The Home of the Blizzard / Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914

and party at the north end of the island found u

ine Cove. As a matter of fact, there were several suitable localities on the east

line Cove and ample water within. There was, however, limited space for manoeuvring the vessel if a change should occur in the direction of the wind. The risk was taken; the '

or had been replaced by Gillies and Hannam. Two oregon "dead men",

e head of the bay was contaminated by the penguins which made it their highway to a rookery. After a search, an almost dry gulley bed was found to yield water when a pi

y ones ascending. The barrels on the beach were thus speedily filled and taken off by a boat'

ills came the weird cries of strange birds. There was a hint of wildness, soon to

ship, undoubtedly against rock. It appeared that the officer on watch had left the bridge for a few minutes, while the wind freshened and was blowing at the time nearly broadside-on from the north. This caused the ship t

ad, and, as we came up to the bower anchor, the cable was taken in. The wind was blowing across the narrow entrance to the Cove, so that it was advisable to get quickly under way. The kedg

was additional verve in our Christmas celebration, as Macquarie Isla

concentrated on speedily landing the party which was to carry out such special work, so as to allow us to get a

er; a moderate breeze from the north-east and a lon

st. Our obvious expedient on encountering the ice was to steam in the same direction as this drift. It had been decided before setting out that we would confine ourselves to the region west of the meridia

ch hindrance by ice, but that was a fortunate circumstance in view of the difficulties Wilkes had met. At the western limit of the area we were to explore, the Germans in the 'Gauss' had been irrevocably trapped in the ice as early as the month of February. At the eastern limit, only the year before,

disintegrating floes of the Ross Sea, since, between Cape Adare and the Balleny Islands, the ice drifting to the north-west under the influence of the south-east winds is arrested in an extensive sheet. On the other hand, were we

and equipment were divided had been disposed so as to facilitate the landing of a base with despatch, and, maybe, under difficult circumstances. F

trosses of several species constantly hovered about, and swallow-like Wilson petrels-those nervous rangers of t

ghout the ship. On several occasions, fantastic clouds on the horizon gave hope of land, only to be abandoned on further advance. On D

ever navigated the waters south of latitude 55 degrees, that some one and a quarter million square miles lay open to exploration. As an instance of such a disco

he anxiety arising from overloaded decks and the probability of gales which are chronic in these latitudes, it was resolved to land one of the bases as soo

land. Nevertheless, his soundings, and the light thrown upon the subject by the Scott and Shackleton expeditions, left no doubt in my mind that land would be found within a reasonable distance south of the position assigned by Wilkes. Some authorities had held that any land existing in this region would be found to be of the nature of isola

tints called forth general admiration. In the distance others could be seen. One larger than the average stood almost in our path. It was of the flat-to

innacled bergs of clear ice. In the south, the tabular forms result from the fact that the average annual temperature is colder than that prevailing at the northern axis of the earth. They are so formed because, even at sea-level, no appreciable amount of thawing takes place in midsummer. The inland ice pushes out to sea in enormous masses, and remains floating long before it "calves" to form bergs. Even though its surface has been thrown into ridges as it was creeping over the uneven land, all are reduc

by like spectres. A monstrous block on the starboard side had no

n the outskirts was a light brash which steadily gave place to a heavier variety, composed of larger and more angular fragments. A swishing murmur like the wind in the tree-tops came from the great expanse. It was alabaster-white and through the small, separate chips wa

and the pack was becoming heavier, th

, twenty miles were gained due southwards before the conditions had changed. The fog cleared, and right ahead massive bergs rose out of an ice-strewn sea. We neared one which was a mile in length and o

ittle time for reverie. Orders came in quick succession-"Starboard! Steady!" and in a flash-"Hard-a

vaporous azure; lofty spires, radiant turrets and splendid castles; honeycombed masses illumined by pale green light within whose fairy labyrinths the water washed and gurgled. Seals and pen

hardly a square foot of space showed amongst the blocks; smaller ones packing in between the larger, until the sea was covered with a continuous armour of ice. The ominous sound arising from thousands of fac

"water sky" showed as a distant beacon; over all was reflected the pitiless, white glare of the ice. The 'Aurora' retreated to the open sea, and headed

nvariably shone with that yellowish-white effulgence known as "ice blink," indicative of continuous ice, in contra

tions in the south, and, indeed, in several places we reconnoitred, and such was proved to be the case. Large bergs were numerous, which, on account of being almost unaffected by surface currents because of their ponderous bulk and stupendous draught, helped to compact the shallow surface-

d from the bridge and at other moments not a single one could be sighted. They were not alarmed, unless the ship happened to bump against ice-masses within a short distanc

as too great, for masses of ice ten tons or more in weight swayed about under the stern, endangering the propeller and rudder-the vulnerable parts of the vessel. So we moved on, having secured enough fresh-water ice to suppl

rker hue than the surrounding bergs. Another adjacent block exhibited a large black patch on its northern face, the exact nature of which could not be ascertained at a distance. Examples of rock debris embedded in bergs

ered the ice-zone, most of our old companions, such as the albatross, had deserted, while a new suite of Antarctic birds had taken their place. The

ct was particularly disappointing in view of the distance we had already traversed to the west. We were now approaching the longitude of D'Urville's landfall, and st

red to be land-ice near by. Sure enough, on the port side, within a quarter of a mile, rose a massive barrier of ice extending far into the mist and separated from the ship by a little loo

coming from the east of south had cleared the pack away from the lee of the ice-wall, so that in the distance a comparatively clear sea was visible, closed by a bar of ice,

ly similar in build, for instance, to the Great Ross Barrier so well described by Ross, Scott, and others. At the north-west corner, at half a dozen places within a few miles of each other, the wall was puckered up and surmounted by semi-conical eminences

e first seen on the voyage and a sure indication of land, for t

his corresponded in shape with what Ross frequently referred to as an "ice island," uncertain whether it was a berg or ice-covered land. A sounding clos

uttered in hundreds about our bows. Cape pigeons are well known in lower latitudes, and it was interesting to find

ut two hundred feet sheer. A fresh wind was blowing in our teeth from the south-south-east, and beyond this point w

each containing hundreds of Antarctic petrels. At intervals they would rise

ter's edge was a seal, trying to evade the eyes of a dozen large grampuses which were playing about near our stern. These monsters appeared to be about twenty-five feet in length. They are the most formidable predacious

re blotted out by driving snow. An attempt was made to keep the ship in shelter by steaming into the wind, but as "ice island" and glacier-tongue were lost in clouds of snow, we were fortunate to make the lee

f to be a free-floating berg. The glacier-tongue on the port side took a sharp turn to the east-south-east, disappearing on the horizon. As there was no pack in sight and the water was merely littered with fragments of ice, i

ning, and might well have been a continuation of it. It is scarcely credible that when the 'Aurora' came south the following year, the glacier-tongue first discovered had entirely disappeared. It was apparently nothing more than a huge iceberg measuring forty miles in length. Specially v

ght attained a maximum of one hundred and fifty feet. In places the sea had eaten out enormous blue grottoes. At one spot, several of these had brok

g extension of the land-ice.** A table-topped berg in the act of formation was seen,

helf-ice formation was

les in length, the seaw

we named the

by a steep snow-covered promontory rising approximately two thousand feet in height, as yet seen dimly in hazy

certainly the Antarctic continent, though, at that time, its extension to the east, west and south remained to be proved. The shelf-ice was seen to be se

, when passing within half a cable's length of several berg-like masses of ice lying off the coast, rock was again visible in black relief against the water's edge, forming a p

Through a light fog all that could be seen landwards was a steep, sloping, icy surface descending

e than the floating shelf-ice. It was riven and distorted by gaping c

red on its western side. The engines were stopped for a few hours, a

bergs. Seals and penguins swam around, the latte

e vapour. Each puncture and tiny grotto was filled with it, and a sloping cap of shimmering snow spread over the summit. The profile-view was an exact replica of a battleship, grounded astern. The bold contour of the bow was perfect, and the massive flank had been torn

ndred fathoms, and, accordingly, the n

of sea, about two or three miles in width, thickly strewn with rocky islets. Of these some were flat and others pea

which opened ahead. About fifty miles ahead, on the far side of Commonwealth Bay, as we named it, was a cape which roughly represented in position Cape Decouverte, the most easterly exte

and years ago. It was evident that the glaciation of Adelie Land was much more severe than that in higher Antarctic latitudes, as exampled on the borders of the Ross Sea; the arena of Scott's, Shackleton's and

d proved otherwise, only too well endorsing the scanty information supplied by D'Urville and Wilkes of the coastline seen by them. A glance at the austere plateau and the ice-fettered

the other two ba ses. Judging by our previous experience there was no certain prospect of this being effected. The successful landing of three bases in suitable positions, sufficiently far apart for advantageous co-operat

n Base. Alterations in the personnel of the third party were also made, by which the Main Base would be increased in strength for scientific work, and the other party u

n to give a good account of themselves. It was only by assuring myself of their high efficiency that I could expect

dgeman, J. G. Hunter, J. F. Hurley, C. F. Laseron, C. T. Madigan, A. L. McLean, X. Mert

. A. Hoadley, S. E. Jones, A. L. Kennedy, M.

dvanced to the west we were leaving the South Magnetic Pole, and I was anxious to have our magnetographs running as near the latter

, Wild came in to say that there was a rocky exposure about fifteen miles off o

estigation. From the ship's deck, even when within a mile, the outcrop had appeared to project directly from under the inland ice-sheet. Now, however, we were surpri

as found to be separated by a mile and a half from the mainland. A point which struck us at the time was that the islets situated on the southern side of the group were capped by unique masses of ice; resembling iced cakes. Later we were able to see them in process of formation. In the violent southerly hurricanes prevalent in A

low, varying from a few to twenty fathoms. The bottom was clothed by dense, luxuriant seaweed. This rank growth along the

a beautiful, miniature harbour completely land-locked. The sun shone gloriously in a blue sky as we stepped ashore on a charming ice-

ular slope and apparently free of crevasses-an outlet for our sledging parties in the event of the sea not firmly freezing over. To right and left of this oasis, as the visitor to Adelie Land must regard the welcome rock, the

gside the ice-foot. The only alternative was to anchor the ship at a distance and discharge the cargo by boats running to the ideal harbour we had discovered. Close to the boat harbour was suitable ground for the erection of a hut, so that the various impedimenta w

than the casual observer would have imagined. So it came about that

y, the motor-launch was dropped into the water, and both it and the whale-boat

rds evening a chill breeze sprang up, and we in the motor-launch had to beat against it. By the time we had reached the head of the harbour, Hoadley had several fingers frost-bitten and all were feeling the cold, for we were wearing light garments in anticipation of fine weather. The wi

the rest of us having scrambled up the side. Bringing the ship to anchor in such a wind in uncharted, shoal water was difficult to do in a cool and methodical manner. The sounding machine was kept running with rather dramatic results; depths jumping fr

was found in starting the motor. From the ship's deck we could see Bickerton busily engaged with it. The rudder had been unshipped, and there was no chance of replacing it, for the boat was bobbing a

ry one was becoming very apprehensive, the launch began to forge ahead, and the men had soon escaped from their dangerous p

two inches in diameter. This caused some embarrassment, as the hook was part of the cable attachment under the fo'c'sle-head. It i

ast four feet in height and when the wind increased to sixty-five and seventy miles per h

in case the cable should part. Final arrangements were then ma

s made. In good weather, every trip between the ship and the boat harbour, a distance of a mile, meant that five or six tons had been landed. It was usual for the loaded launch to tow both whale-boats heavily laden

ier packages at the landing-place. Of the last-named the air-tractor sledge was by far the most troublesome. With plenty of manual labour

pervised conveyance ashore, and the landing, classification, and safe storage of the various boat-loads. Gillies and Bickerton took alternate shifts in driving the mot

ricane should arise, tents were erected ashore, so that a party

and I were forced to remain ashore. We spent the time constructing a temporary hut of benzine cases, roofed with plan

sky remained serene and the sun shone brightly. It had been very different when the ship was amongst the pack a few miles to the north, for, there, cloudy and fo

efore he had reached the ship the wind renewed its activity. At last, after 2 P.M. on the same day it ceased, and we were able to carry on work until midnight, when the wind descended on us once more. Thi

em were the following: twenty-three tons of coal briquettes, two complete living-huts, a magnetic observatory, the whole of the wireless equipment, including masts, and more tha

ason. My great regret was that I could not be with them. I knew that I had men of experience and ability in Davis and Wild, and felt that the work entrusted to them was in the be

with masts and a rec

essages from a distanc

le

station at some place not less than four hundred miles west of Adelie Land. On the way, whenever opportunity presente

was hoped, would be communicated to us at the Main Bas

n we celebrated previous Antarctic explorers, more especially D'Urville and Wilkes. The toast was drunk in excellent Madeira presented t

o one of the whale-boats and pushed off for Cape Denison, shouting farewells back to the 'Aurora'. Several hours l