Group of the Western Base party Aae 36079h

The Western Base Party on the Aurora's deck Aae 37194h

The Western Base Party was a successful exploration party of the

Australasian Antarctic Expedition The Australasian Antarctic Expedition was a 1911–1914 expedition headed by Douglas Mawson that explored the largely uncharted Antarctic coast due south of Australia. Mawson had been inspired to lead his own venture by his experiences on Ernest ...

. The eight-man Western Party was deposited by the SY ''Aurora'' on the

Shackleton Ice Shelf Shackleton Ice Shelf is an extensive ice shelf fronting the coast of East Antarctica from 95° E to 105° E. It extends for an along-shore distance of about , projecting seaward about in the western portion and in the east. It occu ...

at Queen Mary Land. The leader of the team was

Frank Wild John Robert Francis Wild (18 April 1873 – 19 August 1939), known as Frank Wild, was an English sailor and explorer. He participated in five expeditions to Antarctica during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, for which he was awar ...

and the party included the geologist Charles Hoadley. The party established the Queen Mary Land Station. An early setback was the destruction of the radio mast in the first blizzard. Severe weather impeded activities as did dangerous crevices. The team sent an expedition into

Kaiser Wilhelm II Land Kaiser Wilhelm II Land is a part of Antarctica lying between Cape Penck at 87° 43'E and Cape Filchner at 91° 54'E. Princess Elizabeth Land is located to the west, and Queen Mary Land to the east. The area is claimed by Australia ...

. The party had no supplies for a second winter. The Western Base Party was collected on February 23, 1913 by the ''Aurora'', with no loss of life.

Discoveries

The Western Base Party made a number of discoveries including; * Adams Island * Bay of Winds *

Cape Penck Cape Penck is an ice-covered point fronting on the West Ice Shelf about 35 miles west-northwest of Gaussberg, separating the Leopold and Astrid Coast from the Wilhelm II Coast. It was roughly charted by the Western Base Party of the Australasian A ...

Cape Hoadley Cape Hoadley () is a prominent rock coastal outcrop forming the west portal of the valley occupied by Scott Glacier in East Antarctica. It was discovered by the Western Base Party of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition under Mawson Sir Do ...

* Cape Hordern *

Denman Glacier Denman Glacier is a glacier wide, descending north some , which debouches into the Shackleton Ice Shelf east of David Island, Queen Mary Land. It was discovered in November 1912 by the Western Base party of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition ...

Pobeda Ice Island Pobeda Ice Island, original Russian name остров Победы (остров = ''Island'', Победа = ''Victory'', meaning Pobeda Island or Victory Island), is an ''ice island'' in the Mawson Sea. It is located off the coast of Queen Ma ...

* Farr Bay (discovered in November 1912) * Henderson Island (discovered in August 1912) * Hippo Island * Scott Glacier * Mount Sandow * Mount Amundsen

Drygalski Island Drygalski Island is an ice-capped island that is long and rises to in the Davis Sea of the Southern Ocean, about north of the coast of Queen Mary Land and north-northeast of Cape Filchner. The island has an area of . Drygalski Island was f ...

was first sited by the Western Base Party but it was not until the return voyage of Australasian Antarctic Expedition that the island was accurately identified.

A.L. Kennedy Alison Louise Kennedy (born 22 October 1965) is a Scottish writer, academic and stand-up comedian. She writes novels, short stories and non-fiction, and is known for her dark tone and her blending of realism and fantasy. She contributes columns ...

was cartographer of the expedition. He was later honored by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN)'s naming of Kennedy Peak (Antarctica) for him, in recognition of the close correlation of his 1912–13

running survey A running survey is a rough survey made by a vessel while coasting. Bearings to landmarks are taken at intervals as the vessel sails offshore, and are used to fix features on the coast and further inland. Intervening coastal detail is sketched in. ...

of the eastern half of the Queen Mary Coast with the US-ACAN map of 1955 compiled from aerial photographs.

References

{{Australasian Antarctic Expedition Exploration of Antarctica Antarctic expeditions 1912 in Antarctica 1913 in Antarctica Australasian Antarctic Expedition

Discoveries

See also

References