ANTARCTICA 1958 | JOURNAL
Antarctic-bound on Thala Dan: Books, Birds and Bearings
An extract from the journals of Graham Knuckey, Mawson Station 1958/59
Life on the Danish ship Thala Dan consisted of practicing Antarctic-specific skills, spotting birds for the naturalist on board, and mundanities such as buying toothpaste (it wasn’t supplied? really?) and sending a telex to family. Five days in and some snow and fog, but no ice yet…
6th. January 1958
After breakfast I collected my sextant from below and some books and went up to the bridge I did one shot on the sun which didn’t work out too well. It had become a bit misty with the horizon indistinct. Temperature constant and barometer dropping.
Two wandering albatross around the ship also Sooty Shearwaters and a couple of Wilson Storm Petrels. I saw some whales spouting in the distance but some of the chaps saw one quite close to the ship. Another sun obs[ervation] in the afternoon. Close to 50 degrees South.
After tea the ship’s rolling increased to an occasional 25 degrees which made it rather hard to play Scrabble. However we managed a couple of games.
Fog closed in a bit too but lifted later, saving us from a night of fog horns etc.
7th. January
Much cooler this morning. Barometer dropped a long way although rising again. Wind increased to 55 knots. Bought toothpaste. Sent cable to Mum. Took a lot of photos of bow of ship in swell. Hope they turn out well. Did meridian transit which turned out well and three position fixes during the afternoon which were also good. Saw some new birds: White headed petrel. Grey headed albatross. Giant petrel ( Nelly).
Sleep was a bit awkward due to the rolling. Read some of “Speed from the Sports Car”
8th. January
Woke feeling washed out as sleep was rather interrupted. Lost breakfast, so lay in bed until lunch time. Did no sun obs all day, but as Alec was in bed I kept my eye on the birds for him. Very lazy day all told with a fair roll all day. Temperature about 43 degrees F. Went to bed at 2100 with sun still in the sky.
Back home, family collected the many well-wishing telegrams from friends around the country and news clippings into a large photo album.
Travel to the Antarctic was a big deal at the time. Only one ship serviced all of the Australian Antarctic stations, and there was only one station that was occupied year round, Mawson. One set of passengers: a husky with puppies, garnered a short mention; they were to become a significant part of the expedition as time went on. The stowaway, booted off at the first stop for supplies, also got a brief mention.
All images in this series published with permission of the Estate of Graham Knuckey.
