Following in Sir Ed’s tractor tracks
A thrilling ride to the South Pole with Ed Hillary and a visit to Marlborough’s Awatere Valley.
It seemed to be the perfect partnership. The young conqueror of Everest and the seasoned British polar traveller in partnership for the 1957-58 British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic expedition – the first British overland journey to the South Pole since Captain Scott.
The project was intended to evoke the spirits of Scott and Shackleton and revive the glories of the Heroic Age of British
exploration. At the helm was the forceful, somewhat autocratic Vivian “Bunny” Fuchs.
The subsequent events form the focus of Nigel Watson’s new book Hillary’s Antarctica: Adventure, Exploration and Establishing Scott Base (Allen & Unwin, $49.99).
Watson, the executive director of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, shows how invaluable an insider’s knowledge of the politics and personalities surrounding the events can be. The story has been replayed many times but rarely with such detail, verve and colour in a book enhanced by Jane Ussher’s inimitable photographs.
It was clear from the start that Fuchs regarded the New Zealanders as support rather than full partners. However, as Watson implies, a deep vein of pragmatic independence shaped the New Zealand character. After establishing Scott Base, a major story in its own right, Hillary pushed forward to the Pole ahead of Fuchs and the main crossing team.
A trio of Ferguson farm tractors led a challenging and dangerous journey across the Ross Ice Shelf, ascending the Skelton Glacier and across the icy expanse of the Polar Plateau. It was a test for men and machines, but eventually Hillary could send his famous message to Scott Base: “We are heading hellbent for the Pole. God willing and crevasses permitting.”
Fuchs was not amused. He crisply instructed Hillary to abandon any idea of driving to the Pole, and to instead establish a new fuel depot for the crossing team. With insufficient food to last until Fuchs arrived, the New Zealanders decided to press on. On January 4 ,1958, they reached the Pole.
“I don’t think the English ever forgave me for that one,” a much older Hillary commented wryly years later.
Tis’ the season when publishers deck bookshop halls with that literary phenomenon known as the New Zealand scenic book. The perfect gift for overseas friends and family can, however, reflect a certain sameness (exactly how many photos of Mt Cook and sheep can one absorb?) Thankfully, Awatere: Portrait of a Marlborough
Valley (Potton & Burton, $69.99) injects a little more substance than usual into the seasonal genre. The photographs (by Jim Tannock, Rob Suisted and Dave Hansford) provide a lush accompaniment to Harry Broad’s word portrait of a place, its history and community. From the high-country stations of the upper Awatere Valley to the bucolic vineyards and cosseted gardens of its lower reaches, the region provides a rich source of stories, personalities and, perhaps, the occasional rural legend. At the book’s heart is a country community that has faced contemporary challenges and rural downturns with resourcefulness and stubborn resilience.
Fuchs was not amused. He crisply instructed Hillary to abandon any idea of driving to the Pole.