THE PUBLICATION OF THE NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY Vol 35, No. 1, 2017 35, No. Vol “Hector”: A Sled Dog for Lyttelton Vol 35, No. 1, 2017 Issue 239 Contents www.antarctic.org.nz is published quarterly by the New Zealand Antarctic Society Inc. ISSN 0003-5327 EDITOR: Lester Chaplow ASSISTANT EDITOR: Janet Bray INDEXER: Mike Wing Antarctic magazine New Zealand Antarctic Society PO Box 404, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand Email: [email protected] The deadlines for submissions to future issues are 1 May, 1 August, 1 November, and 1 February. 2 PATRON OF THE NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY Professor Peter Barrett, 2008 NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY “Hector”: A Sled Dog for Lyttelton 2 LIFE MEMBERS The Society recognises with life membership Meteorites and Mishaps in the Deep Field 5 those people who excel in furthering the aims and objectives of the Society or who have given outstanding service in Antarctica. They are Я&И@$Ж# ! – A Russian Expletive 8 elected by vote at the Annual General Meeting. The number of life members can be no more than 15 at any one time. Tribute: William Charles Hopper 10 Current Life Members by the year elected: 1. Robin Ormerod (Wellington), 1996 Tribute: James Harvey Lowery 11 2. Baden Norris (Canterbury), 2003 3. Randal Heke (Wellington), 2003 Tribute: Graham Ernest White 12 4. Arnold Heine (Wellington), 2006 5. Margaret Bradshaw (Canterbury), 2006 “The Discovery” Back Cover 6. Ray Dibble (Wellington), 2008 7. Norman Hardie (Canterbury), 2008 8. Colin Monteath (Canterbury), 2014 9. John Parsloe (Canterbury), 2014 10. Graeme Claridge (Wellington), 2015 11. David Harrowfield (Oamaru), 2016 The End of the Heroic Era Conference 12. Robert Park (Christchurch), 2016 24 to 26 March 2017 ELECTED OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY National President: Mariska Wouters Readers are reminded of the conference being held in Auckland, South Island Vice-President: Margaret Bradshaw North Island Vice-President: Linda Kestle New Zealand, to mark the end of the Heroic Era. Further details National Secretary: Myra Walton were included in the last issue of Antarctic (December 2016), National Treasurer: Lester Chaplow Immediate Past-President: Jud Fretter and can also be obtained from [email protected]. BRANCH CHAIRS Auckland: Linda Kestle Canterbury: Shirley Russ Wellington: Robin Falconer DO WE HAVE YOUR CORRECT CONTACT DETAILS? The New Zealand Antarctic Society is a Are your membership and contact details up to date? Please contact our Membership Officer Registered Charity CC27118 – [email protected] – if anything needs to be corrected. In particular, with the sharp rise in postage costs we would appreciate having your email address. Cover photo: A local husky meets “Hector”. Photo N. Basher. Photo above: Preliminary sketch of “Hector”. Photo courtesy of the Canterbury Sled Dog Project. Issue 239 From the Editor From the President The austral summer is a busy time for On 20 January, we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Antarctic research, and for many of our construction of Scott Base and New Zealand’s permanent members, including two Society volunteers presence in Antarctica. The proposal for a New Zealand working with the Antarctic Heritage Trust to base in Antarctica was put to the New Zealand Government restore Hillary’s TAE/IGY Hut at Scott Base. by the New Zealand Antarctic Society Scientists: Our readers would love to read of in 1953. We congratulate Antarctica your work and research in future issues, so New Zealand on their successful four- please, please submit an article or account of hour TEDxScottBase event facilitating some aspect of your time in Antarctica. In this a conversation about Antarctica, which issue we note Richard McElrea’s recent award attracted a global audience. Follow the QR of the Queen’s Service Order for service as a link to the TEDxScottBase videos. coroner and to Antarctic heritage. In January we sadly lost one of our long-standing members, Meanwhile, in the last issue, we asked Wing Commander (Retired) Bill Cranfield. Bill received a Polar “What’s in a Name?” and learned a little of Medal in 1958 for his contribution to the Trans-Antarctic “Hector”. “Hector” is now completed and Expedition, and he was awarded Life Membership of the stands on a street corner in Lyttelton town. Society in 2003. We will remember you, Bill. This issue, we learn a little more of the Our branches are busy preparing another year of regional project to bring “Hector” to Lyttelton, in events, and we look forward to seeing you at these. We hope “Hector”: A Sled Dog for Lyttelton. Then, to launch our new website at this year’s midwinter events. we look back through the eyes of two Old Antarctic Explorers: Margaret Bradshaw tells Mariska Wouters of Meteorites and Mishaps in the Deep Field, and George Jones remembers a time at Vanda Station when A Russian Expletive was heard. Richard McElrea As a Society we recognise achievement and The Society extends its congratulations to Richard McElrea contribution to things Antarctic by the award on his award to be a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order. of Life Membership. The number of Life The citation accompanying his award is as follows: Members is limited to 15 at any one time. A list of the current Life Members and the dates To be a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order: they were appointed is inside the front cover. MCELREA, Mr Richard Gerald In our last issue, we learned of the passing of For services as a coroner and to Antarctic heritage three of our Life Members, and in this issue we include tributes for Bill Hopper, Graham Mr Richard McElrea was a coroner for more than 20 years and White, and, belatedly, Jim Lowery. contributed to the development of the New Zealand Coronial Service. Our back cover poem is the second from a Mr McElrea served as a Coroner at Christchurch for 21 years and was small folio album of letterpress ephemera, and instrumental in establishing the Coroners’ Council in 1998, working newspaper and magazine clippings pertaining to form relationships with Australian and English Coroners. He served to the Scott tragedy. The compiler was one as the Council’s Chair until it was disbanded with the establishment of a Chief Coroner under the Coroners’ Act 2006. He was instrumental J. W. Stones Esq. He closely followed Scott’s in promoting the passage of the Act through Parliament and led the career, and clipped all manner of newspaper council in its submissions to the Select Committee. He also chaired items and magazine articles and pictures, and the committee of the Asia Pacific Coroners’ Society which included pasted them into a scrapbook of over 70 pages. coroners from a number of Pacific countries. He presided over many He penned two poems about the Antarctic. significant inquest hearings and was passionate about the need for The first, “The Discovery”, is reprinted here. independent investigations of air crashes and ship sinking. Many of The second, and later poem (In Memoriam. his findings were of national importance, including transport-related The Heroes of the Antarctic), was included in deaths and deaths in prisons. Beyond his work as a coroner, he was the Chair of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, responsible for the care of the September 2016 issue of Antarctic. the original explorer bases in the Ross Sea region. Mr McElrea has been involved with the production of several books and papers on Antarctic exploration, as co-author, co-publisher, associate editor Lester Chaplow and researcher. Vol 35, No. 1, 2017 1 COMMUNITY “Hector”: A Sled Dog for Lyttelton By Sue Stubenvoll, Manager, Canterbury Sled Dog Project he port of Lyttelton lies New Zealand Antarctic Society in that a living dog would appear to in the Roaring Forties. April 2013. occupy by its movement. Local sled T It was discovered by The branch agreed its scope, dog clubs taught us the difference Maori, developed by whalers and objectives, risk management, and between malamutes and huskies settled by adventurers. Its destruction finances, while a local advisory and we watched them race on cool twice by fire and once by earthquakes committee, representing Lyttelton’s Sunday mornings in Cheyney’s has bred grit, empathy, and community, was formed to guide its Forest. Bill Cranfield, Antarctica resourcefulness. Residents include four sub-projects. A site for the sled New Zealand, and Canterbury a female Master Pilot, a one-armed dog, on the main street, between Museum contributed historic photos Maori poet and a musician who the Library and Albion Square, was of dogs, harnesses, and sledges. The sculpts stone like melodies. Steep suggested by the Community Board term “sled dog” was chosen over streets lead up toward the rim of and selected by the local advisory the historic “sledge dog” to reflect its extinct volcano. Visitors are committee from four proposed by our focus on current and future welcome, although they, like most Christchurch City staff, who also generations. residents, are unaware of the port’s provided a liaison officer to guide The sculpting process is strong Antarctic links. Children us through the official process. exciting. First Mark selected photos rarely ask about Antarctic ships in Unfortunately, eighteen months into supporting the brief: “‘Hector’: port. A local character once asked, the project we discovered that City An adult dog in full winter coat, “Why should I be interested in the Council had lost information and excited and ready to go!” He made Antarctic?” When he learnt about advised the wrong process, delaying drawings of the front and side neutrino tracking his eyes and mind the project until it was unanimously views of “Hector”, superimposed lit up. He wanted to know more.