RECENT EXPEDITIONS TO THE ANTARCTIC 



expedition led by Sir Douglas Mawson during the 

 years 191 2 and 19 13, and the voyage of Filchner in 

 1912 to the head of the Weddell Sea. But as I have 

 stated previously, the conquest of the Pole in 1911-12 

 seemed a momentous event which separated earlier ex- 

 peditions from all which took place in later years. 



Mawson 



In December, 191 1, the ship "Aurora" set sail 

 from Hobart with Mawson and his expedition on 

 board. He hoped to have four parties at far distant 

 bases, whose meteorological results could be compared. 

 Three of these were actually established. The first 

 was placed on Macquarie Island, which lies some nine 

 hundred miles southeast of Hobart. Here Ainsworth, 

 from the Melbourne Weather Bureau, and four com- 

 panions maintained wireless communication with Aus- 

 tralia. Valuable geological and biological collections 

 were also gathered on this sub-Antarctic island. 



Twenty-six men, largely young graduates from Aus- 

 tralian universities, were landed at Commonwealth Bay 

 in Adelie Land fin latitude 6y^ S. longitude 143° E.) 

 on January 8th (see Figure 2). Here a rocky "oasis" 

 amid the encircling ice was discovered on which the 

 hut was erected. This patch of rocks was only about 

 a mile long, and no similar area seems to exist along 

 the hundreds of miles of coast explored by Mawson's 

 Expedition. The "Aurora," under Captain Davis, 

 sailed west to land the party of men under Wild. On 

 the twenty- fourth of January high land was sighted 

 (near longitude 135° E.) to which Mawson gave the 



63 



