One of these took place when they landed after the hurricane on the coast of South Georgia. The bumping of their tiny craft — a 22ft whaleboat — on the shore dislodged the rudder, and it floated out to sea. The next day, and the next, the bay was frozen over; but on the third day there came a thaw, and then they saw something bobbing about in the water. They found it was their rudder.
"With all the wide Southern Ocean to choose from," said Sir Ernest, "it had come back to us there."
Then, when they were crossing the glaciers in their journey over South Georgia to Stromness Bay, with huge crevasses to either side of them, the path of the moonlight just illuminated the best path for them to tread; and, as the moon rose on through the night, and the path of the moonlight changed its direction, it still lighted up just the course that they had to follow. Again, the whaler from Stromness Bay, the trawler from Uruguay, and the 70-ton Chilian schooner were prevented by the thick ice from getting to Elephant Island to rescue his 22 comrades. None of the vessels was sufficiently stoutly built to venture through the heavy ice. Some said that the ice would never open up and let them through, but when they tried again, in the Chilian steamer Yelcho, the ice did open up. The ice had been all round the island only two days before they reached it, but on the day they got there the ice had gone, and they were able to approach the island and rescue their comrades.
• In the Kaitangata Court on Thursday, before Mr H. A. Young, S. M., Constable Martin prosecuted himself on a charge of riding his bicycle without a light at Stirling in October. He explained that he left home at 2.30 p.m. on his bicycle on police work in Inchclutha, expecting to catch the train at Stirling, but his bicycle chain broke, and the repairing of it delayed him considerably. As it was necessary that he should be in Kaitangata, he was compelled to ride his machine. It was not dark, although, as the by-law said "sunset to sunrise", it was a breach, but only a technical one. He was convicted and discharged.
• The Women’s Christian Temperance Union has circularised the ministers of the different churches in Greymouth, asking for their help in bringing about greater social purity. The letter points out the great ravages caused by impure living, and asks that more may be done by ministers of religion, by education and other means, to stamp out an evil which shows a tendency to assume larger proportions. — ODT, 9.12.1916.
• COPIES OF PICTURE AVAILABLE FROM ODT FRONT OFFICE, LOWER STUART ST, OR WWW.OTAGOIMAGES.CO.NZ
