The Crosses We Bear

Vince's Cross at Hut Point.  Early April 1998 People sometimes forget the nature of the environment we inhabit down here on the ice. People die. It doesn't matter where we live or what we do, we are all subject to the laws of unpredictability and one of those unpredictable things is our mortality.

Unlike many other places on earth, most people are down here because they want to be. The agencies or governments which employ us have a strong commitment to not letting people (us, the workers ) get injured or putting us in more dangerous situations than we already encounter. However, occasionally people do die. Most of the time because of freak accidents or unpredictable events, and occasionally stupidity.

For those that pass away there is a strong sense of loss and crosses or monuments have been erected in certain places to remember some of those that have gone before us. In the following section I will show several of the memorials to those that were not so fortunate.

For the New Zealanders, there have been 4 deaths since the start of the NZ Antarctic program. They were: Thomas Couzens (1959), Jeremy Sykes (1969), Garth Varcoe (1992) and Terry Newport (1992).

The plaque under the flag pole at Scott Base.

Vince's Cross, overlooking Hut Point and looking west towards Mactown (April 98)   The Plaque reads as follows: Vince's Cross, Hut Point. This cross is an historic monument and preserved in accordance with the provisions of the Antarctic treaty. It commentaries T. Vince of the British Antarctic Expedition of 1901-1904 who lost his life in the vicinity in March 1902.

Plaque at the foot of Vince's Cross, written in 4 languages.  

Our Lady of the Snows,  March 1998

Just up the hill from Hut Point, about 300 meters north, is a small shrine dedicated to CD3 Richard T Williams. He lost his life while ferrying supplies from a ship 30 miles out from Hut Point when the D8 Dozer he was driving fell through the ice. These supplies were used in the construction of the Deep Freeze operation 6th January 1956. He is also the person they named the permanent sea ice runway to the east after. The shrine is commonly referred to as Our Lady of the Snows. People often go there to see the view of McMurdo, sit in the small stone grotto just meters away, and look north west out over the Ross Sea; a very peaceful refuge if you don't mind the wind and the cold.

The cross on top of Observation Hill,  March 1998

On Observation Hill overlooking the eastern side of Mactown is a cross dedicated to Scott's Pole party. Mork (Kevin) and Jonathan stand under the cross and give a good reference to its size. Just a quick note; when originally erected in the early 1900s, it took two men 2 days to get it from Discovery Hut up to the top of the hill, but now I understand it may have been erected with the help of crew from the Terra Nova . In the time since it was erected, it has been blown over twice. The last time ( in 1994, I think), it was taken back to Scott Base for repairs. With a bit of research and a few old photos they discovered it had been re-erected back to front the last time it was blown over. So this time it was carried (by around 50 people from Mactown and Scott Base) up the hill and correctly orientated. Mork (to the left) was the one who poured the new foundations to the cross the last time he was down here as a carpenter. Eric (our current Scott Base telecom technician) and Mork were also two of the many people to carry it up the hill and ceremoniously reinstate the old monument which is how you see it now.

Hill above Shackelton's Hut,  January 1998

On Wind Vane Hill above Shackelton's Hut, a cross has been erected in memory of 2 early explorers who lost their lives in the exploration of a very unforgiving environment.
 The Wind Vane Hill cross also commemorates the Ross Sea party members of Shackleton's Trans Antarctic Expedition. Their ship was blown out to sea in a storm before they could unload all their supplies, but they managed to find enough to lay depots the next summer (unaware that Shackleton's ship had been crushed in the Weddell sea ice).
  Wording on the plaque under the cross at Wind Vane Hill. Sacred to the memory of Lieut. A.E. Mackintosh, RNR, and V.G. Hayward who perished on the sea ice in a blizzard about May 8th. Also the Rv. A.P Spencer-Smith, BA who died March 6th, 1916.  

Antarctic Graves
Some Bases in Antarctica have actual grave sites where they have buried the dead. In total I am told that there may be as many as 40 (or more) people actually buried on the continent. This is not a New Zealand or American policy as far as I am aware. Anyone who dies is transported back to point of origin as soon as possible so base moral is not diminished.

I also haven't mentioned much about the infamous Air New Zealand DC 10 that crashed into the side of Mt Eribus in 1979. The whole incident was very stressful for all concerned. Since then Antarctica NZ has a policy of allocating certain people the responsibility of counselors in the unlikely event of another similar disaster.

The Air New Zealand DC 10 crash site (1979) and the helicopter crash site where 2 New Zealanders lost their lives, were left as contemporary monuments ( crosses ) to the tragedies that have occurred. There are more crosses and monuments around , like the impromptu one commemorating the dogs that once pulled the sleds and their masters across the vast continent.

Other Memorials

Another two plaques not often seen are these two memorials erected in the memory's of Ray T Smith an American construction worker, and Ben Micou, a Petty Officer first class Naval Aircrewman (AMS1).
The first is located a little east of the Lady of the Snows and the second can be found outside the Helicopter 'PHE' building.   I have heard of another on the north face of castle rock which is in memory of someone who fell off, but I have never seen it.  These are just some of the many that spot the face of Antarctica.

www.geocities.com/coolrunnernz/

9-3-01

Edited by Shirley Baston Fred [email protected] ICQ # 15167279