The Eastern Party, the Fram, and an Australian in Antarctica

Abstract

This chapter addresses the simultaneous activities of the Eastern expedition party at King Edward VII Land, and the Fram’s return from Buenos Aires, during the South Pole party’s journey back to the Great Ice Barrier, and also establishes a connection between the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition and the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, whose circumstances will later directly affect Roald Amundsen’s sled dogs. Developments outlined include the following: the Eastern expedition, comprised of Kristian Prestrud, Hjalmar Johansen, and Jørgen Stubberud, together with two teams of sled dogs, completes its survey of King Edward VII Land and returns to Framheim on December 16, 1911; the Fram, fully supplied with provisions from Don Pedro Christophersen, returns from Buenos Aires to the Bay of Whales, and its crew reunites with the remaining inhabitants of Framheim – Adolf Lindstrøm and the returning Eastern party – on January 10, 1912; Douglas Mawson’s Australian expedition reaches Cape Denison, in Adelie Land, on January 8, 1912, and its ship Aurora, captained by John King Davis, departs for Hobart on January 19 – creating a circumstance that will directly affect the fate of some of the sled dogs.