HOW AN EXPLORER BEGAN

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 68, 11 October 1940, Page 9

HOW AN EXPLORER BEGAN

Michael Terry’s Russian Christmas

O carol singers wakened Michael Terry, author and explorer, on Christmas morning, 1917. A burly Russian, prodding him vigorously with a bayonet, roused him from sleep to the knowledge that he was a prisoner of the Bolsheviks, along with 150 other British soldiers who had gone out to Russia with the Locker-Lampson armoured car expedition. The privations which followed, including harsh treatment from the Bolshe-

viks and a bitterly cold journey of three weeks in a train to Murmansk, ended Mr. Terry’s war service, and he was invalided to Australia. That was the beginning of his career as author and explorer; he remairied for 22 years and explored vast stretches of the Australian interior. Had the Russians clung to their original intention of shooting their British prisoners (fortunately they changed their minds at the last moment), Mr. Terry’s career would have ended in his youth and he would not have visited New Zealand to deliver broadcast talks over the National stations. The son of a British Army officer, he joined up at the age of 16 with the armoured cars. His uncle, Colonel Terry, was the first British soldier to land in France during the last war. If the visiting explorer takes a lively interest in the film world, it is because his cousin is Anna Neagle, who has made a worldwide success of playing the part of Queen Victoria in two famous films, Health Again Australian sun gave Mr. Terry his health, and good health led to exploration. That, in turn, led to journalism. To-day he is the author of five books and a specialist writer on Empire affairs. He arrived from England a few weeks ago to continue his work of pub-

licising Britain’s war effort, which he has been doing in London since the outbreak of war. His destination is Sydney, where he hopes to set up his own bureau, co-ordinating information and distributing it throughout the Empire. "I just drifted into the game," is Mr. Terry’s own way of explaining how he became an explorer. He was undecided whether to go to California or to see the Northern Territory of Australia. The Northern Territory won the day. With a companion, Mr. R. Yockney, he set off in a dilapidated car to make the first recorded journey from Winton, in Queensland, to Broome, centre of

the pearl fisheries in Western Australia, across some of the most inhospitable country in the world. That was. the beginning of 14 expeditions through Central and Northern Australia by camel and motor, on one of which he covered 5,500 miles, including 2,000 miles over unmapped country, after being attacked by hostile Blacks. Exploring Saves Money "Exploring is the best way I know of saving money," he says. "I drew a small wage, which was never touched. All one needs is a few clothes, some tobacco and food. One can live very nicely in the push on a pound a week and never worry." Clothes were few, consisting of shorts, shirt and boots-all sturdy and serviceable. Gold prospecting was the real object of these expeditions, but Mr. Terry combined that with a considerable amount of valuable geographical, meteorological and survey work. He discovered and named a number of geographical features, made soil surveys and mapped much of the little known country of the north. A great deal of the work was negative, he says, but occasionally the expeditions came on something really worth while, as at Tanami, in 1928, when he discovered gold, and in 1933 when he found de-

posits of potassium nitrate 200 miles west of Alice Springs. Four years ago, when he had planned his last big expedition to a new gold-field in Western Australia, his heart gave out and the trip had to be abandoned. "I had waited four years for it, but it had to go," he said. It Also Makes Authors During these exploration trips Mr. Terry began his career as author by writing of his experiences and discoveries for Australian and English papers. These were illustrated with his own photographs, of which he has a unique collection numbering over 2,000. One thing led to another and he soon found himself on the platform, lecturing to the Royal Geographical Society about his expeditions, for, he says modestly, the life he led sharpened his mind and changed his ideas. Two years ago Mr. Terry returned to London and picked up his old Fleet Street connections to make writing the serious business of his life, since he could no longer go exploring. Like many other journalists, he was badly hit when the war broke out and a particularly bright future, the result of years of labour, was suddenly blacked out. As an example of what has happened Mr. Terry mentioned that journalists who were making £1,000 a year are now fortunate to be earning 30/- a week. He estimates that since 1924 he has written three-quarters of a million words. Faith in Youth Before leaving London Mr. Terry was associated with the publicity side of Britain’s war effort. He pays high tribute to the standard of efficiency of Britain’s fighting forces and says that they have never stood higher in the estimation of the public. This was due principally to the fact that all three forces were now staffed by younger men whose wide-awake ideas have kept them abreast of these momentous times. Although the British public had every confidence in the Army, Navy and Air Force, there was some criticism of the political control, combined with the greatest admiration for Winston Churchill. There was a growing feeling, he thought, that the younger men should be given a chance not only in the fighting forces, but in the conduct of the affairs of the Nation. To-day Britain had need of dynamic personalities such as Sir John Reith (now Lord Reith), said Mr. Terry, for despite all criticism Sir John was dynamic. During the last war the former director of the BBC was a subaltern in the regiment commanded by Mr. Terry’s father. Mr. Terry is accompanied by his wife, formerly Miss Livingstone Learmouth, who is making her first trip to this side of the world and, incidentally, was thrilled with New Zealand’s thermal wonders. Her father was born in Australia and her wedding ring was made from a piece of Australian gold obtained from a mine in which her father was interested. In Sydney she hopes to continue her V.A.D. and First Aid work. Mr. Terry has recorded two series of talks, one on the war, and one on life in Central Australia, for broadcast by the National Stations in the near future. There are 10 talks in all,