ANTARCTIC DISCOVERY

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10713, 9 November 1912, Page 3

ANTARCTIC DISCOVERY

(. APIA IX SCOI'I'V KXPKDriiOX. I:.: 1.-n;:ioii recently Sit" ( 'i<.,.iu-..its a;itrkli.;!!!, Ex-I'resident. »i tl«> Geographical Society address* d a rrowde..t and interested gathering on An-r<i.-:<:'»\v"v. Special i.vt ink., i) in that part ot in.-- address \viiu-h deait with Captain Scott's exp _: ii t ion. !!:• --aid thoy could not yoi really .nke stock of the re.-, nits, tor they ..ere hut, hah' completed, but they the commander aud his abk> 4 a.'f. The.y Jnu! his ivjwrl, and, i!"\v could make a forecast to s uiii extent of what his second would lie. Tito iirst, great success of the expedition was tho discovery of fossils which which would establish the geological position of the Beacon sandstone, iv.viy detail of -Captain Scott's journey to the South Pole had beeThought out. with characteristic thoroughness, and tho attainment of his object was, humanly speaking, certain. Captain Scott would have reached tho South Polo on about January M. His return in safety had ] been amply provided for by tho de- j pots, and at this timo lie and his gallant comrades wero enduring tho rigours of the Antarctic winter and preparing their next great service to geography. He woyjld have / magnetic obversations from tho i ter quarters to tho South Pole —tho j only practical reason for going there. He had reason to believe that the intention of Captain Scott was to proceed along the coast as far as possible to the south in the next season, thus involving the problem of the Great Tee Barrier. One important result of Captain Scott's persistent- determination to complete the work of exploration in the. Victorian . Quadrant would be that there would bo a complete series of meteorological, mag-1 netic, and tidal observations for four years. Captain Scott and five of his companions would have passed through four Antarctic winters, ami they lu'-d devoted their energies tc geographical discovery during four Antarciic travelling seasons. Scott's two expeditions formed the two most important aud the most fruitful en-terpri-es that- had ever Leon under- j taken, either in Arctic or in Ant-are j tic regions. Assuming t!i« eompkt? ! success of all the thr.v, expedition'.' [ i which were now winteiing in the At- j \ tarctic regions, then l , was still much I remaining for future explorers to i achieve. Meanwhile they must look j forward to the next spring, when j tho whole country would welcome the j return of Captain Scott, the great- j est of all Polar explorers, and hear J of tho geographical achievements of himself and his gallant companions with the deepest interest and with well-founded national pride.