Staying on my summer polar theme (bear with me),
the centenary of the polar exploration also marks the upcoming anniversary of
the first wireless communication established in the Antarctic. For on his
Terra Nova expedition, Mawson brought global communication to
Commonwealth Bay.
 |
| Macquarie Is. Wireless Mast 1912 |
On the way, the expedition stopped at
Macquarie Island where a team was dropped off to establish the Macquarie Island
radio station atop a hill they named - wait for it - "Wireless Hill".
The station was to communicate with Hobart to the north and Adelie Land
on Antarctica to the south. Finally communication with Mawson in Antarctica commenced in 1913 after the
phenomenal feat of constructing and raising the antenna in continuous hurricane
conditions at Adelie Land.
How did it work? A petrol engine ran a dynamo that sent the electrical current needed to
send the radio signal up the mast and onto the antenna. Communication was by Morse code.
 |
| Wal Hannam at the Wireless. AAE Expedition. Photo by Frank Hurley. |
In the Antarctic the first thing radio Sidney Jeffreys heard over his
headphones when they at last had it operational was a weather report being relayed from Macquarie Island to Hobart.
The first message received by Jeffrey's from Macquarie Island? "Good evening". By then the team missed the boat
(literally) and had to spend an extra winter at Commonwealth Bay. Amongst their chores, they had the entertainment of
the wireless messages to distract them and were able to communicate with loved
ones in Australia and the UK government in London.
It is via this radio that Mawson hears of the
death of Scott, and communicates the deaths of his companions Ninnis and Mertz
to the rest of the world.
Juxtapose this with another telegraphic story. That of Doris Blackwell who spent part of her childhood in Alice Springs.
Her father, Tomas Bradshaw was Officer In Charge at Alice Springs
Telegraph Station from 1899 - 1908. If you have not come across "Alice
on the Line" its worth a look. A lovely memoir by Doris written in the 60's. With help
from her fathers diaries Doris tells tales of the telegraph, their family travels through
the bush and a pioneering experience of remote Australia.
 |
| Alice Springs Telegraphic Station |
The short story is that the Java to Darwin cable
was finished in 1871 and by 1873 the overland telegraph system was in place.
Albeit a bit dodgy. It cut out a lot, got flooded, cooked, had falling trees
impair it and all manner of interruptions. It was those like Thomas
Bradshaw working 24/7 fixing, checking and repairing that kept communications
going.
When Mawson set off in 1907 on the Nimrod expedition
Doris was into her last 12 months in the Alice and her father was working hard
to keep the line going.
 |
| British Telegraph Network Darwin-Alice-Adelaide Line in Pink |
In Antarctica he found ancient seed plants dating
back a quarter of a billion years also found in India, Australia and America.
This research contributed evidence to Alfred Lthar Wegner's theory (1912) of
the current continents originally having been part of mass continents and the existence
of what we now call tectonic plates.
 |
| Alice Springs Telegraph Station Homestead |
Further reading:
No comments:
Post a Comment