Produced by Geoffrey Cowling
THE HOME OF THE BLIZZARD:
BEING THE STORY OF THE AUSTRALASIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION, 1911-1914;
By Sir Douglas Mawson, D.Sc., B.E.
ILLUSTRATED IN COLOUR AND BLACK AND WHITE ALSO WITH MAPS
WITH 260 FULL-PAGE AND SMALLER ILLUSTRATIONS BY DR. E. A. WILSON AND
OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION, PHOTOGRAVURE FRONTISPIECES, 12 PLATES
IN FACSIMILE FROM DR. WILSON'S SKETCHES, PANORAMAS AND MAPS
TO THOSE WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE: THE SUBSCRIBERS AND CO-OPERATORS
TO THOSE WHO MADE IT A SUCCESS: MY COMRADES
AND TO THOSE WHO WAITED
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
The object of this book is to present a connected narrative of the
Expedition from a popular and general point of view. The field of work
is a very extensive one, and I feel that this account provides a record
inadequate to our endeavours. However, I am comforted by the fact that
the lasting reputation of the Expedition is founded upon the scientific
volumes which will appear in due course.
Allusion to the history of Antarctic exploration has been reduced to a
minimum, as the subject has been ably dealt with by previous writers.
This, and several other aspects of our subject, have been relegated
to special appendices in order to make the story more readable and
self-contained.
A glossary of technicalities is introduced for readers not familiar with
the terms. In the same place is given a list of animals referred to from
time to time. There, the common name is placed against the scientific
name, so rendering it unnecessary to repeat the latter in the text.
The reports handed to me by the leaders concerning the work of sledging
journeys and of the respective bases were in the main clearly and
popularly written. Still it was necessary to make extensive excisions so
as to preserve a "balance" of justice in all the accounts, and to keep
the narrative within limits. I wish to assure the various authors of my
appreciation of their contributions.
Mr. Frank Hurley's artistic taste is apparent in the numerous
photographs. We who knew the circumstances can warmly testify to his
perseverance under conditions of exceptional difficulty. Mr. A. J.
Hodgeman is responsible for the cartographical work, which occupied
his time for many months. Other members of the Expedition have
added treasures to our collection of illustrations; each of which is
acknowledged in its place.
To Dr. A. L. McLean, who assisted me in writing and editing the book, I
am very greatly indebted. To him the book owes any literary style it may
possess. Dr. McLean's journalistic talent was discovered by me when he
occupied the post of Editor of the 'Adelie Blizzard', a monthly volume
which helped to relieve the monotony of our second year in Adelie
Land. For months he was constantly at work, revising cutting down or
amplifying the material of the story.
Finally, I wish to express my thanks to Dr. Hugh Robert Mill for hints
and criticisms by which we have profited.
DOUGLAS MAWSON
London, Autumn 1914.
FOREWORD
Nor on thee yet
Shall burst the future, as successive zones
Of several wonder open on some spirit
Flying secure and glad from heaven to heaven.
BROWNING
The aim of geographical exploration has, in these days, interfused with
the passion for truth. If now the ultimate bounds of knowledge have
broadened to the infinite, the spirit of the man of science has
quickened to a deeper fervour. Amid the finished ingenuities of
the laboratory he has knitted a spiritual entente with the moral
philosopher, viewing:
The narrow creeds of right and wrong, which fade
Before the unmeasured thirst for good.
Science and exploration have never been at variance; rather, the desire
for the pure elements of natural revelation lay at the source of that
unquenchable power the "love of adventure."
Of whatever nationality the explorer was always emboldened by that
impulse, and, if there ever be a future of decadence, it will live again
in his ungovernable heritage.
Eric the Red; Francis Drake--the same ardour was kindled at the heart of
either. It is a far cry from the latter, a born marauder, to the modern
scientific explorer. Still Drake was a hero of many parts, and though
a religious bigot in present acceptation, was one of the enlightened of
his age. A man who moved an equal in a court of Elizabethan manners was
not untouched by the glorious ideals of the Renaissance.
Yet it was the unswerving will of a Columbus, a Vasco da Gama or a
Magellan which created the devotion to geographical discovery, per se,
and made practicable the concept of a spherical earth. The world was
opened in imaginative entirety, and it now remained for the geographer
to fill in the details brought home by the navigator.
It was long before Thule the wondrous ice-land of the North yielded her
first secrets, and longer ere the Terra Australis of Finne was laid bare
to the prying eyes of Science.
Early Arctic navigation opened the bounds of the unknown in a haphazard
and fortuitous fashion. Sealers and whalers in the hope of rich booty
ventured far afield, and, ranging among the mysterious floes or riding
out fierce gales off an ice-girt coast, brought back strange tales to
a curious world. Crudely embellished, contradictory, yet alluring they
were; but the demand for truth came surely to the rescue. Thus, it was
often the whaler who forsook his trade to explore for mere exploration's
sake. Baffin was one of those who opened the gates to the North.
Then, too, the commercial spirit of the generations who sought a North
West Passage was responsible for the incursions of many adventurers into
the new world of the ice.
Strangely enough, the South was first attacked in the true scientific
spirit by Captain Cook and later by Bellingshausen. Sealing and whaling
ventures followed in their train.
At last the era had come for the expedition, planned, administered,
equipped and carried out with a definite objective. It is characteristic
of the race of men that the first design should have centred on the
Pole--the top of the earth, the focus of longitude, the magic goal, to
reach which no physical sacrifice was too great. The heroism of Parry
is a type of that adamant persistence which has made the history of the
conquest of the Poles a volume in which disaster and death have played
a large part. It followed on years of polar experience, it resulted from
an exact knowledge of geographical and climatic conditions, a fearless
anticipation, expert information on the details of transport--and the
fortune of the brave--that Peary and Amundsen had their reward in the
present generation.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the pioneers of new land there were passing
the scientific workers born in the early nineteenth century. Sir James
Clark Ross is an epitome of that expansive enthusiasm which was the
keynote of the life of Charles Darwin. The classic "Voyage of the
Beagle" (1831-36) was a triumph of patient rigorous investigation
conducted in many lands outside the polar circles.
The methods of Darwin were developed in the 'Challenger' Expedition
(1872) which worked even to the confines of the southern ice. And
the torch of the pure flame of Science was handed on. It was the same
consuming ardour which took Nansen across the plateau of Greenland,
which made him resolutely propound the theory of the northern ice-drift,
to maintain it in the face of opposition and ridicule and to plan an
expedition down to the minutest detail in conformity therewith. The
close of the century saw Science no longer the mere appendage but the
actual basis of exploratory endeavour.
Disinterested research and unselfish specialization are the phrases born
to meet the intellectual demands of the new century.
The modern polar expedition goes forth with finished appliances, with
experts in every department--sailors, artisans, soldiers and students
in medley; supremely, with men who seek risk and privation--the glory of
the dauntless past. A.L.M.
INTRODUCTION
One of the oft-repeated questions for which I usually had a ready
answer, at the conclusion of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Expedition
(1907-09) was, "Would you like to go to the Antarctic again?" In the
first flush of the welcome home and for many months, during which the
keen edge of pleasure under civilized conditions had not entirely worn
away, I was inclined to reply with a somewhat emphatic negative. But,
once more a man in the world of men, lulled in the easy repose of
routine, and performing the ordinary duties of a workaday world,
old emotions awakened. The grand sweet days returned in irresistible
glamour, faraway "voices" called:
...from the wilderness, the vast and Godlike spaces,
The stark and sullen solitudes that sentinel the Pole.
There always seemed to be something at the back of my mind, stored
away for future contemplation, and it was an idea which largely matured
during my first sojourn in the far South. At times, during the long
hours of steady tramping across the trackless snow-fields, one's
thoughts flow in a clear and limpid stream, the mind is unruffled and
composed and the passion of a great venture springing suddenly before
the imagination is sobered by the calmness of pure reason. Perchance
this is true of certain moments, but they are rare and fleeting. It may
have been in one such phase that I suddenly found myself eager for more
than a glimpse of the great span of Antarctic coast lying nearest to
Australia.
Professor T. W. E. David, Dr. F. A. Mackay and I, when seeking the South
Magnetic Pole during the summer of 1908-09, had penetrated farthest into
that region on land. The limiting outposts had been defined by other
expeditions; at Cape Adare on the east and at Gaussberg on the west.
Between them lay my "Land of Hope and Glory," of whose outline and
glacial features the barest evidence had been furnished. There,
bordering the Antarctic Circle, was a realm far from the well-sailed
highways of many of the more recent Antarctic expeditions.
The idea of exploring this unknown coast took firm root in my mind
while I was on a visit to Europe in February 1910. The prospects of an
expedition operating to the west of Cape Adare were discussed with the
late Captain R. F. Scott and I suggested that the activities of his
expedition might be arranged to extend over the area in question.
Finally he decided that his hands were already too full to make any
definite proposition for a region so remote from his own objective.
Sir Ernest Shackleton was warmly enthusiastic when the scheme was laid
before him, hoping for a time to identify himself with the undertaking.
It was in some measure due to his initiative that I felt impelled
eventually to undertake the organization and leadership of an
expedition.
For many reasons, besides the fact that it was the country of my home
and Alma Mater, I was desirous that the Expedition should be maintained
by Australia. It seemed to me that here was an opportunity to prove that
the young men of a young country could rise to those traditions which
have made the history of British Polar exploration one of triumphant
endeavour as well as of tragic sacrifice. And so I was privileged to
rally the "sons of the younger son."
A provisional plan was drafted and put before the Australasian
Association for the Advancement of Science at their meeting held at
Sydney in January 1911, with a request for approval and financial
assistance. Both were unanimously granted, a sum of L1000 was voted and
committees were formed to co-operate in the arrangement of a scientific
programme and to approach the Government with a view to obtaining
substantial help.
The three leading members of the committees were Professor Orme Masson
(President), Professor T. W. Edgeworth David (President Elect) and
Professor G. C. Henderson (President of the Geographical Section). All
were zealous and active in furthering the projects of the Expedition.
Meanwhile I had laid my scheme of work before certain prominent
Australians and some large donations** had been promised. The sympathy
and warm-hearted generosity of these gentlemen was an incentive for me
to push through my plans at once to a successful issue.
** Refer to Finance Appendix.
I therefore left immediately for London with a view to making
arrangements there for a vessel suitable for polar exploration, to
secure sledging dogs from Greenland and furs from Norway, and to order
the construction of certain instruments and equipment. It was also my
intention to gain if possible the support of Australians residing in
London. The Council of the University of Adelaide, in a broad-minded
scientific spirit, granted me the necessary leave of absence from my
post as lecturer, to carry through what had now resolved itself into an
extensive and prolonged enterprise.
During my absence, a Committee of the Australasian Association for the
Advancement of Science approached the Commonwealth Government with an
appeal for funds. Unfortunately it was the year (1911) of the Coronation
of his Majesty King George V, and the leading members of the Cabinet
were in England, so the final answer to the deputation was postponed. I
was thus in a position of some difficulty, for many requirements had
to be ordered without delay if the Expedition were to get away from
Australia before the end of the year.
At length, through the kindness of Lord Northcliffe, the columns of the
Daily Mail were opened to us and Sir Ernest Shackleton made a strong
appeal on our behalf. The Royal Geographical Society set the seal of
its approval on the aims of the Expedition and many donations were soon
afterwards received.
At this rather critical period I was fortunate in securing the services
of Captain John King Davis, who was in future to act as Master of the
vessel and Second in Command of the Expedition. He joined me in April
1911, and rendered valuable help in the preliminary arrangements. Under
his direction the s.y. Aurora was purchased and refitted.
The few months spent in London were anxious and trying, but the memory
of them is pleasantly relieved by the generosity and assistance which
were meted out on every hand. Sir George Reid, High Commissioner for
the Australian Commonwealth, I shall always remember as an ever-present
friend. The preparations for the scientific programme received a strong
impetus from well-known Antarctic explorers, notably Dr. W. S. Bruce,
Dr. Jean Charcot, Captain Adrian de Gerlache, and the late Sir John
Murray and Mr. J. Y. Buchanan of the Challenger Expedition. In the
dispositions made for oceanographical work I was indebted for liberal
support to H.S.H. the Prince of Monaco.
In July 1911 I was once more in Australia, a large proportion of my time
being occupied with finance, the purchase and concentration of stores
and equipment and the appointment of the staff. In this work I was aided
by Professors Masson and David and by Miss Ethel Bage, who throughout
this busy period acted in an honorary capacity as secretary in
Melbourne.
Time was drawing on and the funds of the Expedition were wholly
inadequate to the needs of the moment, until Mr. T. H. Smeaton, M.P.,
introduced a deputation to the Hon. John Verran, Premier of South
Australia. The deputation, organized to approach the State Government
for a grant of L5000, was led by the Right Hon. Sir Samuel Way,
Bart., Chief Justice of South Australia and Chancellor of the Adelaide
University, and supported by Mr. Lavington Bonython, Mayor of Adelaide,
T. Ryan, M.P., the Presidents of several scientific societies and
members of the University staff. This sum was eventually forthcoming and
it paved the way to greater things.
In Sydney, Professor David approached the State Government on behalf of
the Expedition for financial support, and, through the Acting Premier,
the Hon. W. A. Holman, L7000 was generously promised. The State of
Victoria through the Hon. W. Watt, Premier of Victoria, supplemented our
funds to the extent of L6000.
Upheld by the prestige of a large meeting convened in the Melbourne
Town Hall during the spring, the objects of the Australasian Antarctic
Expedition were more widely published. On that memorable occasion the
Governor-General, Lord Denman, acted as chairman, and among others
who participated were the Hon. Andrew Fisher (Prime Minister of the
Commonwealth), the Hon. Alfred Deakin (Leader of the Opposition),
Professor Orme Masson (President A.A.A.S. and representative of
Victoria), Senator Walker (representing New South Wales) and Professor
G. C. Henderson (representing South Australia).
Soon after this meeting the Commonwealth Government voted L5000,
following a grant of L2000 made by the British Government at the
instance of Lord Denman, who from the outset had been a staunch friend
of the Expedition.
At the end of October 1911 all immediate financial anxiety had
passed, and I was able to devote myself with confidence to the final
preparations.
Captain Davis brought the 'Aurora' from England to Australia, and on
December 2, 1911, we left Hobart for the South. A base was established
on Macquarie Island, after which the ship pushed through the ice and
landed a party on an undiscovered portion of the Antarctic Continent.
After a journey of fifteen hundred miles to the west of this base
another party was landed and then the Aurora returned to Hobart to refit
and to carry out oceanographical investigations, during the year 1912,
in the waters south of Australia and New Zealand.
In December 1912 Captain Davis revisited the Antarctic to relieve the
two parties who had wintered there. A calamity befell my own sledging
party, Lieut. B. E. S. Ninnis and Dr. X. Mertz both lost their lives
and my arrival back at Winter Quarters was delayed for so long, that the
'Aurora' was forced to leave five men for another year to prosecute a
search for the missing party. The remainder of the men, ten in number,
and the party fifteen hundred miles to the west were landed safely at
Hobart in March 1912.
Thus the prearranged plans were upset by my non-return and the
administration of the Expedition in Australia was carried out by
Professor David, whose special knowledge was invaluable at such a
juncture.
Funds were once more required, and, during the summer of 1912,
Captain Davis visited London and secured additional support, while
the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science again
successfully approached the Commonwealth Government (The Right Hon. J.
H. Cook, Prime Minister). In all, the sum of L8000 was raised to meet
the demands of a second voyage of relief.
The party left on Macquarie Island, who had agreed to remain at the
station for another year, ran short of food during their second winter.
The New Zealand Government rendered the Expedition a great service in
dispatching stores to them by the 'Tutanekai' without delay.
Finally, in the summer of 1913, the 'Aurora' set out on her third cruise
to the far South, picking up the parties at Macquarie Island and in
the Antarctic, carried out observations for two months amid the ice and
reached Adelaide late in February 1914.
Throughout a period of more than three years Professors David and
Masson--the fathers of the Expedition--worked indefatigably and
unselfishly in its interests. Unbeknown to them I have taken the liberty
to reproduce the only photographs at hand of these gentlemen, which
action I hope they will view favourably. That of Professor David needs
some explanation: It is a snapshot taken at Relief Inlet, South Victoria
Land, at the moment when the Northern Party of Shackleton's Expedition,
February 1909, was rescued by the S.Y. 'Nimrod'.
In shipping arrangements Capt. Davis was assisted throughout by Mr.
J. J. Kinsey, Christchurch, Capt. Barter, Sydney, and Mr. F. Hammond,
Hobart.
Such an undertaking is the work of a multitude and it is only by
sympathetic support from many sources that a measure of success can be
expected. In this connexion there are many names which I recall with
warm gratitude. It is impossible to mention all to whom the Expedition
is indebted, but I trust that none of those who have taken a prominent
part will fail to find an acknowledgment somewhere in these volumes.
I should specially mention the friendly help afforded by the
Australasian Press, which has at all times given the Expedition
favourable and lengthy notices, insisting on its national and scientific
character.
With regard to the conduct of the work itself, I was seconded by the
whole-hearted co-operation of the members, my comrades, and what they
have done can only be indicated in this narrative.
CONTENTS
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND PREPARATIONS