|
Leaving Hobart
The Aurora in pack ice |
Aurora /
Mawson 1911-1914
Bert Lincoln was an Able Bodied ordinary
seaman on board the SY Aurora during a trip lasting just under
three months from Hobart to Commonwealth Bay Antarctica and
back again to relieve Mawson's expedition during its second
summer, the middle of a three summer and two winter expedition.
He was born in 1888. So in 1913 when he went on the Aurora to
the Antarctic he was 25yrs old. He served in the Camel Corp
in 1918 as a Corporal and died aged 30 yrs. He was 5’10 1/2”
tall. He was the eldest of four children in his family.
War details for Bert Lincoln
What follows is Bert's diary of the voyage. As far as
I am aware this is the only such account of an ordinary sailor
onboard an expedition or relief ship during the Heroic Age of
Antarctic exploration. Often men such as Bert were
not even included on lists of the ship's personnel which only
tended to list the ships officers, expedition scientists and
the support personnel who spent their time on the base.
The diary is in the possession of Sharyn Smith from Australia
the great niece of Bert Lincoln to whom I am very grateful for
sending me a copy that I have typed out to publish here. Sharyn
states:
"Apparently they weren’t to have any
writing material on board as the ship had their own news reporters,
but he wrote it anyway"
... which goes some way to explaining
why accounts such as this one are so rare. It is typed it as
it is written. There is an occasional word or letter that I
have not been able to interpret, at these points I have written
a row of dashes ----- or wrapped question marks around the word
where I have ?guessed?
This page -
Page 1 - Hobart to Antarctica
Bert Lincoln A.B. S.Y. Aurora
December 25th 1912
I am still
aboard the expedition ship Aurora. We are lying in Hobart but
are leaving tomorrow Boxing Day for Antarctica to pick up Dr.
Mawson and his parties on the ice. We have been the guests of
our captain J.K. Davis today at a Christmas dinner at the Oriental
Hotel it was a flash affair. After dinner myself and my mate
Louis with three lady friends went for a drive out in the country
to a place called Berridale. We got home to tea about 6 o'clock
in the evening went to a theatre and got aboard about 11.30.
Thursday
Dec 26th sailing day
We left Hobart
at 10 a.m. had a great send off from a large crowd. We had our
photos taken three times once by cinematograph. We have on board
40 sheep for fresh meat. We proceeded down stream to Brown's
River where our 23 dogs came off by yacht from the quarantines
station. We put the dogs forward on the coal which was in bags
on deck but later we shifted the sheep forward and put the dogs
in the waist we were outside the entrance shortly after dinner.
We had fine weather until midnight, then got a heavy head wind,
and a big sea rose up and made things a bit uncomfortable for
the sheep started tumbling about and the dogs howling and fighting
as is the fashion of the Esquimeaux dogs. During the early morning
the dogs had to be shifted on to the bags of coal as heavy seas
were coming aboard at the waist and as the course altered a
little the ship started rolling heavily, we were steering S.W.
by S 1/4 S.
Friday Dec 27th
The weather is
still bad blowing strong from the West. Ship is deep loaded
therefore she can't rise over the seas so readily, although
she is an excellent sea boat she is dipping her jibboom clean
out of sight time and time again, and the water is coming down
our forecastle in streams, and is also pouring over the break
of the fo'o'sle head. On the main deck over the sheep and dogs,
and away aft, sheep in particular are having a bad time. All
the passengers are sea sick and frightened of the heavy seas
which come thundering aboard and smother everything in a smother
of white foam. All of us sailors have been wet through times
out of number, now is the time we envy our three strokes and
three engineers. The boatswain killed a sheep as he broke his
legs falling about.
Saturday Dec 28th
The
weather is gradually growing worse, the wind is enough to blow
a man off the bridge whilst standing. I nearly got hoisted over
the wheel by a spoke catching between the buttons of my big
quarter master's overcoat as the wheel gave a kick. The dogs
are howling and fighting in fact they have been at it ever since
they came aboard we get many a green sea over us whilst going
to past them, as we must do seeing that they fight to the death
although they are tame enough to try and smoodge to us if we
take any notice of them as we pass, still the majority of them
have their fangs ever ready. They formerly belonged to Amundsen
the Norwegian Ant Explorer who reached the South pole & were
presented by him to Dr. Mawson. One or two of them have actually
been to the Pole. The weather moderated a little in the dog-watches.
We are steering S.E. by S. We have the lowest top sail and the
foresail set.
Sunday Dec 29th
Since midnight
the wind has risen again and the sea is higher than ever and
is very short and is not a long true sea either therefore it
is a tremendous strain on our little "Aurora" she is as lively
as a feather in the wind, and the seas are still thundering
upon her forecastle head and also over the deck house and main
deck and sprays are dashing high over the funnel as high as
the topsails yards. Fancy passengers by the big 10,000 to 20,000
tons liners voyaging through the tropics talking about rough
weather, why we are in the roughest part of the world in a ship
of only 386 tons. So you can judge what it must be like. with
her decks completely hidden under water & foam.
We have had
to kill four more sheep which got injured. We took in the fore-sail
& lower topsail at 2 p.m. and took a sounding and got 1,617
fathoms & white clay bottom. Wind is now blowing from S.E. &
a big awkward sea is running, a lot of blackfish were swimming
round the ship this afternoon.
The weather is getting colder
every day but we don't mind the cold as much as we have been
served with cold weather gear such as underwear, monkey suits,
sea boots, mitts, hoods etc. etc.
The weather is still extremely
bad & what with the dogs howling and sheep sculling about things
are very lively, and the passengers who are members of the expedition
such as the secretary two whaling experts & a wireless operator,
and are supposed to help with the work (by watering, feeding
and generally looking after the sheep and dogs) are down in
the cabin lazing and having a a good time and leaving their
work to us six sailors and the boatswain and they will go back
to Australia and boast of the work they have done, but
all the work of this expedition
is being done by the six sailors and boatswain & the sailmakering
all the work on board ship and with any gear that has to be
fixed up. We are now steering S by E.1/2E. and are about 275
miles south of Tasmania, we make hardly any headway in the heavy
weather we have ahead.
Monday December 30th
The weather is worse again this morning and a heavy southerly
gale is blowing with heavy hail showers. We have been stopping
fight among the dogs and all through the night. The ship is
still taking liberal portions of the Southern Ocean aboard.
Great excitement today as we saw the sun for about five minutes.
We had to kill two more sheep today & one died of his own accord
and was used for dogs feed. The boatswain & myself are the butchers
& the skins are supposed to be ours to sell when we get home
to Australia so you can depend upon it him & I will stick out
for skins. Our watch got wet through three times between 4 &
8 o'clock this morning at midday the weather was getting worse
again our position is Lat 50º 45"S. Long 145º 4"W ship is doing
about 1 mile an hour going full speed ahead again the weather
and sometimes she gets knocked astern by an extra big sea. Our
forescastle which is on a level with the 'tween decks of course
is down below is swimming with water and some bunks are soaking
wet. By midnight the weather was so bad that seas were thundering
aboard from fore to aft and the wind has risen to a proper hurricane
and us sailors wonder what we can see in it to come to sea then
some way will strike up "All the nice girls love a sailor" so
we decide that must be the reason we stick at it.
Tuesday Dec 31st
Our watch came on deck at midnight
& at one o'clock we very nearly had a calamity as the 2nd mate
got knocked off the bridge taking with him the temperature box
and its gear. He went out through the port bridge railing and
struck the main rigging which saved him from going straight
overboard After striking rigging he dropped to the main deck
at the break of the poop a distance of 10-12 ft and was washing
around in imminent risk of being washed overboard before I could
reach him, which I eventually did and helped him back to the
poop and thence to the bridge. I was keeping lookout on the
lee side of the bridge as it was dangerous to stand any other
place. Captain is very nervous tonight as weather is so bad
&at quarter past one he came and asked me who relieved the wheelsmen
at 20 past one I replied "myself sir". He then said "let me
see you can handle her very well can't you"? I replied "I do
my best sir" He then said "Well tonight remember she is only
a very small ship and this is a dangerously high sea running
and it is not true seas either so keep her dead true to her
course and keep your name up, or she will get smashed". I steered
her steady watching my compass. helm telltale & big seas as
a cat watches a mouse. My relieving man was hardly at the wheel
for a quarter of an hour when a sea came aboard on the starboard
bow and tore the railings off the forecastle head & swept them
over-board. Still have to kill sheep & ----- them in the main
rigging making the ship look like a floating butchers shop.
Dogs are keeping there name up for howling and sailors are swearing
on account of being rolled out of their bunks (on to the wet
floor) with the motion of the ship our watch came on duty at
6 o'clock this afternoon and found that the wireless was being
erected, Yours truly was sent for the fore truck to send down
four coils of copper wire unwinding as I came down had to hang
on to base mast away in the air with the ship rolling 30º to
35º out of perpendicular either side also cold as ice aloft
finished safely although very wet working aloft in drizzling
rain. The wireless expert can only send and receive he has to
get unskilled labor to do his rigging of gear ( a nice expert
you will say the same as we do good job a sailor is a handy
man. The apparatus was fixed steady to receive messages at quarter
past eight, quick work but we expect to receive messages tonight
New Year Eve. this time last year
I was in barque "Dangy" in middle of pacific in glorious weather
in the trade winds running for Sydney this year in the bitter
cold weather in "Aurora" in S. Ocean battling South to Adelie
land to Dr. Mawson. Tonight is the finest night we have had
since leaving Hobart though still a bit rough. Our watch was
on deck till midnight and we made our plans and everything went
good the officer of the watch struck 8 bells for us aft & also
blew the steam whistle like mad while two more of us struck
bell forrard and spun the captain round. the stokers were up
on deck banging away with their shovels. and the relieving watch
poured up on deck and joined in too and we made a gloriously
magnificent noise especially as the 23 Esquimeaux dogs all started
howling squealing and fighting at the time. The old man jumped
out of bunk in underpants on to the bridge & was choking with
rage till he remembered New Years Eve then he went below again.
Jan 1st 1913
"Aurora's"
2nd voyage to Antarctica.
New Year came in with much
finer weather and the sea is moderating. We tightened up the
main rigging & main topmast backstays this morning by frappings
and tryeing in with tackles. The rigging had become very slack
on account of the heavy rolling & pitching there was danger
of the mainmast going overboard with rigging & stays slack.
One man went to the crows nest today & sent a message to the
wireless operator to see if the gear was working right. It was
satisfactory ships position today is lat 51ºS & long145º West.
Steering S.E. with the wind W.N.W. Squared the yards at 4.40p.m.
had lower topsail and foresails set since 10.30 a.m. We took
a sounding at 9 a.m. & got 2,170 fathoms of water but lost all
the wire and gear & had to wind 4,000 fathoms of new wire on
the machine this afternoon. We are now doing about 6 1/2 knots
with the good fair wind we have & this is the best weather we
have had since leaving Hobart. During last night the wireless
operator caught passing messages from Hobart & also from Wellington
N.Z.
The dogs are giving their usual concert & we have fed
& watered them & the sheep. Whiskey and Stout was served today,
1 bot Why between 12 men ---- and also 2 bots of Imperial Russian
Stout per man & of course the ones of us who didn't drink gave
ours to our mates or the P.O's result was the sailmaker and
one sailor were blue-blind-paralytic drunk & caused much fun
as the ship is rolling considerably still. The average temperature
today was 43º which you will no doubt envy as being nice & cool.
ha! ha!
Thursday, Jan 2nd
The weather is fairly
good and we are doing odd jobs again. The temperature at 2 a.m.
is 38º. At 8 a.m. a lovely morning but ship is still taking
water aboard. The dogs are loose for a run around & they enjoy
it except when a sea comes & washes them around in the lee scuppers.
We were dragging bags of coal from the main deck forrard and
tipping it down the bunkers thus lifting ships head a bit and
putting her stern down causing her to ride the seas better also
to steer easier. Whilst at this job got water up to my waist
four times wetting me through& filling my sea-boots. emptied
boots out twice but no more as I got tired of it sometimes bag
of coal & myself would cruise all round the main deck when a
heavy sea caught us but never mind the weather is better & "All
the nice girls love a sailor" ha! ha! At 4.15 p.m. clewed up
and stowed the sails on the yards & took a sounding & got bottom
at 1,850 fathoms but lost wire & gear on account of ship rolling
and pitching so much. At 5 p.m. weather changed for worse again
& with heavy squalls big seas were coming aboard. Had to chain
up dogs to prevent them getting washed overboard. between 8
o'clock and midnight now and the wind is screeching through
the rigging but the sea is not so extra rough as the force of
wind flattens the sea down. Now midnight, our watch. turning
in the wind has eased a little and this allows the sea to rise
which it does. short and steep making us pitch tremendously
and as we are riding it head on, the seas are thundering against
her bows making it hard to hear anything in the forecastle.
Friday Jan 3rd 1913
Came on deck this morning
at 4 o'clock weather has suddenly grown fine again. ship is
steering S.W. 1/2 S. and shipping very little water. during
the night 4 sheep died or got killed & 2 or 3 more in a dying
condition, had the wheel from 5.20 to 6.40 from then to 8 bells
was skinning sheep. Boatswain and I dumped two dead ones overboard
without troubling to skin them. At 8 bells went aloft with sailmaker
and loosed forsail & set with with the two watches combined.
Then we went below & had breakfast other watch are now setting
upper & lower topsails & the ship is getting a wriggle on &
the more the merrier as it is the roughest & worst part of the
world here abouts and among the ice is smooth seas and calmer
weather so hey! ho! for the Ice.
Our watch came on deck again at midday and found the weather
nice and fine although there was a big swell on causing the
ship to roll heavy at times making it awkward skinning and dressing
the injured sheep of which the other watch killed four and us
two. We will be accomplished butchers at this rate by the time
we get back to Australia. We went off watch at 6 o'clock & came
back on deck again at 7 o'clock to keep the second dogwatch
& found the weather very fine. Oh we made fast the foresail
& lower & upper topsails at 2 o'clock this afternoon and at
4 o'clock stopped & took a sounding and got bottom at 1,800
fathoms but while heaving in the wire it carried away & we lost
1000 fths of wire and a diver. We went below at 8 o'clock in
the evening and on coming on deck at midnight found the weather
still fine, and the "Aurora Australis" showing brightly all
over the sky. Dogs are very quiet now it is finer weather, weather
getting gradually colder, ships position today is 54º30"S. lat
144º E. Long. the temperature is 36º. The whaling people are
getting gear and whale boat ready and sharpening harpoons and
lances and spades as we are liable to meet with whales at any
time now.
Saturday Jan 4th 1913
The weather
is still fine and is getting colder it is 35º today. We are
steering S.E. by 3/4S the ship's position is 56ºS Lat & 144º
E Long. We took another sounding & got the bottom at 1570 fathoms.
Sunday Jan 5th 1913
Our watch came on deck at
4o'clock this morning it was my first turn to keep time. At
4.15a stoker (German) came and started to ?bounce? me because
I had just filled the galley kettle (it was my duty) and he
could get no boiling water for his cocoa. He should have had
cocoa before 4 and relieved his mate in the stokehold at 4.
Anyhow he was looking for trouble so we got out on deck and
I got a couple on to his jaw and as he rushed and I sidestepped
I slipped as the deck was very wet & slippery and came down
and as I got up and went for him again the chief officer rushed
down from the bridge and stopped us and told us to wait until
we could get ashore as we would fall and hurt our heads fighting
on the slippery deck. The fireman seem to think that the sailors
are firemen's peggies but sailors are reckoned better class
than firemen, anyhow we won't be bossed by foreign firemen.
We went below at 8 o'clock & had breakfast & the other watch
are now taking a sounding. They got bottom at 1900 fths on a
clay bottom. The temperature is 34º we are heading S.E. 3/4
S.
Monday Jan 6th
The temperature at 3 a.m. is 33º. One more sheep died
and 4 more had to be killed. The decks were slippery as they
were covered in blood. We sailors do not like having to be butchers
but the talent aft (who are supposed to do all this) leave it
all to us. Of course on the lecturing platforms back in Australia
they will say how they did all the work giving us no credit
for it at all.
The topsail & foresail which were set at 5
a.m. were made fast at 4 p.m. we now have head wind & heavy
seas plenty of water coming aboard& a few hundred gallons came
into our quarters. Our position today is 59ºS. Lat & 145º E.
Long. The temperature is 34º.
We have had our bogey stove
going in the forecastle since Sunday afternoon thus making things
far more comfortable. and besides it dries the forecastle floor
and makes it nice & warm for turning out of bunk. We are having
plenty of snow squalls now although we do not have the howling
gales of a week ago.
Tuesday
Jan 7th 1912 (as written)
Lent down the gallant halyards at 5 a.m. were going
to send down top gallant yard but the ship was rolling a bit
too much so we left it. Took a sounding and got bottom at 2,230
fathoms yellow clay. The engines were stopped from 8 a.m. to
midday to enable the engineers to put some fresh valves in the
air-pumps . They are going again now. It has been drizzling
rain and snow all day long. The temperature is 35º. We have
a good wind on the port quarter now and we are bowling along.
It is a wonder the "Old Man" don't set sails.
I have started
putting on hard weather clothes today such as Happy Hooley hood
& mitts jerseys etc. I have to take the wheel now, through the
dog watch.
Wednesday Jan 8th
We have been having sleet & snow since yesterday,
and there are no signs of it ceasing. We are expecting to sight
ice at any moment now. We took a sounding at 11.30 this morning
& got bottom of yellow clay at 2,257 fathoms There is a heavy
swell running & the ship is rolling heavily. The temperature
is 34º. We had the main pumps going two or three times today
as the engine room pumps were not working satisfactorily and
the water was over the footplates in the stokehold. Our position
is 62ºS Lat & 146º 5"E. Long. The other watch killed 3 more
sheep today. We are a happy family today. In the dog-watches
some were playing crib. I was playing the accordion while the
rest sang. When our watch went on deck at 8 bells (8 o'clock)
to night we found the ship chasing round after a barrel and
after a lot of manoeveuring we picked it up. It was only an
oil barrel probably drifted here from MacQuarrie Is. where they
use a lot of barrels for penguin oil etc. Anyway we satisfied
our selves that it was not a message from distressed mariners
or anything of that sort as it was quite empty.
Thursday Jan
The weather
is still very dirty and we have had snow & sleet for tree days
now. We have not sighted ice yet. We started killing sheep today
in earnest we killed a dozen and the decks we covered in blood.
The dogs had a Christmas. We have only six sheep left & they
will be killed tomorrow. Our position is 62º 19" S by dead reckoning
today. When sounding this morning we got a yellow clay bottom
at 2,200 fathoms. We took another sounding at 10 p.m. and got
bottom at 2,150 fathoms. I have had wet feet continually since
we left Hobart as our seaboots are not watertight. The wind
is increasing tonight and is raising a bit of a sea but we are
in calmer latitudes now than we were a week ago.
Friday Jan 10th
When we came
on deck today we found it very calm although there was a slight
swell on. the ship was hove to for a sounding alongside a lot
of drift ice. During the early hours of the morning we sighted
many icebergs. the sounding was 2,100 fathoms with a clay bottom.
I relieved the wheel at midday and the course took me into the
ice which got thicker until the course was altered. We have
to steer clear of the larger pieces and the ship punches the
rest aside out of her way of course her bows and forefoot are
shod with steel to smash ice with. There are numerous birds
around the ship such as Albatross Blue-billies and a few nightbirds.
Our position is 63º 50' S lat by 148º E. Long. the temperature
is 33º. The temperature at midnight was 32º. We killed the last
of the sheep to-day and were not sorry either.
Saturday Jan 11th
Our watch came on deck at 4 o'clock this morning and found
the weather like a typical Australian Jan morning except for
the cold. The sun was shining and it was very calm & still.
The temperature was 31º. At 5.30 we took a sounding and got
a yellow clay bottom at 1,950 fathoms. We had icebergs round
us all the morning and at dinner time when we took a sounding
were close to a very large patch of drift ice. The sounding
was 1,620 fathoms clay bottom we entered the drift at 12.30
and it was fairly heavy it was the prettiest sight I have ever
seen. The blue sea with the white lumps of ice shining in the
sunlight and some of the larger pieces showing a bright blue.
The old ship trembled and shuddered when she was punching big
lumps. We got clear of the drift ice about 3.30 and steered
West along the edge of it passing only a few small pieces here
and there with tremendous bergs in the distance. We saw several
seals lying on the drift ice and later a couple of whales. We
have been getting the whale boat & harpoons lances etc. ready
this afternoon. We also saw penguins Antarctic Petrels & Mother
Carey's chickens. A large whale crossed our bows at 4.15 this
afternoon and nearly collided with us, he spouted right under
our bows. We took another sound at 5.30 this afternoon and got
1,480 fathoms and rock bottom. The weather is still fine and
except for slight swell the sea is like glass. The temperature
is 32º. We were steering S.W. by W. till 6.30 when course was
altered to W. again. We have made fine headway to-day & tonight
and are now nearly 65º S latitude or over 10 degrees further
South than Cape Horne which most sailors considered as "away
South" We are now in glorious weather and have sing-songs every
night through the dog-watches in the forecastle. The Esq dogs
were quite glad to sight ice and were in great excitement when
we were punching through the ice drift.
Next
Page 2 - in Antarctica
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2001 