IN ANTARCTICA

Hokitika Guardian, 30 January 1930, Page 5

IN ANTARCTICA

WILKIN’S FLIGHTS. OVER ROSS SEA. [United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.] LONDON, Jan. 27. Wilkins, in a message from l)ecepion Island, dated December 27th, states. “We mill make two or throe more exploration flights, if we are successful in a race against the rapid approac.L of unfavourable weather. The ship William Seoresby, with the Lockhead monoplane on floats, leaves here to-day for a point westward of Peterisland, which will lie our hopping off point for ‘flights. The trip lasts about three weeks. We hope to reach new land far to the southward. If we locate ice suitable for the skis, we will equip the plane with them, and will fly over Ross Sea. All our plans depend on the weather. Desperate attempts against bad weather as late in the season as this would be unwarranted. as a rescue would be difficult if an accident happened.

MAWSON IN GALE. (All Rights Reserved). (Received i-bis dav at If) a.m.) CANBERRA, Jan. 30. A wireless from Sir H. Mawson sa yg ; —"On the 19th the wind increased to a high g.de before which we wore driven far to the west. The 20tii and 21st were anxious days. We were hove to in an easterly gale. The sens are now moderating. On 23rd we discovered wo had been driven 10 and 50 miles west and southeast. JTn (latitude 66.22 longitude 48.30 east we passed the tip of a. mighty shelf of ice. tongue. with cliffs upward of two hundred feet extended south-east to join tile, land which receded to the horizon limit. We are now continuing east along the coast.’’ THE ICE! PACK. TRANSFERRING COAL. ELEANOR BOLLING TO COME BACK. i (By Russell Owen—Copyrighted 1929 by the New York Times Company, and St. Louis Post Dispatch. All rights for publication reserved throughout the world. Wireless to New York Times.)

(Received this day at noon.) BAY OF WHALES, Jan. 28. After a conference by wireless between Bendik Johnson, the ice pilot for the City of New York and Eleanor Bolling, Bvrd agreed with the skippers of jbotli 'those ships to transfer the Bolling’s coal to the New York and send the Bolling back to New Zealand for another cargo. It is a long trip from Dunedin to the edge of the ice pack, and if the ships are compelled to wait another ten days or a fortnight for the ice to move, they would use most of the available fuel. Johnson says the whaling captains agreed with him that the ice conditions this year are quite 'unique, The pack is very heavy from 68 to 70 south, and extends west towards the western shore of Balleny Isands, so there is a stretch of a hundred and twenty miles of ice, heavily packed, that must break lip to some extent before our ships even try to get through.