The Beginning: 1 Taking Part in the Trans-Antarctic Expedition
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The Beginning: 1Taking part in the Trans-Antarctic Expedition skeie lede van die hoofgroep 1Y<11 die ekspe,disie se tweede jaar in JJ (Hannes) la Grange Antarktika sou deurbring en die oortog in die somer van 1957158 PO Box 28282 sou onderneem, 'n paar ander onder wie lede van Sir Edmund Danhof/Dan Pienaar Hillary se Nieu-Seelandgroep en die loodsgroep (advance party) 9310 BLOEMFONTEIN wat in die eerste jaar die ekspedisiebasis. Shackleton. in die om South Africa gewing van Vahselbaai in die suidoostelike hoek van die Weddellsee sou oprig. Die ekspedisie het die pakys op The account of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition (TAB) 1955 to 22 Desember 1955 teegekom. Nadat uiters sWtlar ystoest,wde on 1958 has already been told in several publications. The scientific dervi11d is. is die Vahselbaaigebied op 29 Janua,ie 1956 bereik. results have been published in a series of 16 scientific reports. Die Joodsgroep van agt man het 'n swaar terugslag cydens die South Africa's participation in the expedition consisted partly of ''Maart-sneeustom1'' beleef toe die gedeeltelik voltooide basishut en the secondment of Hannes la Grange from the SA Weather voorrade deur jagsneeu toegewaai is en die see-ys, waarop nog Bureau. baie van hulle voorrade WtlS. afgebreek en weggedryf het. Die The vessel Theron left from London on 14 November 1955. mans moes deur die winter buite werk en in tente slaap. On board were the expedition leader. Dr Vivian Fuchs. several Die hoofgroep van die ekspedisie bet in Januarie 1957 aa11 members of the main party who would spend the expedition's board van die Magga Dan aangekom. Die oprigting van die second year in Antarctica and would undertake the crossing journey basis is voltooi en i1 klein stasie, Southice, ongeveer 450 km in the summer of 1957158. a few others including members of na die suide op die ysplato. is opgerig. Drie mans het die winter Sir Edmund Hillary's New Zealand party and the advance party daar gebly. Verskeie reise is onderneem. Gedurende die winter is who would spend the first year establishing the expedition base. die wetenskaplike programme voortgesit en voorbereidings vir Shackleton. in the vicinity of Vahsel Bay in the south-east corner die oortog is getref Die 0011oggroep het op 24 November 1957 of the Weddell Sea. The expedition reached the pack-ice on van Schackleton af vertrek en nadat gebiooe met groat ysskeure 22 December 1955 and after encountering severely difficult ice oorgesteek is. op 21 Desember op Southice aangekom. Hulle het conditions reached the Vahsel Bay area 011 29 January 1956. op 25 Desember daarvandaa11 vertrek. Nadat gebiede met hoe The advance party of eight men suffered a severe setback during sastrugi oorgesteek is, is die Suidpoolstasie op 19 Januarie 1958 the "March blizzard" when the partly erected base hut and stores bereik. Die skrywer was die eerste Suid-Afrikaner 1Y<1t dit ge were filled with or covered by drift snow. The sea ice. on which doen bet. Na hulle vertrek op 24 Januarie het hulle beter a large amount of their provisions were. had broken off and was gevorder. Nadat hul/e voorrade opgelaai bet Wtlt deur Sir Jost - the men had to work outside and sleep in tents during Edmund Hillary se Nieu-Seelandgroep in verskeie depots gelaat the winter. WtlS. het hulle die Scottbasis i11 die Ross-see op 2 Maart bereik The main party on board mv Magga Dan arrive,d in January na 'n reis van 99 dae. Gedurende die oortog bet die ekspedisie 1957. The erection of che base was completed and a small station met sy wetenskaplike program voortgegaan. Met die deelname in called South Ice was establishoo on the polar plateau about die TAB is die grondslag gele vir die toekomstige Suid 450 km to the south. Three men spent the winter there. Several Afrikaanse ekspedisies na Antarkti.ka. journeys were undertaken. During the winter the scientific programmes were continued and preparations for the crossing journey were made. The crossing party left Shackleton on 24 November 1957 and after crossing badly crevassed areas, INTRODUCTION arrive,d at South Ice on 21 December. They departed from there The story of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition (TAE) has been told on 25 December. Having crossed areas with bad sastrugi they in publications by Sir Vivian Fuchs, Sir Edmund Hillary and arrived at the South Pole Station on 19 January 1958, the author George Lowe, as well as in numerous articles, some by myself. being the first South African to do so. After their departure on The scientific results were published in a series Trans-Antarctic 24 January progress was better and after picking up supplies at Expedition 1955-58, Scientific Reports, numbers 1 to 16 as well various depots laid by Sir Edmund Hillary's New Zealand party. as in many articles in scientific journals. The following are a they arrived at Scott Base in the Ross Sea on 2 March. after a few incidents, possibly presented a little more on a personal note crossing journey of 99 days. The expedition concinue,d its scien of my own participation. Later, during the first South African tiiic programme during the journey. In taking part in die TAB National Antarctic Expedition, 1959 to 1960, the participants the foundation was laid for the future South African expeditions depended heavily on the experience obtained during the TAE. to Antarctica. Die verhaal van die Trans-Antarktiese Ekspedisie (TAB) 1955 tot 1958 is reeds in verskeie publikasies vertel. Die wetenskaplike THE FIRSf YEAR, 1955-56 resultate is in 'n reeks van 16 wetenskaplike verslae gepubliseer. Suid-Afrika se dee/name aan die ekspedisie het gooeeltelik bestaan uit die sekondering van Hannes la Grange van die SA Weerburo. The beginning Die boot Theron bet op 14 November 1955 uit Landen ver Having travelled from Cape Town in the mv Cape Town Casde, trek. Aan board was die ekspedisieleier, dr Vivian Fuchs, ver- I arrived in London and joined the TAB on 4 November 1955. 92 S. Afr. T. Nav. Antarkt., \bl 21 No 2, 1991 It was an independently organised expedition funded by do Cooking was done at one end on three primus stoves and down nations from four Commonwealth governments and the private the centre was a table with sitting benches on either side. In a sector. Its aim was to partake in the programmes of the coming corner was a small drum on a heater in which snow was melted. International Geophysical Year of 1957/58. It would also under We spent our time hauling up the 270 tons of stores from Depot I take the first land-crossing of Antarctica. and starting to build the hut. On I March Tony Stewart. Peter Our advance party was to erect a base, Shackleton, on the Jeffries and I started our three-hourly surface meteorological Filchner Jee Shelf. in the vicinity of Vahsel Bay in the south-east observations. corner of the Weddell Sea. The following summer the crossing Temperatures were dropping and drifting snow and white-out party would do the actual crossing via the South Pole to made work difficult. By mid-March we had hauled up many McMurdo Sound in the Ross Sea where the New Zealand part loads, including virtually all of the hut's components. The frame of the expedition was to erect Scott Base. The New Zealand work was up. the floor had been laid and the roof and wall party would also lay provision depots inland where provisions panels lay sorted out. ready to be fitted in. would be picked up by the crossing party after they had passed Then disaster struck in the form of what became known as the the South Pole. "March blizzard". On 21 March at a temperature of - 33,3 °C a South Africa's contribution to the TAE consisted of a donation strong southerly blizzard started. It abated on the 27th and in which should cover the expense of the radiosonde instruments to - 39 °C we went out to start working again. The trusses of the be used and the secondment of myself as meteorologist, initially framework had acted as a wind-break and almost the whole for the first year. structure was filled with drift snow. A drift of 4,5 m high had formed on the leeward side covering the panels which lay sorted out on the north side. The next day Ken Blaiklock and Tony THERON 'S VOYAGE Stewart discovered the worst. During the blizzard the sea ice had broken off and drifted away and with a few exceptions almost The expedition left London on 14 November on board the everything still at Depot I was lost: about 259 x 182 f drums fuel, 820-ton Canadian Sealer mv Theron. After calls at St Vicente, all the anthracite (23 t) for the Aga stove, building material for Montevideo and South Georgia we reached the pack-ice on the vehicle workshop, balloon hut and rhombic aerial, 35 seal 22 December at 62°43'S, 30°59'W. Encountering severely carcases, aircraft fuel, coolants, oil' and grease, a tractor, difficult ice conditions, which for many days beset the vessel and chemicals and instruments for the radiosonde programme, etc, in general slowed down progress, the Vahsel Bay area was etc. Assessing our situation we found that we would have enough reached on 29 January. food for the rest of the year but we would have to restrict our The advance party of eight comprised K V (Ken) Blaiklock selves to 13,7 f paraffin, including 0,9 f for each tent, per day.