Chapter €en 



FIRST DAYS IN WINTER QUARTERS 



THE inside of the hut was not long in being fully 

 A furnished, and a great change it was from the bare 

 shell of our first days of occupancy. The first thing done 

 was to peg out a space for each individual, and we saw 

 that the best plan would be to have the space allotted 

 in sections, allowing two persons to share one cubicle. 

 This space for two men amounted to six feet six inches 

 in length and seven feet in depth from the wall of the 

 hut towards the centre. There were seven of these 

 cubicles, and a space for the leader of the expedition; 

 thus providing for the fifteen who made up the shore- 

 party. The accompanying photographs will give an 

 idea of the hut as finished. One of the most import- 

 ant parts of the interior construction was the dark- 

 room for the photographers. We were very short of 

 wood, so cases of bottled fruit, which had to be kept 

 inside the hut to prevent them freezing, were utilised 

 for building the walls. The dark-room was constructed 

 in the left-hand corner of the hut as one entered, and 

 the fruit-cases were turned with their lids facing out, so 

 that the contents could be removed without demolishing 

 the walls of the building. These cases, as they were 

 emptied, were turned into lockers, where we stowed our 

 spare gear and so obtained more room in the little 

 cubicles. The interior of the dark-room was fitted up 

 by Mawson and the Professor. The sides and roof were 

 lined with the felt left over after the hut was completed. 

 Mawson made the fittings complete in every detail, with 



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