150 



expedition under Sir James Ross and Captain Crozier in the 

 Erehus and Terror in 1839-1843. 



Dr. Murray remarked in his address to the Royal Geographical 

 Society last year that it was now nearly two thousand five hundred 

 years since the Phcenicians sent out the expedition under the 

 command of Necho into the Southern Hemisphere. They arrived 

 at the Cape of Good Hope, about 600 B.C., and reported that 

 when rounding the Cape, heading westwards, they had the sun 

 on their right hand, a statement of which Herodotus says, " This 

 for my part I do not believe; but others may." Since the time 

 of this voyage of the Phcenician sailors in their frail craft, Ave 

 have no reason to be proud of the rapidity of geographical 

 exploration in the Southern Hemisphere. 



Until the beginning of this year only three exploring parties 

 had passed beyond the limit of 70" S. lat., Cook in 1773, Weddell 

 in 1823, and Ross in 1841 and 1842. This year, however, the 

 whaler Antarctic, which has just returned to Melbourne, has had 

 the honour of being the first ship for the last 52 years to penetrate 

 beyond the 70th parallel, reaching lat. 74° S., in long. 171° E. 



As a result of his explorations, Cook, as quoted by Murray, 

 was convinced that "the greater part of this Southern Continent 

 must lie within the Polar circle, where the sea is so pestered with 

 ice that the land is thereby inaccessible. The risque one runs in 

 exploring a coast in these unknown and icy seas is so very great 

 that I can be bold enough to say that no man will ever venture 

 further south than I have done." To prophecy thus is also risky, 

 as both Weddell and Ross did su])sequently venture much further 

 south, as already stated. 



The explorations of Ross, the discoverer of the North Magnetic 

 Pole, stand pre-eminent in the record of Antarctic work. In his 

 case the path of duty was the way to glory. His orders were to 

 try and discover the Magnetic Pole, and accordingly he steered as 

 straight as he could towards where j^revious observations showed 

 that the Magnetic Pole probably lay, and this proved to be also 

 the best direction for successful geographical exploration. Sir 

 Joseph Hooker, one of the only two members now surviving of 



