ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 193, 24 November 1910, Page 5

ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION

RIVAL EXPEDITIONS.

By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchureli, Last Night.

On October 3 last a brief cablegram from London announced that Captain Ronald 'Amundsen, commander of the Fram, had written from Madeira stating that the vessel was bound on a secret Antarctic expedition. This was the ■first mention of any intention on the part of Captain Amundsen to explore in the Antarctic. He had hitherto stated that his object was a scientific examination of the North Polar basin, and with this end in view he proposed to spend five years in the Arctic drifting over the basin, as the Fram (with Nansen in command) did in 1893-00. Since the receipt of the cablegram mentioned above, nothing further has been heard regarding the proposals of Captain Amundsen, nor of the whereabouts of his ship, the Fram. Yesterday afternoon, however, Lieut. Gran, of the Terra Nora, received a file of Norwegian newspapers, in which Captain Amundsen gave his plans for an attack on the Antarctic as follows:—'"From Madeira, the Fram will go south, but to which place in the Antarctic I cannot say. Some of the members of the expedition will be landed, with dogs, sledges, stores and equipment, and then the Fram will go out from the ice again in order to survey the ocean in those latitudes. The Fram will first call at Punta Arenas, in the Strait of Magellan, from which place ' the first news of the work and the further plans of the expedition will be announced. After that the Fram will proceed to Buenos Ayres, where she will probably arrive in June, 1911. But if the ship should not arrive at Punta Arenas, there will be no reason for any anxiety, because it \yill then have been found necessary to keep the ship to winter in the Antarctic. In February or March, 1912, the world may reckon to hear from us again. We will then continue on to San Francisco, where preparations for a North Pole expedition will be carried out as previously arranged." Captain Scott to-day made the following statement re the rival expedition: "Early in October, when in Melbourne, I received a telegram from Amundsen, stating that the Fram was going to the Antarctic. The information published this morning does not add much that is new, as apparently Amundsen desires to keep his plans secret. Judging by the few dates which he quotes, it appears to me that he intends going more or less directly south from South America, that is, either the east or west coast of Graham's Land. There hajve been rumors that he was proceeding to McMurdo Sound, the objective of our expedition, but I think that that is highly improbable. It is more likely that Amundsen considers the 'Weddell Sea, east of Graham's Land, the best point of attack. It is known that a ship can get to a comparatively. high latitude in Weddell Sea, but no landing has ever been attempted there, nor has any place been yet found where a ship may winter. However, it is not unlikely that search may reveal a suitable landing place or wintering station.