CHAPTER LXII
MAWSON’S EXPEDITION
It had always been desired that that portion of the coast of Antarctica which faces Australia, along which Balleny, and afterwards Wilkes and Dumont d’Urville, had sailed more than sixty years ago, should be landed upon and explored. The coast is not one that faces eastward, and much accessible land could not be expected. It was assumed that there would probably be ice cliffs for the most part, and the ice-cap inland. Still, exploration of this locality was very desirable.
Mr. Mawson[209] undertook the difficult enterprise. He had made a very fine journey to the South Magnetic Pole during Shackleton’s Expedition, and was deeply interested in Antarctic problems. Born in Australia he wished his expedition to be mainly an Australian undertaking. The Aurora, a fine steamer, was purchased and Captain Davis received the command. There could be no better man, both as a sailor and an enthusiast in the work of deep-sea sounding. Frank Wild, who had been both on the Discovery and the Nimrod, was appointed to command a second landing party. Dr Mertz was the naturalist. Ninnis, a 2nd Lieut. of the Royal Fusiliers, son of my old friend Dr Belgrave Ninnis of the Discovery in the Arctic expedition of 1875–6, first wrote to me from Pietermaritzburg, full of Antarctic enthusiasm, in September 1909, and his excellent qualifications obtained for him a place on the scientific staff of the Aurora.
The Aurora left Hobart December 2nd, 1911, arriving at Macquarie Island on the 11th to land five men, who were to install and manage the wireless telegraph. On Christmas Day the voyage to the south was resumed. On January 3rd, 1912, the ice cliffs were sighted, 50 to 80 ft. high, and the Aurora sailed along them all day. On the 6th she crossed the Antarctic Circle and sighted Adélie Land, with small rocky islets off the coast. On the 8th a landing was effected, and winter quarters were established in 66° 48′ S. and 143° 5′ E. Mawson landed with Dr Mertz, Lieut. Ninnis, and 15 men, all hands working hard at landing the hut, stores, and provisions. Their quarters were at the western end of Adélie Land, in a bay with ice cliffs on both sides. It received the name of Commonwealth Bay.
On January 19th, 1912, the Aurora sailed eastward to land another party of eight men under Frank Wild. They met with many icebergs and heavy pack, but the Côte Clarie of Dumont d’Urville had disappeared. From the 24th to the 27th the Aurora encountered gales and heavy seas. It was not until February 19th in Lat. 66° 18′ 28″ S. and Long. 94° 58′ E. that Captain Davis found a place on the ice cliffs to land Wild’s party and their provisions, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that Wild got his stores on shore and managed to haul them up to the top of the ice cliff. The two stations were 1200 miles apart. Having passed the winter on this ice, Wild and his companions made two important journeys. One was nearly to Sabrina Land, the other connected Wild’s base with Kaiser Wilhelm II Land. The Aurora returned to Hobart on March 11th, 1912.
In the spring Dr Mawson, with Dr Mertz and Ninnis, undertook a journey with dogs over the ice cap to the S.E. While travelling over the ice, many days after leaving the winter station, the sledge, dogs, and Ninnis suddenly disappeared down a crevasse and were seen no more. Mawson and Mertz were left with scarcely any food and only six dogs, and began to make their way back, undergoing terrible privations from which Dr Mertz died. Mawson, now the sole survivor, succeeded in reaching the winter quarters after 31 days of untold hardship and danger.
The loss of Lieut. Ninnis was deeply felt by his friends. He was full of life and energy, and deeply interested in his work. He had the makings of a very good officer, in whatever branch of the service he might have been employed.
The Aurora had arrived off the winter quarters in January, 1913, but was unable to wait for the return of Mawson himself, so that he and sixteen men were left to face a second winter. On February 23rd, however, Captain Davis reached Wild’s station, taking him and his party on board, and bringing them back to Hobart. The Aurora returned again the next summer, picking up Mawson on December 13th, 1913. After carrying out some important oceanographical work she reached Adelaide on February 26th, 1914.
The result of this expedition was the final connecting up of the northern coast of Antarctica from Lieut. Pennell’s discovery to Kaiser Wilhelm II Land, which was found, as I anticipated, to be the edge or northern boundary of the ice cap, with scarcely any visible land. It is from coasts with eastern aspects that interesting discoveries will be made. A further valuable result were the lines of deep sea soundings taken by Captain Davis.