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Why did Douglas Mawson go to Macquarie?
Five men set up a base at Macquarie Island, while the remainder sailed on to the Antarctic continent to establish two bases: the Main Base at Commonwealth Bay led by Mawson, and the Western Base at Queen Mary Land led by Frank Wild. Alone, Mawson was determined to return with the data and specimens they had collected.
Why did Ernest Shackleton go on his expedition?
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent.
Who was the leader of the expedition that Mawson first joined?
Before returning to Australia, Mawson recruited “the oldest resident of Antarctica”, the polar veteran Frank Wild, as leader of one of the proposed mainland bases.
How close did Shackleton get to the South Pole?
97 nautical miles
A sledging party, led by Shackleton, reached within 97 nautical miles (112 statute miles or 180 km) of the South Pole, and another, under T.W. Edgeworth David, reached the area of the south magnetic pole.
How did Mawson and Mertz survive?
Mawson had passed the days since Mertz’s death productively. Using his now blunt knife, he had cut the one remaining sledge in two; he resewed his sail; and, remarkably, he found the strength to drag Mertz’s body out of the tent and entomb it beneath a cairn of ice blocks he hacked out of the ground.
What happened on the Nimrod Expedition?
Douglas Mawson an Australian geologist had secured a place on the expedition and the subsequent journey to the South magnetic pole. On January 14th 1908, the an iceberg was sighted for the first time, shortly afterwards the Koonya cast her line off and the Nimrod sailed free and was now on her own. Men wanted for hazardous journey.
What did Sir Douglas Mawson do in Antarctica?
As part of the BAE, Mawson was among six men who made the first ascent of Mount Erebus in March 1908. The following year he trekked 2028 kilometres to claim the South Magnetic Pole for ‘the British nation’. It was during this gruelling march that he conceived of his own Antarctic expedition.
Why did Mawson not go to the South Pole?
So Mawson promulgated his own Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Unlike other Antarctic explorers, he was not aiming for the South Pole; he was most interested in the part of Antarctica lying directly below Australia, in what he called the Australian quadrant.
What did Douglas Mawson do on Ross Island?
Douglas Mawson was a member of this expedition and with several others he made the first ascent of Mt Erebus, the active volcano that towered above the camp on Ross Island. This remarkable climb was heightened in its intensity as Erebus erupted above them, shooting steam and other gasses thousands of feet into the air.