Diary: Introduction

Prolog.

In the upper Rakaia Valley of New Zealand's Southern Alps during the summer of 1961-62, a Tararua Tramping Club climbing party led by John Millen encountered two trampers. It transpired that John and one of the trampers were civil engineers, a hydroelectric power plant designer and a road construction engineer.

"Do you do any surveying?" asked John. "Most of the time," replied Frank, "Roads and bridges." Disarmingly, John spoke of his plan for a mountaineering club expedition to explore an unmapped part of Antarctica, in Victoria Land. Team members would mostly be surveyors and geologists, to perform topographic and geological mapping work, upon which the essential financial support for such a venture vitally depended.

Tirelessly dedicated, John had shouldered and led the many diverse preparations of such a complex venture. The expedition would be run under the auspices of the NZ Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC), which had selected the Tararua Tramping Club of Wellington to undertake the expedition, based on proposals submitted to FMC.

John had even prepared a sketch map of the exploration area from aerial photos. Now came the time to recruit team members. Would Frank be interested? "Too right," was the eager response.

In the ensuing year, John and other expedition members and Tararua Tramping Club volunteers continued the enormous task of preparing for the expedition.

Fri 2nd Nov 1962. Haast – Christchurch.

From his road construction job at Haast, Frank flew to Hokitika, then took the train to Christchurch. There, deputy expedition leader Gerald Holdsworth provided gracious hospitality for the night, and introduced his father – himself a renowned climber and surveyor. Gerald and Frank had both completed the course in civil engineering at Canterbury University a year before. Gerald had in mind a career in glaciology, formed in part from his academic and mountaineering achievements.

Sat 3rd Nov. Christchurch.

A meeting with Wynn Croll of Antarctic fame gave valuable insight into conditions to be expected. Errands to obtain equipment and clothing filled the remainder of day, interspersed with lunch and tea the evening meal at the Holdsworth's home. Then Frank took the overnight ferry from Lyttelton to Wellington in the North Island, where his Mother and Dad braved the gray dawn to meet him.

Sun 4th Nov. Wellington.

Expedition leader John Millen visited Frank’s parent’s home to discuss plans between lunch and tea. A visit to expedition secretary Brenda Watt followed, then to John's home for a second dinner, and to inspect radios and to continue to develop logistics. John asked if Frank minded working under Gerald Holdsworth as deputy leader; Frank was honoured to do so, and also to work under John!

Mon 5th Nov. Wellington.

Hurried morning errands tended to inoculations, equipment and insurance. A phone message summoned Frank at 2 p.m. to Mr. Geoff Markham, Director of the Antarctic Division of the NZ Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Mr. Markham said to be ready to leave tomorrow. He saw fit to admonish Frank about not going to Antarctica for risky climbing, this being only the second NZ mountain club expedition to Antarctica.

Mr. Markham described coordination with United States Navy personnel in Christchurch for transportation to Antarctica. He set up an appointment for the the next morning with the NZ Department of Lands and Survey, which would produce the map from the expedition's survey data. Frantic errands and packing continued all night.

Tue 6th Nov. Wellington-Christchurch.

The Surveyor General of the Lands and Survey Department – Mr. Gough – met Frank at 8:30 a.m. He introduced Mr. Boys, a competent topographic surveyor. A rush ensued to obtain the requisite life insurance policy, and to check whether a camera had been repaired and winterised – it hadn’t – and to barely catch the 9:55 a.m. airport bus. Frank’s Mother and Dad waved him off on the flight to Christchurch.

In Christchurch a couple of hours later, Gerald and Frank were summoned to the US Navy Deep Freeze Base at Harewood airport now Christchurch International. There, a Mr. Clinton said we were booked on a US Navy Super Constellation plane leaving next day at 2100 hours. We dashed out to procure US dollars, Antarctica’s currency. Back at Harewood at 2:30 p.m., Mr. Clinton further briefed Gerald and Frank, who then returned to Gerald's home for tea and to check gear.

Wed 7th Nov. Christchurch.

Gerald and Frank reported to Mr. Clinton, who said, "I told you anything is liable to happen. Well it has, your flight has been delayed." Len Brown of the US Base drove Gerald and Frank to visit Mr. Goodale at Harewood for flight documentation, then to temporary quarters at the NZ Air Force base at Wigram.

After tea at the base, Gerald and Frank took the bus to visit Frank’s former student digs at 107 Hinau Street, Riccarton, just in time to help ‘clean up’ the remains of their meal. Noel Read showed some tramping slides. Then Audrey and Irene – who had another flat in the same house – suggested that Gerald and Frank might like to accompany them to a film of Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. The 4-hour film ended at 11:45 p.m., after the last bus departed. We taxied to Audrey and Irene's flat at Hinau Street. Gerald and Frank walked on to Wigram.

Thu 8th Nov. Christchurch.

Gerald’s and Frank’s engineering surveying background lacked astronomy, which is an essential part of topographic surveying in Antarctica, in order to locate surveyed positions on the earth's surface by latitude and longitude. To train ourselves in surveying astronomy, we needed a theodolite. So we visited our former Engineering School to try to borrow one. However, affable Mr. Hughie Simpson – Senior Lecturer in Surveying – was away at the annual civil engineering survey camp, with the school’s surveying instruments.

Neither was Frank's employer – The Ministry of Works – able to loan a theodolite. However, over lunch at the Department of Lands and Survey, a certain Mr. Williams let us use a theodolite for astronomical sightings on the roof of a building. By the time the theodolite was set up, we realized that it was too late to see the target star at its previously calculated position. The day’s effort lost, we returned to Wigram for tea, and retired early.

Fri 9th Nov. Christchurch (Show Holiday).

At the Wigram Air Force base, sunbathing interspersed with sorely needed study and practice calculations in astronomy took most of the day.

Sat 10th Nov. Christchurch.

Astronomy and sunbathing occupied the day until 11 a.m., when, as instructed, Gerald and Frank bussed from Wigram to the departure airport at Harewood, for weighing in to fly to Antarctica. Lunch at the airport café was two pies for two bob 20¢.

After hours of waiting, US Navy personnel gave permission for Gerald and Frank to leave the airport for a while. A 3-mile 5-km bus ride took us again to 107 Hinau Street in Riccarton, where Paul Debenham invited them for tea. Paul, Barry Denton and Frank had been flat-mates there in 1961.

At 2000 hours Gerald and Frank reported to Antarctic flight desk for takeoff at 2100. Our luggage had been locked away for safekeeping, but the keeper of the key had vanished, which caused some consternation until he returned.

Boarding began, including many Americans, two NZ Members of Parliament, the Christchurch City Engineer, the Mayor of the Christchurch port town of Lyttelton, and a few un-noteworthy others like ourselves. On the runway, awaiting clearance for takeoff, the crammed plane cabin became stifling. After twenty minutes the pilot announced that weather conditions at the US Antarctic Base at McMurdo were unsuitable for landing, so the flight would be delayed for three hours.

Back at the terminal, plane passengers spent the next three hours in a "club crawl" at the US base, starting at the Commissioned Officers' Club, and working down through the Petty Officers' and NCO's Club. A member of our group – a lemonade drinker – knelt down to retrieve a dropped coin. A US sergeant deemed that unseemly behaviour, and firmly suggested that we leave, which happened about 11:15 p.m.

Shortly we boarded the triple-tailed Super Constellation, which lifted off at 11:50 p.m. Flames belching from the engine lit up the interior of the plane. Under starlight, the South Island drifted away behind.

Sun 11th Nov. Scott Base, Antarctica.

Sunrise at 4:10 a.m. illuminated a blanket of cloud near latitude 62°S. By 6:45 a.m. the sky had cleared to reveal pack ice over the sea below. Victoria Land, Antarctica, appeared at 8 a.m.

Bleary-eyed passengers scrambled for views. Plane crew allowed a couple of people at a time to go forward to the pilot's cabin to see insect and pollen collection, and navigation and piloting. The plane flew within a few miles of Cape Adare, Cape Hallett and the Tucker Glacier mouth, giving distant glimpses of some of the area where we were to work, in the Tucker Glacier.

Fog at McMurdo threatened to force a landing at Cape Hallett base, but we continued, pulling on cold weather clothing as the descent began at 10:30 a.m. "Bit of a holiday in the mountains?" asked a garrulous Kiwi flight companion, bountifully arrayed with photographic equipment.

At 11 a.m. the plane bumped to a landing at the Williams Airstrip on the Ross Ice Shelf. There, New Zealand Scott Base commander Colonel Tinker greeted the newcomers, ferrying them by two Weasel tractors some six miles 10 km across the ice shelf.

Against a snow-and-rock patch-worked hillside emerged a low cluster of yellow and orange buildings of Scott Base. The sight brought an unexpected sense of déjà vu for its vague similarity to ski villages, like that on Mount Ruapehu on NZ's North Island.

At perhaps -15°C, the air felt nippy on the face while walking, but not noticeably so when standing still. But exposed ears began to numb, so we entered the base for lunch. What a feast! – lettuce salad with tomatoes, ham and potatoes – thanks to US Navy air transportation.

Later, Colonel Tinker took his new arrivals for a walk on the sea ice. Changing tides cause the sea ice to buckle and crack near the shore, forming ridges in the ice. Some female seals and their three-day-old pups basked on the ice near the cracks, where they could easily dive into the sea for food, as Colonel Tinker explained. When Frank tried to take the first photos with his newly winterised camera, the shutter disintegrated.

Nearby, some boisterous and rowdy husky dogs were chained in lines on the ice. Playing with one dog would provoke its neighbours to jump about and bark madly, so jealous were they of human attention. Only experienced dog handlers are able to use dog teams to avoid the arduous man-hauling that would be our lot.

The Antarctic wind cut right through our wool clothing. Exposed noses numbed too. Windproof anoraks of tightly woven cloth give effective protection against the biting wind.

Returning inside to warm up brought a chance to see the geophysics laboratory. Then came tea, followed by movies loaned by the US Navy, shown in the mess hall. Antarctic life seemed pretty cushy so far.

The mess hall is the largest heated room at Scott Base, serving many social purposes. The other rooms at Scott Base are smaller cubicles, connected only by unheated corrugated-steel arch walkways, designed to help prevent the spread of any fire.

In a cubby hole adjoining the mess quarters is the Ross Dependency Post Office cum pub. This post office is the sole purveyor of its own NZ-denominated stamps, but requires US dollars to buy them. The post office is open whenever Postmaster Dave Richards is free from other duties, like feeding the husky dogs, or until he goes to bed.

Outside at 10:30 p.m., we marvelled at the eternal sun. At Scott Base latitude 78°S, continuous daylight lasts almost four months. The sun circles endlessly around the sky, 35° high to the north at noon, and 11° high southwards at midnight, at the summer solstice. Then Gerald and Frank retired for the first of many nightless sleeps.

Mon 12th Nov. Scott Base.

Sorting and checking of equipment began. Successive field parties use the same camping and scientific equipment, so new users must check the gear before leaving the base. Gerald checked the Primus stoves, while Frank examined the surveying equipment. Checking continued all day, and after tea until 11 p.m.

During the afternoon, a group left Scott Base on a US Navy reconnaissance flight to check for a possible landing site at the head of the Darwin Glacier some 200 miles 320 km to the southwest. Group members were: Charlie Rick and Gilbert Smith (Victoria University), Guy Mannering (photographer), Arnold Heine (glaciologist), and Ron Tinker (Base leader). How indebted was the NZ program to US Navy air support!

Tue 13th Nov. Scott Base.

Checking gear resumed in the morning, then organising food began in the afternoon. Expedition food mostly came from Scott Base stocks, which are stored in an unheated, open aircraft hanger. Some food items are surplus from the 1957-58 Trans-Antarctic Expedition of Vivian Fuchs and Edmond Hillary five years before, such as blocks of British pemmican and cans of bright yellow, slightly odiferous Argentinean butter.

Expedition food had to be packed into boxes of plywood or waxed cardboard, each containing food for 20 man-days. We counted packaged items into the boxes, and weighed out loose bulk foods – like milk and potato powder, rolled oats, and dehydrated vegetables – into plastic bags by the hundreds, usually about a pound 450 g of food per bag. Appendix “Logistics” lists the contents of the food boxes.

Later in the afternoon Gerald and Frank walked to the US Navy Base at McMurdo about 3 miles 5 km away. On the way, we peeked inside a US Navy Dakota (R4D) plane parked on the Ross Ice Shelf, which was being scavenged for parts. From there, a cheerful American passing in a pickup gave us a lift to the US base.

Chief Cookson of the US Navy kindly examined Frank’s Yashica 2¼-inch square twin-lens reflex camera with a failed shutter, and said to call back in three days. Later, the camera was returned to New Zealand for repair, but it still arrived back in time to take into the field.

At the Navy PX store, Frank bought a Rolex Oyster watch ($45), as a chronometer for astronomical positioning for topographic mapping in the field. Film from the PX was less expensive than in New Zealand – $3.80 for a 36-exposure slide film – but that still represented over 3 hours of Frank’s salary.

Walking back from McMurdo, we passed the Robert Scott memorial cross on a hill. In 1912, Scott and his companions starved to death on the Ross Ice Shelf, after losing a race for the South Pole to a Norwegian team under Roald Amunsden, who arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911.

Sorting food occupied the rest of the afternoon. After tea, cleaning and checking survey gear resumed, before succumbing to movies shown for the third successive night, a horror flick about a dinosaur invading London. Word came through that fourteen more people would arrive at Scott Base soon. As “long-time” residents, we muttered about the expected newcomers.

Wed 14th Nov. Scott Base.

Food packing was the focus of the day. Thirty-two food boxes were to be prepared, 24 standard boxes, four luxury boxes, and two emergency boxes, averaging 37 pounds 16½ kg of food each, as Appendix “Logistics” details.

With space at a premium, several users occupied a small room, engaged in carpentry and food packing, so sawdust, milk powder and camaraderie filled the air. During the evening, Frank phoned his Mother and Dad for four minutes. With almost constant activity at Scott Base it wasn’t easy to get to bed on time.

Thu 15th Nov. Scott Base.

Today was “House Mouse” duty day for Frank, involving assisting the cook and doing housework. Bob Taylor and Frank washed breakfast dishes, then Bob drove the Weasel tractor and trailer to the snow mine to collect snow to melt for drinking water. Two trips filled the snow hoppers, and replenished a stack of extra snow blocks alongside.

At noon, the remaining six members of the Tararua Expedition arrived from Christchurch — John Millen (leader), Peter LeCouteur and Evan Leitch (geologists), Ian Joice, John Hayton, and Roger Lloyd.

Immediately, John organised the packaging of food, working in the hanger where Colonel Tinker allocated space. First, we cleared a working space by moving other items outside, so that the food boxes could be spread about the hanger floor. Then John set up a chain gang to weigh out food from bulk containers into plastic bags by the score.

Stopping only for tea, food packing continued until 10 p.m., when Frank reported back to Bob for House Mouse duty. During the evening, Bob and Frank cleaned the mess room and kitchen and mopped the floors, mopped out the heat-proof (cold-proof) annexes, and emptied gash (garbage and trash) cans.

Gash is collected in 44-gallon about 200-litre oil drums, for disposal down cracks in the ice shelf, along with drums of toilet waste honey pots. Urinals discharge outside to feed the Yurin Glacier, which flows yellow but odourless to the Ross Ice Shelf.

At midnight, Bob and Frank took synoptic readings of temperature, humidity, pressure, wind direction and solar radiation. The temperature had risen to -8°C, but the wind was chilly as we took the readings. The sun lay about 10° above the horizon.

A check of the fuel and the generators followed, and hourly checks throughout the base for outbreak of fires. Otherwise, the night passed drinking tea, reading, and listening to record, until duties ceased at 7 a.m.

Fri 16th Nov. Scott Base.

After his all-night House-Mouse duty, Frank retired at 7:45 a.m. and woke at 5:30 p.m. for tea. Then he joined the expedition team packing food until 11 p.m., and retired again at midnight.