Main Base Party
Dr. D. Mawson Commander of the Expedition.
Lieut. R. Bage Astronomer, Assistant Magnetician and
Recorder of Tides.
C. T. Madigan Meteorologist.
Lieut. B. E. S. Ninnis In charge of Greenland dogs.
Dr. X. Mertz In charge of Greenland dogs.
Dr. A. L. McLean Chief Medical Officer, Bacteriologist.
F. H. Bickerton In charge of air-tractor sledge.
A. J. Hodgeman Cartographer and Sketch Artist.
J. F. Hurley Official Photographer.
E. N. Webb Chief Magnetician.
P. E. Correll Mechanic and Assistant Physicist.
J. G. Hunter Biologist.
C. F. Laseron Taxidermist and Biological Collector.
F. L. Stillwell Geologist.
H. D. Murphy In charge of Expedition stores.
W. H. Hannam Wireless Operator and Mechanic.
J. H. Close Assistant Collector.
Dr. L. A. Whetter Surgeon.
Western Base Party
F. Wild Leader.
A. D. Watson Geologist.
Dr. S. E. Jones Medical Officer.
C. T. Harrisson Biologist.
M. H. Moyes Meteorologist.
A. L. Kennedy Magnetician.
C. A. Hoadley Geologist.
G. Dovers Cartographer.
In addition to these were the following gentlemen who accompanied
the Expedition for a portion of the time only or who joined later.
S. N. Jeffryes Wireless Operator, who relieved
W. H. Hannam during 1913.
E. R. Waite (Curator, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch),
Biologist, first Sub-Antarctic cruise of
'Aurora'.
Professor T. T. Flynn (Hobart University), Biologist, second
Sub-Antarctic cruise of 'Aurora'.
J. van Waterschoot Marine Artist, second Antarctic cruise of
van der Gracht 'Aurora'.
Captain James Davis Whaling authority, second Antarctic cruise
of 'Aurora'.
C. C. Eitel Secretary, second Antarctic cruise of 'Aurora'.
N. C. Toucher, and later Served in the capacity of Chief Officer
F. D. Fletcher on the 'Aurora' during the earlier voyages.
[TEXT ILLUSTRATION]
Signatures of members of the land parties in Antarctica and at
Macquarie Island
[Accounts of the members of the expedition, in alphabetical order.]
G. F. AINSWORTH, thirty** years of age, single, was born in Sydney,
New South Wales. His services were loaned to the expedition by the
Commonwealth Meteorological Bureau, Melbourne. For a period of two
years he acted as leader of the Macquarie Island Party, carrying out
the duties of Meteorologist. In the summer of 1913-1914 he visited
the Antarctic during the final cruise of the 'Aurora'.
** The ages refer to the date of joining the Expedition and are but
approximate.
R. BAGE, twenty-three years of age, single, was a graduate in
Engineering of Melbourne University and a lieutenant in the Royal
Australian Engineers. A member of the Main Base Party (Adelie Land)
and leader of the Southern Sledging Party, he remained in the
Antarctic for two years. During the first year he was in charge of
chronometers, astronomical observations and tidal records, and
throughout the second year continued the magnetic work and looked
after stores.
F. H. BICKERTON, F.R.G.S., twenty-two years of age, single, was born
at Oxford, England. Had studied engineering: joined the Expedition
as Electrical Engineer and Motor Expert. A member of the Main Base
Party and leader of the Western Sledging Party, he remained in the
Antarctic for two years, during which time he was in charge of the
air-tractor sledge, and was engineer to the wireless station. For
a time, during the second year, he was in complete charge of the
wireless plant.
J. H. BLAIR, twenty-four years of age, single, was born in Scotland.
For five years he served with the Loch Line of Glasgow as apprentice
and third mate. As second mate he joined A. Currie and Company, of
Melbourne, in the Australian-Indian trade, reaching the rank of first
mate, in which capacity he acted during the final Antarctic cruise of
the 'Aurora' in the summer of 1913-14.
L. R. BLAKE, twenty-one years of age, single, was born in England,
but had lived for many years in Queensland previous to joining the
Expedition. Before accompanying the Macquarie Island Party as
Geologist and Cartographer, he obtained leave from the Geological
Survey Department, Brisbane. He visited the Antarctic during the
final cruise of the 'Aurora' in the summer of 1913-1914.
J. H. Close, F.R.G.S., forty years of age, married, was born in
Sydney, New South Wales. During the South African War he saw active
service in Rhodesia, and at the time of the Expedition's departure was
a teacher of physical culture at Sydney. A member of the Main Base
Party (Adelie Land) and of several sledging parties, he spent two
summers and one winter in the Antarctic.
P. E. CORRELL, nineteen years of age, single, was a student in
Science of the Adelaide University. He joined the Expedition
as Mechanician and Assistant Physicist. He was a member of the Main
Base Party accompanying the Eastern Coastal Party during their
sledging journey. He spent three summers and one winter in the
Antarctic, acting as colour photographer during the final cruise of
the 'Aurora'.
J. E. DAVIS, twenty-eight years of age, single, was master of the
'Aurora' and Second-in-Command of the Expedition. Born in Ireland and
educated in England, he served his apprenticeship on the Liverpool
owned sailing-ship, 'Celtic Chief', obtaining his certificate
as second mate before joining the barque 'Westland' trading between
England and New Zealand. His next post was that of second officer on
the training ship 'Port Jackson', following which he joined Sir Ernest
Shackleton's Expedition (1907-1909) as chief officer of the 'Nimrod',
acting subsequently as master. Throughout the whole period of the
Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914) Captain J. K. Davis
commanded the 'Aurora' during five cruises.
G. DOVERS, twenty-one years of age, single, of Sydney, New South Wales,
was completing his term for Licensed Surveyor in the service of the
Commonwealth Government when he joined the Expedition. He was in
the Antarctic for two summers and one winter, being stationed with the
Western Party (Queen Mary Land). A member of several sledging parties,
he acted as Cartographer to the party which reached Gaussberg.
F. J. GILLIES, thirty-five years of age, single, was born at Cardiff,
Wales. He served his apprenticeship as an engineer on the steamers of
John Shearman and Company and P. Baker and Company of Cardiff. For
six years previous to joining the Expedition he was in the Indian trade.
Throughout the five cruises of the 'Aurora' between 1911 and 1914 F. J.
Gillies was Chief Engineer.
P. GRAY, twenty-two years of age, single, was born and educated in
England. He served on the 'Worcester' as cadet captain for eighteen
months and as apprentice on the 'Archibald Russell', of Glasgow, and
in the New Zealand Shipping Company. In 1909 he entered the Peninsula
and Oriental Company and reached the rank of third officer, joining
the Australasian Antarctic Expedition as second officer of the 'Aurora'.
Throughout five cruises, from 1911 to 1914, he served in this capacity.
H. HAMILTON, twenty-six years of age, single, was born at Napier, New
Zealand. Graduate of the Otago University. Besides being employed on
the New Zealand Geological Survey, he acted as Entomological Collector
to the Dominion Museum at Wellington. A member of the Macquarie
Island Party, of which he was the Biologist for two years, H. Hamilton
visited the Antarctic during the final cruise of the 'Aurora' in the
summer of 1913-1914.
W. H. HANNAM, twenty-six years of age, single, was of Sydney, New
South Wales, and joined the Expedition in charge of the arrangements
for a wireless telegraphic system. He was in the Antarctic at the
Main Base (Adelie Land) for two summers and a winter, and was
successful in transmitting wireless messages for a short time during
1912 through Macquarie Island to Australia, assistant magnetician for
a time.
C. T. HARRISSON, forty-three years of age, married, was born in
Hobart, Tasmania. For many years previous to joining the Expedition
he had done illustrative and artistic work and had been engaged on a
survey and in botanical and other scientific observations on the west
coast of Tasmania. Stationed with the Western Base (Queen Mary Land)
he acted as Biologist and Artist, accompanying F. Wild on his main
eastern journey and several other sledging parties.
C. A. HOADLEY, twenty-four years of age, single, was a graduate in
Mining Engineering of Melbourne University. A member of F. Wild's
Western Party (Queen Mary Land), he took part in several sledging
journeys and was Geologist of the party who explored westwards to
Gaussberg.
A. J. HODGEMAN, twenty-six years of age, single, was born at
Adelaide, South Australia. For four years he was an articled
architect, and for five years a draughtsman in the Works and Buildings
Department, Adelaide. A member of the Main Base Party (Adelie Land),
he took part in several sledging journeys, and throughout two years
in the Antarctic acted in the capacity of Cartographer and Sketch
Artist, as well as that of Assistant Meteorologist.
J. G. HUNTER, twenty-three years of age, single, was a graduate in
Science of Sydney University, New South Wales. A member of the Main
Base Party (Adelie Land) he carried on the work of Biologist during
two summers and one winter; and in the same capacity accompanied
the 'Aurora' in her final summer cruise 1911-1914.
J. F. HURLEY, twenty-four years of age, single, was of Sydney, New
South Wales. He had been the recipient of many amateur and professional
awards for photographic work before joining the Expedition. At the
Main Base he obtained excellent photographic and cinematographic records
and was one of the three members of the Southern Sledging Party. He
was also present on the final cruise of the 'Aurora'.
S. N. JEFFRYES, twenty-seven years of age, single, of Towoomba,
Queensland, was a qualified operator of the Australasian Wireless
Company. During the second year (1913) he took W. H. Hannam's place
in charge of the wireless plant, wintering at the Main Base (Adelie
Land).
S. E. JONES, twenty-four years of age, single, was a graduate in
Medicine of Sydney University, New South Wales. A member and Medical
Officer of F. Wild's Western Base (Queen Mary Land), he took part in
several sledging journeys during 1912 and was leader of the party who
explored westward to Gaussberg.
A. L. KENNEDY, twenty-two years of age, single, was a student in
Science of Adelaide University, South Australia. Receiving special
tuition, he acted as Magnetician at the Western Base (Queen Mary
Land) during the year 1912. He was a member of several sledging
parties and accompanied F. Wild on his main eastern journey as
Cartographer.
C. F. LASERON, twenty-five years of age, single, had gained a
Diploma in Geology at the Technical College, Sydney, New South Wales,
and for some years was Collector to the Technological Museum. At the
Main Base (Adelie Land), during 1912, he acted as Taxidermist and
general Collector, taking part, as well, in sledging journeys to the
south and east of Winter Quarters.
C. T. MADIGAN, twenty-three years of age, single, was a graduate in
Science (Mining Engineering) of Adelaide University, South Australia.
Through the courtesy of the Trustees of the Rhodes Scholarship, the
necessary leave to accompany the Expedition was granted just as he
was on the eve of continuing his studies at Oxford University. A
member of the Main Base Party (Adelie Land) he acted as Meteorologist
for two years, and during the second year (1913) was also in charge of
the Greenland dogs. An important journey in the spring and one to
the east in the summer were made under his leadership, and the Party,
left in Adelie Land in 1913, was to have been under his charge, but
for my return.
D. MAWSON, thirty years of age, single, was the Organiser and Leader
of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition and was, previous to it, a
member of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition of 1907-1909,
being one of the party under Professor David which reached the South
Magnetic Pole. A graduate in Science and Engineering of Sydney and
Adelaide Universities, he had filled for some time the post of
Lecturer in Mineralogy and Petrology at the Adelaide University.
The only survivor of a party sledging to the east from the Main Base
in the summer of 1912-1913.
A. L. McLEAN, twenty-six years of age, single, was a graduate in Arts
and Medicine of Sydney University; New South Wales. He acted as
Chief Medical Officer at the Main Base (Adelie Land) and carried out
observations in Bacteriology and Physiology during the first year.
In 1913 (the second year) he was Biologist, Ice-Carrier and Editor of
the 'Adelie Blizzard'. He took part in a sledging journey along the
eastern coast in the summer of 1912-1913.
X. MERTZ, twenty-eight years of age, single, of Basle, Switzerland,
was a graduate in Law of the Universities of Leipzig and Berne. Prior
to joining the Expedition he had gained the Ski-running Championship
of Switzerland and was an experienced mountaineer. At the Main Base
(Adelie Land) he was assisted by B. E. S. Ninnis in the care of
the Greenland dogs. On January 7, 1913, during a sledging journey,
he lost his life, one hundred miles south-east of Winter Quarters.
C. P. DE LA MOTTE, nineteen years of age, single, of Bulli, New
South Wales, had early training at sea on the barque 'Northern Chief'
of New Zealand, obtaining his certificate as second mate in March
1911. During the eight months prior to joining the Expedition he
served as fourth officer on the S.S. 'Warrimoo' of the Union Steamship
Company of New Zealand. Throughout the five cruises of the 'Aurora'
between 1911 and 1914, C. P. de la Motte was third officer with the
Ship's party.
M. H. MOYES, twenty-five years of age, single, of Koolunga, South
Australia, was a graduate in Science of Adelaide University. With the
Western Base Party (Queen Mary Land) he acted as Meteorologist and
took part in several sledging journeys in the autumn and spring of
1912. During the summer of 1912-1913, through an unavoidable
accident, he was left to carry on work alone at Winter Quarters for
a period of nine weeks.
H. D. MURPHY, thirty-two years of age, single, of Melbourne,
one-time Scholar in History of Oxford University. At the outset he
was to have been leader of a third Antarctic Base which was eventually
amalgamated with the Main Base (Adelie Land). Here he had charge of
the stores and during the early summer of 1912 was leader of the
Southern Supporting Party.
B. E. S. NINNIS, twenty-three years of age, single, was educated at
Dulwich, England, and entered His Majesty's Army, having a commission
as Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers prior to joining the Expedition
in London. At the Main Base (Adelie Land) he was assisted by X. Mertz
in the care of the Greenland dogs. On December 14, 1912, while on a
sledging journey, he lost his life by falling into a crevasse three
hundred miles east of Winter Quarters.
C. A. SANDELL, twenty-five years of age, single, of Surrey, England,
studied electrical engineering for some years and then came to
Australia in 1909 and entered the Commonwealth Branch of Telephony.
Having a practical knowledge of wireless telegraphy he joined the
Expedition as a Wireless Operator and Mechanic and was stationed with
the Macquarie Island Party for two years. After the departure of A.
J. Sawyer in August 1913, he was in complete charge of the wireless
station. C. A. Sandell visited the Antarctic during the final
cruise of the 'Aurora' in the summer of 1913-1914.
A. J. SAWYER, twenty-six years of age, single, was born in New
Zealand. Having had considerable experience in wireless telegraphy,
he joined the Expedition as an operator from the Australasian Wireless
Company. At the Macquarie Island Station he was chief wireless until
August 1913, when on account of illness he returned to New Zealand.
F. L. STILLWELL, twenty-three years of age, single, was a graduate
in Science of Melbourne University, Victoria. A member of the Main
Base Party (Adelie Land) he acted as Geologist. F. L. Stillwell
was leader of two sledging parties who did detail work for about sixty
miles along the coast eastward of Winter Quarters.
A. D. WATSON, twenty-four years of age, single, was a graduate in
Science of Sydney University, New South Wales. A member of the
Western Base Party (Queen Mary Land) he acted as Geologist. A. D.
Watson took part in several sledging journeys, accompanying F. Wild
in his main eastern trip during the summer of 1912-1913.
E. N. WEBB, twenty-two years of age, single, was an Associate of
Civil Engineering of Canterbury University College, and, for the
five months previous to joining the Expedition, carried out magnetic
observations under the Carnegie Institute of Washington, U.S.A. At
the Main Base (Adelie Land) E. N. Webb was Chief Magnetician,
accompanying the Southern Sledging Party.
L. A. WHETTER, twenty-nine years of age, single. He graduated at
Otago University, New Zealand, and joined the Expedition as Surgeon,
acting in that capacity at the Main Base (Adelie Land) during 1912.
He accompanied a sledging party which explored to the westward of
Winter Quarters.
F. WILD, thirty-eight years of age, single, was Leader of the Western
Base Party (Queen Mary Land). He joined the Merchant Service in
1889 and the Navy in 1900, served on an extended sledge journey
during the National Antarctic Expedition (Capt. R. F. Scott) of
1901-1904, and was one of the Southern Party of Sir Ernest
Shackleton's Expedition from 1907-1909. During the Australasian
Expedition he opened up a new tract of country—Queen Mary Land.
I desire to make special mention of the Ship's Party who faced the
rigorous conditions of Antarctica and the stormy Southern Ocean,
during five separate voyages, with a cheerfulness and devotion to duty
which will always stand to their lasting credit. In regions of heavy
pack-ice and sudden blizzard winds, Captain Davis piloted the Ship
safely through many situations of extreme danger. In a report to me
on the work of the Ship he writes an appreciative note:—
"I wish to draw particular attention to the loyal way in which the
officers and men of the 'Aurora' supported me. Messrs. Toucher,
Fletcher, Blair, Gray, de la Motte, and Gillies, in their respective
positions, carried out the duties assigned to them with ability and
cheerfulness, often under very trying conditions.
"Mr. Gillies not only looked after the engines but assisted
materially in the deep-sea work by the invention of a new form of
sounding driver which was used successfully during the various
cruises of the 'Aurora'.
"The Chief Officer was in charge of the stores and equipment of the
Expedition on board the vessel, in addition to his ordinary executive
duties. Messrs. Toucher, Fletcher and Blair served in this capacity
on different voyages.
"Mr. P. Gray, as Second and Navigating Officer, and Mr. C. P. de
la Motte, as Third Officer, acted capably and thoroughly throughout
the Expedition."
APPENDIX II
Scientific Work
It should be remarked that there is no intention of furnishing
anything more than a suggestion of the general trend of the scientific
observations of the Expedition. The brief statement made below
indicates the broad lines on which the work was conducted and in some
cases the ground which was actually covered. It may thus give the
general reader a clue to the nature of the scientific volumes which
will serve to record permanently the results amassed during a period
of more than two years.
Terrestrial Magnetism
1. Field Work.
(a) Dip determinations were made at Macquarie Island, on the eastern
and southern journeys from the Main Base (Adelie Land) and on a
short journey from the Western Base (Queen Mary Land).
(b) Declination by theodolite observations was determined at
Macquarie Island and at intervals on all sledging journeys in the
Antarctic.
(c) Rough observations of magnetic variation were made daily on the
'Aurora' during her five cruises.
2. Station Work.
(a) Regular magnetograph records were kept at the Main Base (Adelie Land)
for a period of eighteen months. A system of term days for quick runs
was also followed; Melbourne, Christchurch, and other stations co
operating. In connexion with the magnetograph work, Webb conducted
regular, absolute observations throughout the year 1912. Bage continued
the magnetograph records for a further six months in 1913, observed
term days, and took absolute observations.
(b) At the Western Base (Queen Mary Land) Kennedy kept term days in
the winter, using a magnetometer and dip-circle.
Biology
1. Station Collections.
(a) At Macquarie Island, Hamilton worked for two years amongst a rich
fauna and a scanty but interesting flora. Amongst other discoveries
a finch indigenous to Macquarie Island was found.
(b) In Adelie Land, Hunter, assisted by Laseron, secured a large
biological collection, notwithstanding the continuous bad weather.
Dredgings from depths down to fifty fathoms were made during the
winter. The eggs of practically all the flying birds known along
Antarctic shores were obtained, including those of the silver-grey
petrel and the Antarctic petrel, which were not previously known;
also a variety of prion, of an unrecorded species, together with its
eggs.
(c) At the Western Base (Queen Mary Land) eggs of the Antarctic and
other petrels were found, and a large rookery of Emperor penguins was
located; the second on record. Harrisson, working under difficulties,
succeeded in trapping some interesting fish on the bottom in two
hundred and fifty fathoms of water.
2. Ship Collections.
(a) A collection made by Mr. E. R. Waite, Curator of the Canterbury
Museum, on the first Sub-Antarctic cruise.
(b) A collection made by Professor T. T. Flynn, of Hobart, on the
second Sub-Antarctic cruise.
(c) A collection made by Hunter, assisted by Hamilton, in Antarctic
waters during the summer of 1913-1914. This comprised deep-sea
dredgings at eleven stations in depths down to one thousand eight
hundred fathoms and regular tow-nettings, frequently serial, to
depths of two hundred fathoms. Six specimens of the rare Ross seal
were secured. A large collection of external and internal parasites
was made from birds, seals and fish.
Geology
(a) A geological examination of Macquarie Island was made by Blake.
The older rocks were found to be all igneous. The Island has been
overridden in comparatively recent times by an ice-cap travelling
from west to east.
(b) Geological collections at the Main Base. In Adelie Land the rocky
outcrops are metamorphic sediments and gneisses. In King George V
Land there is a formation similar to the Beacon sandstones and dolerites
of the Ross Sea, with which carbonaceous shales and coaly strata are
associated.
(c) Stillwell met with a great range of minerals and rocks in the
terminal moraine near Winter Quarters, Adelie Land. Amongst them was
red sandstone in abundance, suggesting that the Beacon sandstone
formation extends also throughout Adelie Land but is hidden by the
ice-cap. A solitary stony meteorite was found by a sledging party
lying on the ice of the plateau.
(d) In the collections made by Watson and Hoadley at the Western
Base (Queen Mary Land) gneisses and schists were ascertained to be
the predominant types.
(e) A collection of erratics was brought up by the deep-sea trawl in
the course of dredgings in Antarctic waters.
Glaciology
(a) Observations of the pack-ice, coastal glaciers and shelf-ice from
the 'Aurora' during her three Antarctic cruises.
(b) Observations of the niveous and glacial features met with on the
sledging journeys from both Antarctic bases.
Meteorology
(a) Two years' observations at Macquarie Island by Ainsworth
(b) Two years' observations in Adelie Land by Madigan.
(c) One year's observations in Queen Mary Land by Moyes.
(d) Observations by the Ship on each of her five voyages.
(e) Observations during the many sledging journeys from both
Antarctic Bases.
Bacteriology, etc.
In Adelie Land, McLean carried out many months of steady work in
Bacteriology, Haematology and Physiology.
Tides
Self-recording instruments were run at Macquarie Island by Ainsworth
and at Adelie Land by Bage.
Wireless and Auroral Observations
A very close watch was kept upon auroral phenomena with interesting
results, especially in their relation to the "permeability" of the
ether to wireless waves.
Geographical Results
1. The successful navigation by the 'Aurora' of the Antarctic pack
ice in a fresh sphere of action, where the conditions were practically
unknown, resulting in the discovery of new lands and islands.
2. Journeys were made over the sea-ice and on the coastal and upland
plateau in regions hitherto unsurveyed. At the Main Base (Adelie
Land) the journeys aggregated two thousand four hundred miles, and at
the Western Base (Queen Mary Land) the aggregate was eight hundred
miles. These figures do not include depot journeys, the journeys of
supporting parties, or the many miles of relay work. The land was
mapped in through 33 degrees of longitude, 27 degrees of which were
covered by sledging parties.
3. The employment of wireless telegraphy in the fixation of a
fundamental meridian in Adelie Land.
4. The mapping of Macquarie Island.
[TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS]
A Section of the Antarctic Plateau from the Coast to a Point Three
Hundred Miles Inland, along the Route followed by the Southern
Sledging Party (Adelie Land)
A Section across the Antarctic Continent through the South Magnetic
Pole from the D'Urville Sea to the Ross Sea; Compiled from Observations
made by the British Antarctic Expedition (1907-1909) and by the
Australian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914)
Oceanography
1. By soundings the fringe of the Antarctic Continent as well as the
Continental Shelf has been indicated through 55 degrees of longitude.
2. The configuration of the floor of the ocean southward of Australia
and between Macquarie Island and the Auckland Islands has been broadly
ascertained.
3. Much has been done in the matter of sea-water temperatures and
salinities.
[TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS]
A Section of the Floor of the Southern Ocean between Tasmania
and King George V Land
A Section of the Floor of the Southern Ocean between Western
Australia and Queen Mary Land
APPENDIX Ill
An Historical Summary**
** For this compilation reference has been largely made to Dr. H. R.
Mill's "The Siege of the South Pole." Several doubtful voyages
during the early part of the nineteenth century have been omitted.
1775. James Cook circumnavigated the Globe in high southern
latitudes, discovering the sub-antarctic island of South Georgia.
He was the first to cross the Antarctic Circle.
1819. William Smith, the master of a merchant vessel trading between
Montevideo and Valparaiso, discovered the South Shetland Islands.
1819. Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, despatched in command of an
Expedition by the Emperor, Alexander I of Russia, with instructions
to supplement the voyage of Captain Cook, circumnavigated the
Antarctic continent in high southern latitudes. The first discovery
of land south of the Antarctic Circle was made, namely, Peter I Island
and Alexander I Land (also an island), in the American Quadrant of
Antarctica.
1820. Nathaniel Palmer, master of an American sealing-vessel, sighted
new land to the south of the South Shetland Islands. It seems clear
that he was the first to view what is now known as the Palmer
Archipelago (1820-21).
1823. James Weddell, a British sealer, sailing southward of the
Atlantic Ocean, reached 74 degrees 15' south latitude in the American
Quadrant, establishing a "farthest south" record.
1830. John Biscoe, a whaling master of the British firm of Enderby
Brothers, sailed on a voyage circumnavigating the Antarctic Regions.
Enderby Land was discovered south of the West Indian Ocean in the
African Quadrant of Antarctica. This was apparently a part of the
Antarctic continent. New land was also met with to the south of
America and charted as Graham's Land, Biscoe Island and Adelaide
Island.
Kemp, a sailing master of Enderby Brothers, extended Biscoe's
discoveries shortly after by the report of land east of, and
adjacent to, Enderby Land.
Neither of these discoveries has yet been proved, though Enderby Land
(Biscoe) undoubtedly exists.
1839. John Balleny, another of Enderby's whaling captains, discovered
the Balleny Islands within the Antarctic Circle, in the Australian
Quadrant of Antarctica, and gave a vague description of an appearance
of land to the westward. This has been charted on maps, without
adequate evidence, as Sabrina Land.
[TEXT ILLUSTRATION]
Antarctic Land Discoveries Preceding 1838
Note. This and the two following maps of the series illustrate land
discoveries only. In cases where the existence of land once reported
has since been disproved no record at all is shown
1837. Jules Sebastian Cesar Dumont D'Urville, was despatched by King
Louis Philippe of France for the prosecution of scientific researches
on a voyage round the World. His cruise in the Antarctic resulted in
the charting of Joinville Island and Louis Philippe Land to the south
of America (American Quadrant) and the discovery of a portion of the
Antarctic continent, named Adelie Land, southward of Australia
(Australian Quadrant).
1838. Charles Wilkes, United States Navy, in accordance with a bill
passed by Congress, set out on an exploring expedition to circumnavigate
the World. His programme included the investigation of the area of
the Antarctic to the south of Australia—the Australian Quadrant.
The squadron composing this American expedition first visited the
Antarctic regions in the American Quadrant, and then proceeded eastward
round to the Australian Quadrant from which, after a long cruise, they
returned, reporting land at frequent intervals in the vicinity of the
Antarctic Circle between longitudes 157 degrees 46' E. and 106 degrees
19' E. He shares with D'Urville the full honour of the discovery of
Adelie Land. Some of the supposed landfalls known to be non-existent.
1839. James Clark Ross proceeded south in charge of a scientific
expedition fitted out by the Admiralty at the instance of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science and approved of by the Royal
Society. His aim was to circumnavigate the Antarctic regions and to
investigate the Weddell Sea. The geographical results were fruitful;
the Ross Sea, the Admiralty Range and the Great Ice Barrier were
discovered and some eight hundred miles of Antarctic coastline were
broadly delineated.
1844. T. E. L. Moore was detailed by the Admiralty to supplement
the magnetic work of Ross and to explore to the southward of Africa
and of the Indian Ocean, but no additions were made to geographical
knowledge.
1872. Eduard Dallmann, whilst engaged in whaling with a German
steamer to the southward of America, added some details to the map of
the Palmer Archipelago but did not go further south than 64 degrees
45' S. Iatitude.
1874. The 'Challenger' scientific expedition, under the command of
George Strong Nares, in the course of their voyage from the Cape to
Australia during the circumnavigation of the World penetrated within
the Antarctic Circle in longitude 78 degrees 22' E.
1892. A fleet of four Scottish whalers cruised through the north
western part of the Weddell Sea. Scientific observations were made
by W. S. Bruce and others, but no geographical discoveries were
recorded.
1892. C. A. Larsen, master of a Hamburg whaler, added important
details to the geography of the American Quadrant of Antarctica on
the western side of the Weddell Sea.
1894. Evensen, master of another Hamburg whaler, brought back further
information of the American Quadrant on the Pacific Ocean side.
1895. H. J. Bull organized a whaling venture and with Leonard
Kristensen, master of the ship, revisited the Ross Sea area where
a landing was made at Cape Adare (Australian Quadrant). This was the
first occasion on which any human being had set foot on the Antarctic
continent.
[TEXT ILLUSTRATION]
Antarctic land Discoveries Preceding 1896 (A. J. Hodgeman)
1897. Adrien de Gerlache sailed from Belgium on a scientific exploring
expedition to the American Quadrant. Important additions were made to
the map, but the ship became frozen into the pack-ice and drifted about
for a whole year south of the Antarctic Circle. The members of this
expedition were the first to experience an Antarctic winter. Antarctic
exploration now entered upon a new era.
1898. Carstens Egeberg Borchgrevink led an expedition, fitted out by
Sir George Newnes; its objective being the Ross Sea area. Further
details were added to the map, but the most notable fact was that the
expedition wintered at Cape Adare, on the mainland itself. The Great
Ross Barrier was determined to be thirty miles south of the position
assigned by Ross in 1839.
1898. Chun of Leipsig, in charge of the 'Valdivia' Expedition, carried
out oceanographical researches far to the south, in the vicinity of
Enderby Land (African Quadrant), though he did not come within sight
of the continent.
1901. Robert Falcon Scott, in command of the 'Discovery' Expedition,
organised by the Royal Geographical Society and Royal Society with
the co-operation of the Admiralty, in accordance with a scheme of
international endeavour, passed two winters at the southern extremity
of the Ross Sea and carried out many successful sledging journeys.
Their main geographical achievements were: the discovery of King
Edward VII Land; several hundred miles of new land on a "farthest
south" sledging journey to latitude 82 degrees 17' S.; the discovery
of the Antarctic plateau; additional details and original contributions
to the geography of the lands and islands of the Ross Sea.
1901. A German national expedition, led by Erich von Drygalski, set
out for the region south of the Indian Ocean. After a small party
had been stationed on Kerguelen Island, the main party proceeded
south close to the tracks of the Challenger. They came within sight
of Antarctic shores but were frozen into the pack-ice for a whole
year. Kaiser Wilhelm II Land was discovered close to the junction
between the Australian and African Quadrants.
1901. A Swedish national expedition, planned and led by Otto
Nordenskjold, wintered for two years on Snow Hill Island in the
American Quadrant, and did much valuable scientific work.
1902. William Speirs Bruce organized and led a Scottish expedition to
the Weddell Sea, southward of the Atlantic Ocean. The party effected
notable oceanographic researches and wintered at the South Orkney
Islands, but were foiled in their attempt to penetrate the pack-ice.
During the second season, conditions were more favourable and the ship
reached Coats Land in 74 degrees 1' S. Iatitude.
1903. Jean Charcot organized and led a French expedition to the
American Quadrant and there added many details to the existing chart.
1907. Ernest Henry Shackleton organized and led a British
expedition with the main object of reaching the South Geographical
Pole. His party wintered at Cape Royds, McMurdo Sound, and two main
sledging parties set out in the early summer. E. H. Shackleton's
party ascended the Antarctic plateau and penetrated to within ninety
seven geographical miles of the South Pole, discovering new land beyond
Scott's "farthest south." T. W. Edgeworth David's party reached the
South Magnetic Polar Area, filling in many details of the western coast
of McMurdo Sound.
1908. Jean Charcot organized and led a second French expedition to
extend the work accomplished in 1903 in the American Quadrant. He was
successful in discovering new land still further to the south.
Loubet, Fallieres and Charcot Lands, towards and beyond Alexander I
Land, were added to the map of Antarctica.
1910. Roald Amundsen organized an expedition for scientific research
in the vicinity of the North Pole but changed his plans, eventually
heading for the South Pole. The expedition wintered on the Ross
Barrier near King Edward VII Land, from which point he set out and
attained the South Geographical Pole, mapping in new land on the way.
Another party visited King Edward VII Land.
1910. Robert Falcon Scott led a second Antarctic expedition, the main
object of which was to reach the South Geographical Pole. The
principal party wintered near his old winter quarters at Hut Point,
McMurdo Sound. A second party was landed at Cape Adare. Scott
reached the Pole soon after the Norwegian Amundsen, but he and his
party perished on the return journey. Other parties added details to
the map of Victoria Land. Oates Land was sighted from the ship to the
westward of Cape Adare in the Australian Quadrant.
1910. A Japanese expedition sailed to the Ross Sea, but on account of
the lateness of the season was forced to turn back without landing.
The winter was spent at Sydney, New South Wales. Next year a summer
visit was made to the South, but no additional land discoveries were
made.
1911. A German expedition, led by Wilhelm Filchner, proceeded to the
Weddell Sea; the South Pole being its objective. The party
succeeded in reaching further south in that region than any previous
navigators and discovered new land, to be named Prince Luitpold Land.
They were driven northwards amongst the pack in a blizzard and spent
the winter frozen in south of Coats Land.
[TEXT ILLUSTRATION]
A Map of the Antarctic Regions as Known at the Present Day
1915
APPENDIX IV
Glossary
Oceanography. The study of the ocean, including the shape and
character of its bed, the temperature and salinity of the water at
various depths, the force and set of its currents, and the nature of
the creatures and plants which haunt its successive zones.
Neve. [n,e acute, v, e acute] The compacted snow of a snow-field;
a stage in the transition between soft, loose snow and glacier-ice.
Sastrugi. The waves caused by continuous winds blowing across the
surface of an expanse of snow. These waves vary in size according to
the force and continuity of the wind and the compactness of the snow.
The word is of Russian derivation (from zastruga [sing.], zastrugi
[pl.] ), denoting snow-waves or the irregularities on the surface of
roughly-planed wood.
Ice-foot. A sheath of ice adhering along the shores of polar lands.
The formation may be composed of attached remnants of floe-ice,
frozen sea-spray and drift-snow.
Nunatak. An island-like outcrop of rock projecting through a sheet of
enveloping land-ice.
Shelf-ice. A thick, floating, fresh water ice-formation pushing out
from the land and continuous with an extensive glacier. Narrow
prolongations or peninsulas of the shelf-ice may be referred to as
ice-tongues or glacier-tongues.
Barrier is a term which has been rather loosely applied in the
literature of Antarctic Exploration. Formerly it was used to
describe a formation, which is mainly shelf-ice, known as the Great
Ross Barrier. Confusion arose when "Barrier" came to be applied to
the seaward ice-cliff (resting on rock) of an extensive sheet of
land-ice and when it was also employed to designate a line of
consolidated pack-ice. Spelt with a small "b" the term is a
convenient one, so long as it carries its ordinary meaning; it seems
unnecessary to give it a technical connotation.
Blizzard. A high wind at a low temperature, accompanied by drifting,
not necessarily falling snow.
Floe or Floe-ice. The comparatively flat, frozen surface of the sea
intersected by cracks and leads (channels of open water).
Pack or Pack-ice is a field of loose ice originating in the main from
broken floe, to which may be added material from the disintegration
of bergs, and bergs themselves.
Brash or Brash-ice. Small, floating fragments of ice—the debris of
larger pieces—usually observed bordering a tract of pack-ice.
Bergschrund has been "freely rendered" in the description of the
great cleft between the lower part of the Denman Glacier and the
Shackleton Shelf-Ice (Queen Mary Land). In a typical glacier, "the
upper portion is hidden by neve and often by freshly fallen snow
and is smooth and unbroken. During the summer, when little snow
falls, the body of the glacier moves away from the snow-field and a
gaping crevasse of great depth is usually established, called a
'Bergschrund', which is sometimes taken as the upper limit of the
glacier" ("Encyclopaedia Britannica").
Sub-Antarctica. A general term used to denote the area of ocean,
containing islands and encircling the Antarctic continent, between the
vicinity of the 50th parallel of south latitude and the confines of
the ice-covered sea.
Seracs are wedged masses of icy pinnacles which are produced in the
surface of a glacier by dragging strains which operate on crevassed
areas. A field of such pinnacles, jammed together in broken
confusion, is called serac-ice
The following colloquial words or phrases occurring in the narrative
were largely determined by general usage:
To depot = to cache or to place a stock of provisions in a depot;
drift = drift-snow;
fifty-mile wind = a wind of fifty miles an hour;
burberry = "Burberry gabardine" or specially prepared wind-proof
clothing;
whirly (pi. whirlies) = whirlwind carrying drift-snow and pursuing a
devious track;
night-watchman = night-watch;
glaxo = "Glaxo" (a powder of dried milk);
primus = primus stove used during sledging;
hoosh = pemmican and plasmon biscuit "porridge";
tanks = canvas bags for holding sledging provisions;
boil-up = sledging meal;
ramp = bank of snow slanting away obliquely on the leeward side of an
obstacle;
radiant = an appearance noted in clouds (especially cirro-stratus)
which seem to radiate from a point on the horizon
The following appended list may be of biological interest:
Birds Aves
Emperor penguin Aptenodytes forsteri
King penguin Aptenodytes patagonica
Adelie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae
Royal penguin Catarrhactes schlegeli
Victoria penguin Catarrhactes pachyrynchus
Gentoo or Rockhopper penguin Pygoscelis papua
Wandering albatross Diomedea exulans
Mollymawk or Black-browed albatross Diomedea melanophrys
Sooty albatross Phoebetria fuliginosa
Giant petrel or nelly Ossifraga gigantea
MacCormick's skua gull Megalestris maccormicki
Southern skua gull Megalestris antarctica
Antarctic petrel Thalassoeca antarctica
Silver-grey petrel or southern fulmar Priocella glacialoides
Cape pigeon Daption capensis
Snow petrel Pagodroma nivea
Lesson's petrel Oestrelata lessoni
Wilson petrel Oceanites oceanicus
Storm petrel Fregetta melanogaster
Cape hen Majaqueus oequinoctialis
Small prion or whale bird Prion banksii
Crested tern Sterna sp.
Southern black-backed or Dominican gull Larus dominicanus
Macquarie Island shag Phalacrocorax traversi
Mutton bird Puffinus griseus
Maori hen or "weka" Ocydromus scotti