Frank Hurley speaks of his selection

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Frank Hurley: This happened half a century ago, and well do I remember the day back in 1911 when I applied to fill the vacancy of official photographer to the Mawson expedition. The Mawson expedition was the first Australian expedition to Antarctica and I think that everybody who carried a camera applied for that job. I had spent my teenage life in the steel works at Lithgow. I was a good mechanic and I had turned my hobby, photography, into my profession. I think the combination impressed Dr Mawson, for two days later he sent me a wire from Adelaide, "You are accepted." Now let us turn back the clock - the summer of 1911.

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First blizzard at the Hut

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Frank Hurley: We had scarcely got our hut up at the winter quarters, Cape Denison, when we had our first bad blizzard. Little did we imagine, when we landed in calm sunshine, that we had established ourselves in the most tempest-ridden spot on the face of the globe. We developed a technique of walking about, but any routine work beyond shelter became a struggle against tempest and frostbite. For the whole year the average wind velocity was 48.5 miles an hour. The worst day was in May, when the wind reached 90.1 miles continuously for an hour.

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Mawson, Ninnis and Mertz depart Aladdin’s Cave

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Ninnis: Mush! Mush! Mush! Mush! Mush! Mush! Hi-hike, hike, hike boys! Hike!

Mertz: Mush, mush, mush!

Ninnis: Hike boys, hike!

Mertz: Hike!

Ninnis: Right, right! Right boys! Right!

Mertz: Mush! Mush! Mush! Mush! Mush! Mush! Come on, come on dogs. Come on!

Mawson (narrating): Any doubts as to the capacity of the dogs to pull the loads were dispelled. And both Ninnis and Mertz are good men. It is unlikely that any harm will come to us.

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Xavier Mertz sickens

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Mawson (narrating): I think he has a fever. He doesn’t assimilate his food. Things are in a most serious state for both of us. If he can not go 8 to 10 miles in a day, we're doomed. His heart seems to have gone. It’s very hard to be within a hundred miles of the hut. and in such a position. It’s awful. If only I could get on, but I must stop with Xavier.

Mertz experiences a seizure.

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Xavier Mertz buried

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[music]

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Unloading stores and equipment

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Frank Hurley: As the weather was delightfully calm, no time was lost in lightering ashore hut timbers, stores and equipment.

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Landing equipment at Cape Denison

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Frank Hurley: It was to be our main shore base, from where sledging parties would go out east and west and south to carry on scientific work and explore the unknown.

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