Spectrum 249. Antarctica - Part 2

Part 2. Further conversations with the men, led by Sir Edmund Hillary, who established Scott Base in 1957, and "wintered over" on the ice. Recorded in 1977 at the 20th anniversary reunion at Mt Cook. [For Part 1 see Spectrum 243 ID24931]

Hillary's team's role was to establish supply depots from Scott Base to the South Pole to support Sir Vivian Fuch's trans-Antarctic expedition.

The men taking part in this programme were Sir Edmund Hillary, Jim Bates, Murray Ellis, Peter Mulgrew, Dr George Marsh, Bernie Gunn, Richard Brook and Harry Ayres.

The programme opens with a popular song, Doris Day singing "The Black Hills of Dakota" which Ed Hillary reportedly whistled incessantly during construction and wintering over at Scott Base.

A group of men - including Ed Hillary are interviewed together and reminisce about conditions at Scott Base as they built the huts during the summer. Hillary recalls they were living in tents and relieved when they finally got the first hut built and had some shelter if the weather deteriorated.

Once the base was established the men began reconnaissance trips in preparation for the depot-laying trip next month. The Fergusson tractors were tested in a journey to Cape Crozier, which Hillary describes.