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Volume 4 1911-13

The Wireless Crew

George Ainsworth and his assistants, Sawyer and Sandell,
were overjoyed when they finally established radio contact between
Macquarie Island and Mawson’s party in Antarctica. Their delight
turned to sadness when they heard that two members of their own
expedition, Ninnis and Mertz, had died in Antarctica. Soon
afterwards, they heard that Captain Robert Scott and several other
members of the British South Pole expedition had also perished.

Setting up a radio station
When they first set up a radio
station on Macquarie Island,
Australasian Antarctic Expedition
(AAE) wireless operators, Ainsworth,
Sandell and Sawyer did not know
whether they would be able to receive
and transmit messages to Mawson’s
expedition in Antarctica. All they could
do was transmit their Morse Code
signals, wait and hope. Constant gales
battered the aerial system and wireless
hut, and on several occasions the aerial
blew down.
Wireless Hill. Photo Tavis Potts., 2000.
The Science Observer, Vol 4, ‘The Wireless Crew’

Antarctica. At 9.30 the next morning
Ainsworth, Sandell and Sawyer Captain Davis brought a boat ashore
took turns sleeping in the wireless with supplies, and a mailbag that was
station at the top of Wireless Hill. They seized with great delight. The Aurora
had to brave strong winds whenever they then headed to Lusitania Bay to land
descended the hill to have their meals in stores for Blake and Hamilton.
the expedition hut they dubbed ‘King
George V Villa’. A ferocious storm blew up, but
the station maintained radio
On the night of 2 February 1912, contact with the ship.
Sawyer was on duty. He heard a radio
message from Wellington, New Zealand, The wind made terrific noises in the
calling Suva station. On 13 February aerial wires, and although this did not
1912, the Wireless Hill station affect the transmission, it interfered with
established communication with the S.S. reception of messages.
Ulimaroa. By the following night signals
were received from three other ships, one
On 25 September 1912, Sawyer
heard some very faint Morse code
as far distant as Cape Horn. On March
signals from Adelie Land in Antarctica.
10 1912, Wireless Hill communicated
All he could receive was:
with Suva, two thousand four hundred
miles away. ‘Please inform Pennant Hills….’
He tried to return the call for hour,
This was a remarkable
without any luck. Four days later, he
performance for a one-and-a heard the tapping of another message
half kilowatt wireless set. from Adelie Land:
From 12 May 1912 onwards, Sandell ‘Having a hell of a time waiting
and Sawyer sent a daily weather report for calm weather to put up our masts.’
to the meteorologist at Wellington.
Again Sawyer called repeatedly but
heard no reply.

On 3 February 1913, after a
silence of about four months, the
Macquarie Island station again heard a
message from Adelie Land, but the
Antarctic station was unable to receive
them.

When communication was
finally established between the
Telefunken Transmitter at Macquarie Island 1912
Photo courtesy Australian Antarctic Division two stations, the news from
The Aurora visited Macquarie Antarctica was not good.
Island on 7 June 1912, returning from

Created by Anne Morgan 2
The Science Observer, Vol 4, ‘The Wireless Crew’

Douglas Mawson and two expeditioners Island Expedition was a
had not yet returned from a sledging trip. shortage of food.
On the 8 February 1913 Wireless Hill
intercepted a message from Adelie Land On 27 April 1913, Wireless Hill
to the Aurora, asking that the vessel received a message saying that the Rachel
return at once and pick up the rest of the Cohen was sailing for Macquarie Island
party as on 2 May and would bring supplies and
take expeditioners back to Hobart if they
Lieutenant Ninnis and Dr
wished. The message was forwarded to
Mertz were dead. Mawson in Antarctica. He replied that
Sawyer tried to call Adelie Land, but the Aurora would pick them up about
without success. On the following day the middle of November and take them
Wireless Hill received further bad news, to Antarctica. However, if any member
this time from Australia: that of the expedition wanted to return home
aboard by the Rachel Cohen he would be
Captain Robert Scott’s British free to do so.
party had perished after
returning from the South Pole.
The Wireless Hill station finally
managed two-way communication with
Adelie Land on 20 February 1913. They
received a message confirming the deaths
of Ninnis and Mertz. Sawyer had a short
talk with Jeffryes, the Adelie Land
operator, and told him the Macquarie
Island party were all well.
Wireless operator in Antarctica receiving messages in
On the night of 7 March 1913, Morse Code. Photo courtesy Australian Antarctic Division.
Ainsworth received a message from Dr
Mawson saying that the party would Ainsworth reduced their rations,
probably remain another season in knowing that it would still be some
Antarctica and that he wanted the weeks before the Rachel Cohen brought
Macquarie Island station to keep going their stores.
until the end of the year. Ainsworth read Like many sealers and
this message to Sandell, Sawyer, Blake
and Hamilton, and asked if they wanted shipwrecked sailors before
to return home in April or remain till the them, they were forced to
end of the year. All the men wanted to supplement their dwindling
stay. supplies by living off the land,
By that time the biggest hunting wekas, catching fish
problem to the Macquarie

Created by Anne Morgan 3
The Science Observer, Vol 4, ‘The Wireless Crew’

and eating portions of
elephant seals.
By 8 July 1913, the scientists’
provisions were almost gone. The
sealers, too were short of supplies.
According to New Zealand journalist, E.
W. Waite:
‘Mawson’s men were the first to run
out of food supplies, falling short in March
last. The substances which first failed were
meat, sugar, milk, and flour, and these
commodities were received from the
sealers in exchange for vegetables, of The Rachel Cohen under tow, from J.S. Cumpston,
which they had a sufficient supply. Then Macquarie Island.
the sealers’ stores became exhausted, and
both parties suffered want, but there was at By then, Sawyer had become ill
no time any question of starvation, for
there is abundant food on the island, and wanted to go home. On 18 August
provided by the sea elephants, but there 1913, Wireless Hill received a message
was not the variety requisite to keep the stating the Tutanekai would arrive at
men in good health.’ Macquarie Island on 18 November 1913.
The night before Sawyer left on the
The scientists accepted a generous Tutanekai, Ainsworth, Blake, Hamilton
donation of twenty pounds of biscuits and Sandell gave him a send-off dinner of
from the sealers, and managed to make sea-elephant’s tongue, and opened a
soup by adding sago and a few lentils.
Their desserts were cornflour and hot
water flavored with cocoa, sago and
tapioca.

By 22 July 1913, the Rachel
Cohen still had not arrived. She had been
blown off-course and badly damaged.
She headed for New Zealand, where she
had docked for repair. Lack of food was
now a serious concern. Wireless Hill
eventually received a message that the Macquarie Island sealers. from J.S. Cumpston,
New Zealand steamer, Tutanekai, would Macquarie Island.

bring them the stores that had been
aboard the Rachel Cohen.

Created by Anne Morgan 4
The Science Observer, Vol 4, ‘The Wireless Crew’

precious bottle of claret. According to
journalist, E.R. Waite, who arrived on
the Tutanekai:

On board the Tutanekai, were New
Zealand reporters, who had heard stories
that the Macquarie Island expedition were
starving, and were keen to write up this
story:
The AAE Macquarie Island crew from left:
Photographers had their cameras in Hamilton, Blake, Sandell and Sawyer, from J..S. Cumpston,
operation, the newspaper scribes moved Macquarie Island.
their pencils more rapidly than at any time
since the voyage commenced, and the
ship’s crew ran to and fro under the orders
of their officers to get the boats ready. The last of the sealers
A bearded man, wearing knee-high returned to Hobart aboard the
raw-hide boots, a rough woolen cap, a Rachel Cohen on 28
coarse grey woolen shirt and a coat
stitched and restitched to rival Joseph’s November 1913, the same day
famous article of apparel, jumped on the Aurora arrived to take
board. He looked a picture of manly
strength and virility. It was George F. Ainsworth, Blake, Hamilton
Ainsworth …One could not help thinking and Sandell to Antarctica.
that the appearance of the man, and that
of the men (Mr Hatch’s) in the boat, at
once discounted the starvation story.