Ln PRESIDENTIAL ADDRES& 



Takeda, for a distance of about 150 miles to the south-east of 

 the Bay of Whales. They reached a latitude of 80° 5' South, 

 longitude 156° 27' West. At their furthest point south-east there 

 was no trace of any rock or earth visible, nothing but the white- 

 ness of the ice surface, which descended by a gentle slope to the 

 level of the Barrier. As the altitude at this extreme point was 

 about 1,300 feet above the sea, there can be little doubt that land 

 must underlie this area. 



Lastly, we may glance at the important scientific expedition, 

 the first of its kind despatched under the auspices of this Associa- 

 tion, and under the leadership of Dr. Douglas Mawson, to that 

 great unexplored region of the Antarctic which lies between the 

 meridian of Tasmania and that of South Africa, and which, there- 

 fore, directly fronts our ov.-n southern coast. 



My predecessor in this office stated in a vigorous and inspiriting 

 address that it was "up to " us in Australia to do something on 

 our own to explore this vast and, as yet, so little known continent 

 which lies at our very door. It is now a matter of history that 

 this Association responded nobly to their leader's call, and how, 

 following that lead, generous individuals in the Old Country and 

 patriotic citizens of this Commonwealth gave Mawson most effective 

 support with their handsome donations, and we shall never forget 

 the liberal and generous spirit in which the Commonwealth Govern- 

 ment vied with the State Governments in supporting this first 

 piece of new and arduous exploration ever undertaken by our 

 country in the field of South Polar research 



Three stations have been successfully established respectively at 

 Macquarie Island, Adelie Land, and at the Great Termination 

 Glacier, a little east of the old head-quarters of the German 

 expedition near Gaussberg. 



The landing by Captain J. K. Davis and Wild's parties at the 

 summit of this great glacier cliff, over 100 feet above sea-level, was 

 a feat of daring and decision which has certainly never been sur- 

 passed in the history of the exploration of either Pole. 



The meteorological and glacial observations at Termination 

 Glacier are likely to prove of great interest. Captain Davis made 

 a very interesting discovery on the voyage eastwards towards Adelie 

 Land; he found that a huge ice barrier prevented his sailing his 

 ship within 80 to 100 miles of the track formerly followed at this 

 distance further to the south by Commander Wilkes in 1839. 

 In matters of longitude, it is of course easy even for expert naviga- 

 tors to err, but it is surely less likely for so experienced a navigator 

 as Wilkes to have been at all seriously out in his latitudes, certainly 

 not to the extent of 80 to 100 miles. 



