or New Zealand is forbidden. BYRD’S PR ED 1C AMENT. ; LONDON, Jan. 24. “If it were possible for whalers to relieve Byrd, they would go immediately without waiting an order,” an official of the Norwegian Legation stated, but he pointed out that the whalers were not built to negotiate ice. II Byrd’s own ships could not get through, it was most improbable the whalers would be able to. It was impossible for Sir I). Mnwson to-assist Byrd. The only ship remotely likely is the William Scoresby, a little whaler helping Wilkins, now proceeding to Ross Sea. The Government considers that she is too small to be of any assistance.

NORWEGIAN HELP. FACTORY SHIP TO TACKLE ICE. OSLO, Jan. 26. Replying to the United States request that Norwegian whalers should re ml or assistance to the Byrd Expedition. the Norwegian Government lias telegraphed that it has approached the Whalers’ Association, who express the opinion that the ice pack will break up as it has don# in previous years, hut the factory ship will bo sent to try to assist. NO NEED FOR ALARM. ON BYRD’S PART. ICE SLUE TO MELT NEXT MONTH. WELLINGTON, Jan. 26. In an interview witli a representative of the Press Association, Air H. It. Korrar, who was Geologist, Mr H. R. rain Scott’s first Antarctic- expedition in Ipo2, expressed the view that Comniandei) Byrd’s anxiety as to his chains# o,f' getting his party safely away from the Antarctic before next winter was groundless. Mr Ferrnr said that there was no cause for Commander Byrd to request help so early in the year. He explained “pack ice comes into existence in somewhat

the following way: During the South Pole winter the ice freezes and forms a fringe round the periphery of the Antarctic Continent, and attached to it. In the spring this fringe breaks away as large slabs of ice (ice floes), eight to ten feet thick, and slowly floats northward into a lower latitude. In summer, the floes are iound by the sailors of these seas to have gathered as a belt of floating ice (the Ice Pack), which packs into a circular belt around Antarctica, but separated from it by stretches of sea largely free from ice. In the- autumn, this belt of “pack” becomes attenuated, portly owing to melting in the now warmer sea, and partly because, as the- belt floats northward, the bulge of the earth makes it stretch out on the circumference of the circle, which increases in size with the decrease of latitude. Before the .sea recommences to freeze, as the next winter approached, the pack ice- largely, if not completely, disappears.

This outline of events is borne out by the experience of ships approaching Uio Antarctic in the early summer. They always have difficulty in crossing the belt of pac-k ice, which is now two hundred to three hundred miles wide. In the autumn (February) a ship is known to have voyaged between New Zealand and South Victoria Land without encountering any ice en route. The Discovery (Captain Scott’s ship, and Mawson’s recent ship) was fast frozen in the ice near Mount Erebus until the 16th. February of the year 1914, and not leaving Antarctic regions until the end of the month, she sighted practically no floating ico on her way back to Lyttelton. Commander Byrd’s position there is not so precarious as it seems.”

DR MAWSON’S DISCOVERIES. CANBERRA, Jan. 27. A wireless from Mnwson dated 14tli. states they steamed along Enderly Land coast since when the course has been generally west-south-west. Quantities of storm tossed pack ice formed an unbroken belt along the coast. The Pnd maintained a uniform character, rising ice slopes being punctuated by the penetration of lofty peaks leaching an elevation of several thousand feet. An interesting feature has developed from plotting the recently delineated coastline, namely the land which Kemp saw in December 1833 has been wrongly located on the chart, as it is much further south. Mawson’s position is now latitude 66 degrees 12 minutes, longitude 49 degrees 21 minutes.