BYRD SETS OUT FOR THE SOUTH POLE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3879, 4 December 1928, Page 2

BYRD SETS OUT FOR THE SOUTH POLE.

1 ELEANOR BOLLING TO MAKE RETURN TRIP. Dunedin, December 2. Commander Richard Byrd and his advance guard of explorers are now en route for the ice-bound regions of the South Pole, the Eleanor Bolling leaving Dunedin a few minutes after 6 a.m. to-day with the City of New York in tow. Despite the early hour the explorers were accorded a hearty send-off from the crowd of about COO on the wharf. At the last minute it was found necessary, on Captain Melville’s advice, to unload some of the aeroplane eases from the City of New York, and these will be taken to the Antarctic by the Eleanor Bolling when she returns to Dunedin in probably some 12 days’ time. •Should the winds be unfavourable, the City of New York will be towed down to the ice-pack, about 1020 miles away. The whaling vessel C. A. Larsen will take the City of New York in tow and force a passage through the ice to the Barrier. The arrival of the City of New York at the Barrier will depend entirely on the progress made by the C. A. Larsen. The ice-pack is reported to be very thick this season. The Eleanor Bolling is expected to return to Dunedin in about 12 days. She may return earlier if the City of New York meets favourable winds. The Eleanor Bolling will remain here until about Christmas, when she will leave for the Bay of Whales with provisions and equipment, including the aeroplanes that could not be accommodated on the City of New York. There is not an inch of space wasted on the City of New York. The decks are stacked eight or ten feet high with heavy and light equipment. It has all been securely packed, as the barque may meet some heavy weather before she reaches the outer fringe of the pack ice. Crates, boxes, large cases, timber, sledges, and the boxes containing the dogs take up the full amount of open deck space, leaving little room for free movement. The after-deck, abaft the commander’s quarters, and the wireless house also carried a quantity of gear. The 100 cases of apples presented to the expedition were stow ed on the roof of the wireless house. At least one man made a persistent attempt to stow away. He was an elderly man who went to the Antarctic some years ago, and in whom the spirit of adventure was apparently reawakened bv the expedition’s preparations at the port. He made several attempts to conceal himself on the City of New York, but each time was placed on shore. He was again found on board the vessel after she had left the wharf, but when the tug reached the Heads and was casting off to return to Port Chalmers he was placed on board and brought safely home. As a reward for his ambition and determination Commander Byrd has invited Dr. Vaclov Voutech, of Czecho-Slovakia, a graduate of Prague University, to join the expedition. Dr. Voutech was one of the original applicants for inclusion in the personnel who had to be refused, but so anxious is he to study the geology of the Antarctic that he left Prague and landed in Wellington on November 9, three days after Commander Byrd stepped ashore'. Dr. Voutech is now studying English in Wellington, and Mr. Brophy, manager of the expedition, has written offering him a place on the Eleanor Bolling when next she leaves for, the south. Two New Zealanders have found places in the expedition, one as cook on the City of New York and the other as sailmaker on the same vessel.