Interviews done by Matthew Leonard in 2002 for Antarctica NZ and Radio New Zealand on the experiences of New Zealanders on the ice.
Murray explains how his grandfather came down on the Surat to the Catlins where he started a business in the Kaikorai Valley. Arthur Ellis and Co. first started their bedding business with elementary mattresses, later employing inner springs and branched out into sleeping bags because of his father’s inspiration. A keen climber and one of the founders of the Otago Alpine Club, his father designed the Fairydown sleeping bag in response to experiencing wet blankets during a climbing trip in Mount Aspiring. The Fairydown sleeping bag became world famous after Ed Hillary endorsed it on his Mount Everest expedition.
He was educated at Waitaki Boys High School, Kaikorai Valley (1938-1942) where his interest in mountains and the Antarctic was nurtured. One of the house masters Ben Bryant had been part of Eric Shipton’s reconnaissance party that ventured into the Himalayas in 1935 and he was responsible for taking the boys up to Mount Cook skiing, kindling a genuine enthusiasm for the Alpine terrain and building strength of character.
The Scott Memorial function was an annual part of the school calendar with the school’s hall of memories impressively displaying Bower’s sledging flag and Scott’s pipe. According to Ellis the memorial represented the courage and fortitude of the English and maintained a connection to the empire.
Ellis entered the war as a pilot, returning to New Zealand in 1946. He studied for two years at the University of Otago completing an Intermediate in Engineering as Ellis had always anticipated joining the family business as an engineer. In 1952 he married his wife Shirley, who shared a keen interest with the outdoors and enjoyed their annual winter ski trips to Lake Ohau.
In 1955 Ellis applied for the Transantarctic Expedition team after seeing an advertisement in the paper (along with 165 other New Zealanders). Once through a couple of ‘psychological’ papers he was interviewed by the recruitment panel where he was appointed member of the dog team. The main objective of this integral element of the expedition was to explore the plateau and establish the site for a permanent base.
There was a formal and memorable training period on the Tasman Glacier where they were taught how to sledge with dogs. The Englishmen, Dr George Marsh and Richard Brooke and New Zealander Harry Ayres were also on the dog team. Dr George Marsh was particularly experienced having previously been to Antarctica. They learnt how to skin and butcher horses in order to feed the dogs. Ellis loved working with the dogs.
Ellis remembers there being a general interest from the press though there was no great publicity about their departure. Ellis sailed to the Antarctic on the vessel called the Endeavour, nicknamed “the little wooden pea pot” and notes their voyage was 40 years on from Scott’s departure.
Once on the ice Jim Bates and Murray Ellis worked 12 hours a day in intense mechanical activity, having the charge of power and structures. Ellis’ metabolism allowed him to work without gloves out in the field on the tractors. Sundays were cook’s day off so they took turns (in pairs) to cook. There would be a happy hour prior to the meal in the mess hut where a radiogram played lots of records, this was followed by a radio broadcast organised by Arthur Helm of the Ross Sea Committee. Families of the crew talked over the wireless to the group and though it was wonderful to hear the enthusiasm in their voices there was no privacy or exchange in the conversation.
Ed Hillary had authority over the 23 crew members who got on well together. The surveyor Bob Miller was compared to Wilson of Scott’s expedition, acting as mediator, having the ability to calm everyone down. Miller took a service on Sundays which by the end of the expedition was well attended reflecting the spirit and manner with which he conducted himself. The crew took turns lecturing once a week, the subject of which was free reign according to the individual’s interests - Ellis says he gave one on sleeping bags.
Out on the plateau the field party included (amongst others) Ed Hillary, Peter Mulgrew, Richard Brookes, Dr George Marsh and Jim Bates. They had to lay ‘Depot 700’ which was 500 miles from the South Pole. They had teams of huskies, tractors and a weasel. Modifications had been made to tractors to deal with the conditions; the additions of a crash bar, the caboose, screens around the front of the engine, repositioning the batteries (so the heat of the engine kept them from freezing). Starting the tractors was quite a job, so they put kerosene in the radiators and diluted the oil. The Americans also gave them battery operated heaters to heat the tractor engine if blocked by the cold, once Ellis said they even used a blow lamp. They were constantly problem solving, making it up as they went along. Finaly the thrust bearing went on the weasel, there were no spares so made a plain bearing and dropped oil on it which worked for a short time but they had to leave it out in the middle of nowhere in the end.
Dogs would go out a head, the path of the tractors was often different with each tractor roped together with nylon heavy rope to prevent losing people down crevasses. Jim Bates went down one time and the weight and power of the two additional tractors pulled him out. They slept in bivouacs, tents and a caboose and travelled at night when the sun was out. This enabled Ed Hillary to use a sun dial compass to navigate (the magnetic compass not functioning in the South Pole). No time pressure existed, their progress was purely dictated by surface conditions. Although fuel was in short supply Fuchs was not keen for them to use the Americans fuel as the expedition had been sponsored by BP.
Once Ed Hillary had made the decision to go on to the South Pole from Depot 700 everyone pulled together. They were fortunate that the conditions getting to the pole were favourable with clear skies. Ellis says that ravelling across the polar plateau was like travelling across the desert, there are no land marks and so had to keep faith that Ed’s navigation was keeping them on track.
East and West sides of the pole were flagged by the Americans for supply drops whilst the pole itself was hidden within a ring of empty fuel barrels. They arrived at the station on 4th January 1958 and received a great reception. Ellis says they flew back in the Neptune, leaving Peter Mulgrew behind to work the radio and keep in touch with Fuchs who arrived later on the 18th January.
The Endeavour was full so Ellis took the Greenhill Victory US Navy supply ship back to NZ. After arriving in Lyttelton he left for the North Island with Shirley for a break and to get to know each other again. His family and the factory staff welcomed him home and were proud of his achievement. Ellis was happy to return to the family business.
He returned to the Antarctic on a six week expedition with Ed Hillary in 1967. He was chosen for his engineering savvy and previous experience. They had sno-cats and the Americans gave them a weasel. Ellis describes how the Antarctic Heritage had restored Scott’s Hutt, recreating the atmosphere that Scott must have experienced lying in his bunk with no radio. He refers to Antarctica as being the biggest laboratory in the world (an area 43 times the size of New Zealand) and fully supports New Zealand’s involvement there.
Ellis thoroughly enjoyed his experience and describes the terrific comradeship that existed between members of the expedition which have resulted in many reunions.