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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-05-07 Daily Xml
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Antarctic Expedition

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (15:30): Yesterday, on 6 May, the member for Bragg and I hosted a delightful Adelaide couple in Parliament House for morning tea, Jim and Joy Brooks, and their great nephew Andrew Brooks of Ceduna. Jim is a qualified geophysicist and was a member of the Australian expedition to Antarctica in the summer of 1953-54. He came in to talk to us about that expedition and to present a copy of a book about the expedition to the parliamentary library. I will get to that later, Deputy Speaker, because I know that, as a friend of the library, like the member for Bragg and myself, you have great interest in this.

In 1948, the US Navy began to take aerial photographs of the Antarctic coastline, and some six years later these photographs formed the basis of a decision by Phillip Law, who was the director of the Antarctic division of Australia's department of external affairs, to take a ship to the Antarctic coast in the summer of 1953-54. On the strength of a promise of government funding for just one year, he aimed to set up a permanent Australian Antarctic settlement, the first by any country south of the Antarctic Circle.

The whole enterprise was little more than a calculated gamble, but it was a gamble that paid off. The station built on these shores possessed the only natural rocky harbour in thousands of kilometres of icy coastline and gave Australia its first vital foothold on the Antarctic continent. To get there, the Australian government had chartered the Kista Dan, a 65-metre ice-strengthened Danish-built ship. Calling at Heard and Kerguelen islands on the way down to collect men, sledge dogs and supplies, Law's expedition headed into the ice. It was the first Australian foray to this part of Antarctica since Mawson's last Antarctic journey nearly a quarter of a century earlier.

The ship's besetment, storm damage to the two support aircraft and the near loss of an oversnow vehicle which broke through thin sea ice failed to daunt Law and his party. On Thursday 11 February, Petersen, the captain, gingerly steered the Kista Dan into Horseshoe Harbour to begin an Antarctic adventure that continues to this day. The Royal Australian Air Force aircraft mechanics on board made one aircraft out of the remains of two and the aerial coastal surveys went ahead as planned.

The ground party got to work erecting the wooden hut, the aluminium-clad work hut, the wooden engine room and workshop, and the galvanised iron store. After less than two weeks, the essentials were in place and the Kista Dan sailed out of Horseshoe Harbour on 23 February, leaving the shore party behind. Of course, Dr James Brooks left Antarctica at that stage to make his way back with the rest of the crew to Australia.

The 1954 landing by Law's Kista Dan expedition at Horseshoe Harbour was the culmination of momentous achievements. It can be argued that it was the single most important event in the long history of Australia's association with the Antarctic. The establishment of the station named for Australia's Antarctic pioneer was the beginning of an Australian presence on the continent that has lasted to this day.

It was particularly enjoyable yesterday to meet Dr Brooks, his wife, Joy, and their nephew. The link to the west coast, of course, is that his father grew up on a farm at Point Bell, which is near Ceduna, and his great nephew Andrew, who I know is a constituent, still lives and works in the Ceduna area. Dr Brooks has kindly donated his copy of a book entitled Antarctic Odyssey by Phillip Law, who led that expedition. It is in pristine condition and has been written and designed to become a classic of Antarctic literature. I look forward to reading the book. It is complete with maps and photographs from the expedition.

I noticed that on page 5, at the beginning of the book, there is a note from the author which states, 'To my wife, Nel, and the other wives who waited and worried.' I did ask Joy about that, and she said that they heard nothing while they were away. There was very little communication and no mobile phone or satellite phone, obviously, just an occasional Morse code message. She did not know that her husband was well and safe and would arrive home until he did; in fact, even that was doubtful for a time because Jim said that they were beset by a gale that lasted 12 hours and that at one point the Kista Dan was leaning at a 70ยบ list. We should recognise always our great explorers and adventurers.

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