Australians active in Antarctic exploration
SIR,- Mr Rob Knight wrote an interesting account of the issuing of many beautiful Australian Antarctic-themed stamps. In tracing the history of discovery and exploration of the south polar continent he mentions the names of Cook, Bellingshausen, Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen and Mawson; men who were indeed polar pioneers.
As widely recognized, Australians generally give little attention to achievements of their own countrymen unless they are sportsmen or ‘celebrities’, and only recently have accounts been written that demonstrate the very strong links our nation has with Antarctica. Those links were forged well before Douglas Mawson came on the scene and been repeated many times since. It may be of interest to reflect on that aspect of our history.
Louis Bernacchi, a Tasmanian was In the very first party to overwinter in Antarctica in 1899. He was a physicist. The leader of that expedition was Carsten Borchgrevink, who, though Norwegian, immigrated to Australia, where he became a teacher. The mysterious, unknown Antarctica fascinated him and with generous sponsorship, he raised the Southern Cross expedition in England. With him, Bernacchi was among the first to experience all seasons in the frozen continent.
Britain’s Captain Scott recognized Bernacchi’s experience and in 1901 took him on his Discovery expedition. He was joined by another Australian, Griffith Taylor who became a world authority on Geography, writing many books on his homeland as well as Antarctica.
Another Englishmen, Ernest Shackleton came next in our story, and in 1907 in Nimrod, took with him three other Australians, Douglas Mawson, Alistair Mackay and Edgeworth David, the last named a scientist in his fifties. The entire trip walked by the trio to reach the South Magnetic Pole and back was more than 2 000 kilometres. On the same expedition, Mawson also made the first climb of Mount Erebus, the 12 000 foot volcano rising behind their base.
Sir Douglas Mawson sailed south again in Aurora leading the Australasian Antarctic Expedition – the AAE - with the main purpose of exploration and science over the years 1911 to 1914 in what he called ‘the home of the blizzard.’ His story of lone survival while sledging far from the base amazed the world. One companion and most of his dogs died in a crevasse then his other friend perished, leaving Mawson to fight his way home with awful privation, just in time to see his ship sail away, marooning him for another year.
The restoration of the hut he built at Commonwealth Bay has been an ongoing non-government project for some years and the celebration of his AAE Anniversary is in progress even now.
Two of the greatest stories of survival resulted from Shackleton’s 1914 plan to cross Antarctica. As has been told many times, his ship Endurance was crushed by ice in the Weddell Sea and sank, leaving his crew in three ship’s long boats. Five hundred and seventy six days passed from the time Endurance was beset before they were rescued.
The other half of his team on the opposite side of the continent was also in trouble; the vessel Aurora had blown away from its moorings at Cape Evans in McMurdo Sound, leaving ten men – including four Australians - marooned for two years. Three of the ten perished. Of those left, it was recorded that the young Bendigo man, Dick Richards was a major force in their survival. In fact he was awarded, firstly the Albert Medal, then in the 1970s, the George Cross by Queen Elizabeth. That is the civilian equivalent of the Victoria Cross and is awarded ‘for saving and attempting to save life.’ Some years later Dick was appointed Principal of the Ballarat School of Mines where he saw out his career.
Douglas Mawson appears again in Antarctica in 1929 and 1930 with teams of Australians, this time with the prime purpose of landing at certain points on the coast to place documents claiming the land for Australia.
Throughout the accounts of these expeditions, one reads the name of John King Davis. Another Australian, his experience of sea-ice made him the chosen Captain of many vessels in which those early explorers sailed. With him travelled fellow countryman Frank Hurley, a pioneer cameraman whose spectacular images of Antarctica - and many other parts of the world – are still admired today.
Around that time, a young South Australian farmer named John Rymill gained a place in a private British team exploring Greenland. He made two expeditions there, in 1930 -1931, and 1934 - 1937. When they were over, he turned full about to Antarctica to explore a new area. He bought a vessel for the purpose, the last sailing ship to be used in an Antarctic expedition. Rymill named her Penola after his property.
Yet another unsung Australian is Sir Hubert Wilkins. Born near Hallett, South Australia in 1888, it is quite impossible to do justice to his life in a couple of lines but his biographer has truly described him as ‘the last explorer’. After years of adventuring about the globe, he was first to fly over the Arctic, then the Antarctic. He sold one of his wrecked aircraft used in the Arctic to Charles Kingsford-Smith, who fitted engines, named it the Southern Cross (another one) and went on to create those amazing long distance records. ‘The old bus,’ as he called it, is magnificently restored and is on permanent display at Brisbane airport.
Hubert Wilkins produced damning reports of his long investigation in Australia for the British Museum. They were severely critical of his country’s attitude to its indigenous peoples. This honesty made him few friends in his own land and in 1925 he made America his virtual home. Over time he was accorded such honours and respect by those in power in the States that when he died in 1958, his ashes were taken beneath the pack in the submarine Skate to the North Pole, and scattered there. It was an acknowledgement of his own brave but failed 1931 attempt in Nautilus, a decrepit relic from WW1.
In one of his characteristic putting -his -money –where- his -mouth –is projects, Dick Smith’s Australian Geographic Society restored Wilkins’ ruined birthplace at Mount Bryan East.
The above are some Australians that have been instrumental in adding to mankind’s knowledge of his planet but this short review cannot conclude without mention of Phillip Law and the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions -ANARE - that he built up and directed.
From 1947, teams of men had worked on Heard and Macquarie Islands. Law, a scientist saw much more value in using bases on the icecap to pursue worthwhile scientific programs and In 1953 he closed the station on Heard Island, transferring the program of studies to Antarctica.
Mawson, Davis and Casey stations were set up. Women were also recruited for them. The Government intended to use the stations to back up Douglas Mawson’s claim to the vast territory just by occupation and was less than enthusiastic about funding science. Law pushed ahead, however, not only with land exploration but also with research that was far too imaginative for the Government.
Over the ‘Law years’ of 1954 to 1966, he carried on a ‘war of attrition’ with his Canberra masters, and won. The work carried out by ANARE was prodigious, a quietly constant discovery of land and amassing of scientific data. As an example, surveyor Syd Kirkby , a Queenslander charted more of the icecap than Scott, Shackleton, Mawson and Amundsen combined. (Closer to home, Max Downes, biologist and owner of Foster’s first book shop was the fore runner of at least three ‘locals’ who worked in Antarctica.)
Phillip Law’s legacy is polar science respected by world bodies.
Fascinating though the story of European explorers is in this time of reflecting on Mawson’s achievements, I would appreciate the opportunity to speak up for the sterling work carried out by other fellow countrymen and women in this beautiful but quite dangerous part of Australian territory.
Yours etc., Graeme Wheeler.