Western Base Party
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The Western Base Party was a successful exploration party of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. The eight-man Western Party was deposited by the Aurora on the Shackleton Ice Shelf at Queen Mary Land.[1] The leader of the team was Frank Wild and the party included the geologist Charles Hoadley.
The party established the Queen Mary Land Station.[citation needed] An early setback was the destruction of the radio mast in the first blizzard.[1] Severe weather impeded activities as did dangerous crevices. The team sent an expedition to into Kaiser Wilhelm II Land.
The party had no supplies for a second winter. The Western Base Party was collected on February 23, 1913 by the Aurora, with no loss of life.[1]
[edit] Discoveries
The Western Base Party made a number of discoveries including;
- Adams Island
- Henderson Island (discovered in August 1912)
- Hippo Island
- Scott Glacier
- Mount Sandow
- Mount Amundsen
- Bay of Winds
- Farr Bay (discovered in November 1912)
- Cape Penck
- Cape Hoadley
- Cape Hordern
Drygalski Island was first sited by the Western Base Party but it wasn't until the return voyage of Australasian Antarctic Expedition that the island was accurately identified.
