Monday 3 December 1973
In the morning we continued to show our visitors a further aspect of our Base (viz the maintenance and works commitment). At 1400 hours all but the Superintendent took off by Hercules for the South Pole. They arrived back at Base at 0500 hours in the morning.
In the meantime three senior Ministry of Works (MOW) officers had arrived with a view to familiarising themselves with the Base and its locality. They will be involved in the design of a new Base. Those concerned were John Rowe, Architect, Graham Upritchard, Mechanical Engineer and Gordon Reid, Electrical Engineer. Simultaneously our SAR instructors left for the Dry Valley area (ie Colin Monteath, Gary Brehaut and George Kendall). Group Capt Ian Gillard, a guest of the US Navy, came to spend a few days with us. There appears to be some problem concerning the behaviour of our NZ people connected with the Dry Valley Drilling Project. I am trying to sort this out because the last thing I wish to do is end up at loggerheads with these very helpful people. The Superintendent and I spoke with the Postmaster about his personality clash problem.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-North-East 5 knots Temperature -9.3°C
Ration Strength 40
Tuesday 4 December 1973
After about one hours’ sleep our VIPs were off on their Dry Valleys inspection trip. They are to fly by helicopter to Vanda Base, the Don Juan Pond drill rig site, Lake House where Event 1 is working and Lake Vida. In their absence we tried to catch up on chores. The dog lines were moved. The cracked stump on the Dodge Wannigan taken off, a shipment of Caterpillar spares was checked and stored. We were unable to solve the calor gas problem of the Italian party. Their own stocks of gas are in NZ and cannot be bought down until the annual “dangerous goods” aircraft comes down. American gas containers have non-matching fittings.
To my consternation the calculator given by Dr Torii to the Antarctic Division has disappeared from my plan cabinet. Worse, I cannot even be sure when it went as it was covered with outer clothing most of the time and I noticed nothing until I went to give it to Bob Thompson. I feel I must have put it away or perhaps given it to some member of Antarctic Division staff.
At about 2115 hours Bob Clark told me that Colin Rudd was ill. Both the Dodge Well Deck and the Landrover had gone to McMurdo and the Dodge Wannigan was under repair. I was unable to trace any of our Base staff by telephone so after ringing the dispensary I ran over the hill to collect the prescription. Whilst it was being made up I used their phone located Shaun Norman who had the well-deck took it off him and drove back. Colin had his first two pills at about 2200 hours.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-East 8 knots Temperature -8.6°C
Ration Strength 40
Wednesday 5 December 1973
A very busy morning. At 0600 hours I was awakened by the mouse with the news that an aircraft would be departing from the sea ice strip for the South Pole at 0800 hours. Passengers had to be at the strip at 0730 hours. I woke our three MOW visitors Graham Uprichard, Gordon Reid and John Rowe and with the help of Tony Atkinson the senior technician they caught the plane with five minutes to spare. Meantime our VIPs packed and left in a SnoTrac for Cape Evans and Cape Royds. They were to be picked up in a helicopter at Cape Barne and taken to Cape Bird but because of bad weather the helicopter had to bring them back to Scott Base.
The radio that was issued to them proved to have a flat battery in that it had enough power to receive but not enough to transmit. This was especially mortifying in view of the other mistakes made during their stay. Simultaneously our Italian party was prepared and launched by helicopter to their first camp site at Lake Fryxell. At least there were no problems there.
Field radio
Almost as soon as they were gone our dog handler Bob Newland found Ivak the youngest husky lying on his side unable to get up. He died within an hour and we are having a post mortem to find out why.
In the afternoon Ian Gillard and Rosemary Kyle were dispatched to NZ and off the same plane we welcomed Barry McKelvey an old Antarctic hand and Alan Humphries of ANARE. Phil Bellamy of Gough Gough and Hammer arrived from McMurdo to overhaul one of our Caterpillar generator engines. During the afternoon Bob Newland took the dogs down to the ski field and demonstrated them to a party of US VIP’s.
Ray Colliver sat his cooking exams and a number of us went across to McMurdo for dinner as guests of the US Navy Task Force. At one time in the Mess we had both our own and the visiting VIPs and also the crew of the RNZAF Hercules which was being turned around at the strip. Gary Brehaut and George Kendall reported in from SAR training.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-North-East 5 knots Temperature -8.2°C
Ration Strength 40
Thursday 6 December 1973
Today our VIPs were given a conducted tour of McMurdo and then went to Arrival Heights. Sad to say their vehicle broke down and they walked some way before our replacement reached them.
Colin Monteath has now joined the Italians at Lake Fryxell. Today Bob Thompson and I saw John Warriner about the Post Office personality clash. We also discussed the replacement of three drillers with Jack Hoffman. The driller’s contract is up and they are to be replaced by Scott Base staff. I took our MOW visitors on an ice collecting party to give them first hand experience of the problem. I think they are convinced we need a better system.
In the evening we had some US visitors and Dr Torii to dinner. During the day the Scott Base staff searched the Base from one end to the other for the missing calculator but without success. Alastair Watson has discovered that Ivak had a massive intestinal haemorrhage but does not know why yet.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-North-East 5 knots Temperature -7.6°C
Ration Strength 36
Friday 7 December 1974
This morning Bruce Barclay and Colin Rudd went to look at Scott’s Discovery Hut and then called on the NZ Army Loaders in McMurdo and at the ice strip. Bob Thompson, Titch Gibson, John Warriner and I discussed the personality clash between Titch and John. Nothing drastic will be done until after Xmas and in the meantime they will try to get along together.
Bruce Barclay and Bob Miller decided to go out to the aircraft for NZ by dog team. The rest of us went out on a borrowed USARP Nodwell. The aircraft was delayed on the strip and did not get away until about 1700 hours. Our VIPs having departed this is a convenient moment to list the mishaps which occurred just prior to, or during their visit.
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Our failure to maintain constant listening watch during the CO poisoning incident.
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The theft of the calculator donated by Dr Torii.
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The issue of flat radio battery for the trip to Cape Royds.
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The breakdown of the vehicle taking them to Arrival Heights.
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The failure to meet them on their arrival back from the South Pole.
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Our inability to get them to Cape Bird.
The Caterpillar overhaul is held up for the lack of a turbo charger.
Conditions at 0900 hours no wind Temperature -4.8°C
Ration Strength 33
Saturday 8 December 1973
Captain Davis USN, the commander of the Seebees and several of his officers visited the Base this morning. We were able to get Fred Szydlik and Alan Humpreys away to Vanda. Late in the afternoon Barry McKelvey and Gordon Nation got seats on a flight to the South Pole. At the same time a C141 came in bringing the caretakers Lew Kerr and George Madgwick and Bruce Jensen from the Post Office.
Event 1 commenced their annual trip around all the Dry Valley lakes measuring water levels. There were no other field party movements.
Our Post Office is a shambles with the new transmitters and teleprinters half installed and, with one Caterpillar stripped down, the engine room is just as bad. We have received our monthly tanker load of fuel and our last SnoTrac has been found to have a broken axle housing. We seem no nearer to finding a time to repair our damaged ice sledge.
As a consequence of the build up of maintenance work we have had to cancel the proposed dog trip to Black and White Islands.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-North-East 7 knots Temperature -6.7°C
Ration Strength 30
Sunday 9 December 1973
We had an early start to the day of rest. At 0600 hours Terminal Operations at McMurdo rang to say that there were three vacancies on an aircraft going to the South Pole. The doors would close in an hour and a half. I was able to get Alan Humphreys from ANARE and the two caretakers George Madgwick and Lew Kerr on it. Stuart Clarke, whose birthday it was, drove them to the air strip as his last late mouse duty before going to bed. We gave him his cake and held the normal ceremony later in the day.
One or two people went skiing but most of the section heads kept working. The overhaul of the Caterpillar engine has continued but it appears that the turbo charger sent from here to NZ last year for overhaul was kept in storage at Christchurch and not in fact overhauled. Bill Johnson is renewing the pipes to the Caterpillar exhaust heat exchanger. These were leaking into the lagging unnoticed because the rate of evaporation was faster than the leak.
I spent the day dictating this log, the Vanda situation report and various reports onto tape.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-North-East 8 knots Temperature -91.°C
Ration Strength 31
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