Art. XVII. ^ — Report of the Antarctic Committee of the 

 Royal Society of Victoria. 



[Read 16th November, 1893.] 



Your Committee has held a few meetings during the year, 

 sitting with the corresponding Committee of the Royal Geograph- 

 ical Society of Australia, as hitherto. There has been very little 

 work to do since Baron Dickson decided to withdraw his co- 

 operation in the proposed Swedish-Australian expedition to have 

 been despatched in the charge of Baron Nordenskiold. Never- 

 theless, our efforts to direct attention to this region have, during 

 the past year, borne their first fruits in the despatch of five steam 

 whalei's. These vessels carried a limited staff of observers and 

 tlie scientific work done was subordinated very strictly to the 

 commercial purposes of the owners of the ships. The vessels 

 having found a plentiful supply of seals in latitude 64° S., under 

 the lea of Trinity land, went no further south. Dr. Donald and 

 Mr. W. S. Bruce have written important papers descriptive of 

 their observations on board the Balcena and Active, and these will 

 shortly be published by the Royal Geographical Society of Great 

 Britain. A fine collection of southern birds has been brought 

 back, and a collection of drawings and photographs which was 

 exhibited at the last meeting of the British Association attracted 

 considerable attention, and has led to a vote of money to enable 

 Mr. Bruce to spend next year upon one of the Antarctic Islands 

 making further observations. 



As the owners of the ships are sending them out again this 

 year it may be concluded that the cargoes brought home last year 

 were of a sufiiciently payable nature to ensure further exploration 

 of the region for commercial purposes. Further, we shall shortly 

 be able to record an effort to re-open the Antarctic on the 

 meridian of Australia or New Zealand, as a steam whaler, the 

 Antarctic, left Tonsberg in Norway on 19th September, under the 

 command of Captain Bull. She will go direct to Newcastle 

 N.S.W., where she will fill her bunkers and then start for the 



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