Leslie Whetter
Encyclopedia
Leslie Hatton Whetter was a surgeon and Antarctic
explorer from New Zealand. A graduate of the University of Otago
, in 1911 he joined the Australasian Antarctic Expedition
(AAE), led by Douglas Mawson
. During 1912, Whetter joined two sledging parties, the first to lay supplies, and the second to explore the area to the west of the Main Base at Cape Denison
. On the second expedition, his party of three man-hauled
a sledge 158 miles (254.3 km) from the Cape Denison base, and in the process discovered the first meteorite
to be found in Antarctica. Mawson thought Whetter lazy, and the two clashed several times, Mawson describing Whetter as "not fit for a polar expedition".
. He was originally selected for the AAE as the surgeon on the expedition's third Antarctic base, but Mawson decided to consolidate the three parties into two Whetter joined the Main Base. With Archibald Lang McLean
—the surgeon originally chosen for the Main Base—as chief medical officer, Whetter assumed responsibility for ensuring the base was adequately stocked with water. This involved fetching blocks of ice from the head of a nearby glacier, and piling them on the hut's veranda, ready for use. Despite the apparent simplicity of this task, Whetter routinely clashed with Mawson; he told the expedition's leader he had come to Antarctica not to work but to study for exams. On a day when Mawson believed Whetter had been particularly lazy, Mawson wrote in his diary: "Whetter is not fit for a polar expedition ... Of late he has complained of overwork, and he only does an honest 2 hours work per day." Another incident a week later prompted Mawson to tell Whetter "that he was entirely unfit for an expedition, chiefly through lack of determination in character and failing to do his level best."
On 12 September 1912, along with Cecil Madigan
and John Close, Whetter set out on a man-hauled sledging expedition to the west of the base to lay a food depot for the summer sledging season. Battling strong winds, crevasse
s and sastrugi, the party spent a week travelling the 50 miles (80.5 km) to lay the depot. Travelling back to base, their tent was torn apart by the wind, and only a hasty repair-job allowed them to return to base uninjured. Madigan suffered frostbite
, Close severe blisters from the 13 miles (20.9 km)-hike to sanctuary after the destruction of their tent, but Whetter was injured only by Madigan's scissors, which he used to removed Whetter's helmet "when it was so firmly frozen to his face that it was necessary to adopt drastic measures for its removal in order that he could partake of food."
Upon his return to the base, Whetter's supposed laziness continued to put him at odds with Mawson. Eventually Mawson took Whetter to his study to talk it over. According to Mawson's diary, Whetter told him that the leader's insistence on near-constant work had meant several men deliberately worked slowly, to avoid being assigned new tasks. In response, Mawson lowered the work regimen down to six hours a day, and gave the men Sundays off, provided the wind had not let up to the extent that work could be done outside.
and cartographer Alfred Hodgeman on a summer sledging party to explore the area to the west of the hut. This Western party would leave base on 3 December and use the air-tractor sledge
—a wingless aeroplane taken on the AAE—haul a train of four sledges. However, the air-tractor broke down after just 10 miles (16.1 km), and the party continued without it. On the third day, man-hauling one of the sledges, the party discovered the Adélie Land meteorite
, the first meteorite
to be found in Antarctica.
The same bad weather and sastrugi that had disrupted the spring sledging party continued to cause havoc on the Western party. At times, the wind was so strong that one of the men had to walk behind the sledge, holding taut a line to prevent the sledge swinging broadside. However, it was the sastrugi that damaged the sledge; it hit one ridge so hard the front smashed. The party continued west until 21 December, when a "hurricane" confined them to their tent for four days. Continuing on 26 December, they reached their furthest point from Cape Denison, 158 miles (254.3 km), and turned back. Noting that the winds abated somewhat late afternoon, the party began marching at night. Even during the day, visibility was so poor that they missed the depot the spring party had left. The party reached Aladdin's Cave (a hollow in the ice in the plateau above Cape Denison used for shelter and storage) on 17 January, and returned to base a day later.
in 1944–45, there is little public information about Whetter's life after the AAE. The Australian Antarctic Division
suggests he died in the mid-1950s.
The Whetter Nunatak
, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the north-east of Cape Denison, was named for him by Mawson.
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
explorer from New Zealand. A graduate of the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
, in 1911 he joined the Australasian Antarctic Expedition
Australasian Antarctic Expedition
The Australasian Antarctic Expedition was an Australasian scientific team that explored part of Antarctica between 1911 and 1914. It was led by the Australian geologist Douglas Mawson, who was knighted for his achievements in leading the expedition. In 1910 he began to plan an expedition to chart...
(AAE), led by Douglas Mawson
Douglas Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson, OBE, FRS, FAA was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer and Academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, Mawson was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.-Early work:He was appointed geologist to an...
. During 1912, Whetter joined two sledging parties, the first to lay supplies, and the second to explore the area to the west of the Main Base at Cape Denison
Cape Denison
Cape Denison is a rocky point at the head of Commonwealth Bay in Antarctica. It was discovered in 1912 by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition under Douglas Mawson, who named it for Sir Hugh Denison of Sydney, a patron of the expedition...
. On the second expedition, his party of three man-hauled
Manhauling
Manhauling, often expressed as man-hauling, means the pulling forward of sledges, trucks or other load-carrying vehicles by human power unaided by animals or machines...
a sledge 158 miles (254.3 km) from the Cape Denison base, and in the process discovered the first meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
to be found in Antarctica. Mawson thought Whetter lazy, and the two clashed several times, Mawson describing Whetter as "not fit for a polar expedition".
Australasian Antarctic Expedition
Prior to the AAE, Whetter studied medicine at the University of OtagoUniversity of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
. He was originally selected for the AAE as the surgeon on the expedition's third Antarctic base, but Mawson decided to consolidate the three parties into two Whetter joined the Main Base. With Archibald Lang McLean
Archibald Lang McLean
Archibald Lang McLean was an Australian bacteriologist. He was the chief doctor on the Australasian Antarctic Expedition in 1912....
—the surgeon originally chosen for the Main Base—as chief medical officer, Whetter assumed responsibility for ensuring the base was adequately stocked with water. This involved fetching blocks of ice from the head of a nearby glacier, and piling them on the hut's veranda, ready for use. Despite the apparent simplicity of this task, Whetter routinely clashed with Mawson; he told the expedition's leader he had come to Antarctica not to work but to study for exams. On a day when Mawson believed Whetter had been particularly lazy, Mawson wrote in his diary: "Whetter is not fit for a polar expedition ... Of late he has complained of overwork, and he only does an honest 2 hours work per day." Another incident a week later prompted Mawson to tell Whetter "that he was entirely unfit for an expedition, chiefly through lack of determination in character and failing to do his level best."
On 12 September 1912, along with Cecil Madigan
Cecil Madigan
Cecil Thomas Madigan was an Australian explorer and geologist born in Renmark, South Australia.After attending Prince Alfred College in Adelaide and the University of Adelaide, he won a Rhodes scholarship in 1911 to study geology at Magdalen College, Oxford.In 1911 he was invited by Sir Douglas...
and John Close, Whetter set out on a man-hauled sledging expedition to the west of the base to lay a food depot for the summer sledging season. Battling strong winds, crevasse
Crevasse
A crevasse is a deep crack in an ice sheet rhys glacier . Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the sheer stress generated when two semi-rigid pieces above a plastic substrate have different rates of movement...
s and sastrugi, the party spent a week travelling the 50 miles (80.5 km) to lay the depot. Travelling back to base, their tent was torn apart by the wind, and only a hasty repair-job allowed them to return to base uninjured. Madigan suffered frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
, Close severe blisters from the 13 miles (20.9 km)-hike to sanctuary after the destruction of their tent, but Whetter was injured only by Madigan's scissors, which he used to removed Whetter's helmet "when it was so firmly frozen to his face that it was necessary to adopt drastic measures for its removal in order that he could partake of food."
Upon his return to the base, Whetter's supposed laziness continued to put him at odds with Mawson. Eventually Mawson took Whetter to his study to talk it over. According to Mawson's diary, Whetter told him that the leader's insistence on near-constant work had meant several men deliberately worked slowly, to avoid being assigned new tasks. In response, Mawson lowered the work regimen down to six hours a day, and gave the men Sundays off, provided the wind had not let up to the extent that work could be done outside.
Western party
Whetter was chosen to accompany engineer Frank BickertonFrank Bickerton
Frank Bickerton was an Antarctic explorer, and engineer, and a pioneer in the usage of aircraft and telegraphy. He also led a three man sledging team which discovered the first meteorite to be found in the Antarctic.-Life:...
and cartographer Alfred Hodgeman on a summer sledging party to explore the area to the west of the hut. This Western party would leave base on 3 December and use the air-tractor sledge
Air-tractor sledge
Sir Douglas Mawson's air-tractor sledge was a converted fixed-wing aircraft taken on the 1911–14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition, the first plane to be taken to the Antarctic. Expedition leader Douglas Mawson had planned to use the Vickers R.E.P...
—a wingless aeroplane taken on the AAE—haul a train of four sledges. However, the air-tractor broke down after just 10 miles (16.1 km), and the party continued without it. On the third day, man-hauling one of the sledges, the party discovered the Adélie Land meteorite
Adélie Land meteorite
Adelie Land is a meteorite discovered on December 5, 1912 in Antarctica by Francis Howard Bickerton . It was named after Adélie Land and it was the first meteorite found in Antarctica....
, the first meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
to be found in Antarctica.
The same bad weather and sastrugi that had disrupted the spring sledging party continued to cause havoc on the Western party. At times, the wind was so strong that one of the men had to walk behind the sledge, holding taut a line to prevent the sledge swinging broadside. However, it was the sastrugi that damaged the sledge; it hit one ridge so hard the front smashed. The party continued west until 21 December, when a "hurricane" confined them to their tent for four days. Continuing on 26 December, they reached their furthest point from Cape Denison, 158 miles (254.3 km), and turned back. Noting that the winds abated somewhat late afternoon, the party began marching at night. Even during the day, visibility was so poor that they missed the depot the spring party had left. The party reached Aladdin's Cave (a hollow in the ice in the plateau above Cape Denison used for shelter and storage) on 17 January, and returned to base a day later.
Later life
After the expedition ship SY Aurora returned the majority of men to Australia in early 1913, Whetter headed back to New Zealand. Aside from being recorded as a member of the Royal Society of New ZealandRoyal Society of New Zealand
The Royal Society of New Zealand , known as the New Zealand Institute before 1933, was established in 1867 to co-ordinate and assist the activities of a number of regional research societies including the Auckland Institute, the Wellington Philosophical Society, the Philosophical Institute of...
in 1944–45, there is little public information about Whetter's life after the AAE. The Australian Antarctic Division
Australian Antarctic Division
The Australian Antarctic Division is an agency of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities . The division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean...
suggests he died in the mid-1950s.
The Whetter Nunatak
Whetter Nunatak
Whetter Nunatak is a small rock outcrop on the coastal ice slopes near the sea, situated 8 nautical miles east-northeast of Cape Denison on the east shore of Commonwealth Bay. Discovered by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition under Douglas Mawson, who named it for Dr. Leslie Whetter, a...
, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the north-east of Cape Denison, was named for him by Mawson.