<a href="https://nfsa.gov.au/"><img src="assets/NFSA_logo_white.png" alt="Logo of the National Film and Sound Archive (Australia)" class="logo" style="max-height:80px"/></a>
<img src="assets/HomeOfTheBlizzard-landingpage.png" alt="Film still reads Home of the Blizzard Frank Hurley 1913 with men leaning into a blizzard"/>
<h1>Home of the Blizzard: An Antarctic Adventure</h1>
Can you make your way through the blizzard?
[[[[Enter game|Instructions]]]]
Travel back in time to 1911 and join Sir Douglas Mawson (//before// he was a Sir) on his Australasian Antarctic Expedition, as he charts a path across lands previously unencountered by humans.
You’re in control. You choose your own adventure through the snow and ice.
But where will you end up in this hazardous, hostile continent?
There are five possible endings, with five different scores. Can you find the best route and make it to the end alive?
And beware, watch out for a terrifying beast somewhere on your journey.
Good Luck!
[[[[Enter game|Instructions]]]]
''About Home of the Blizzard ''
This game was developed from a partnership with the Centre for Digital Humanities Research, Australian National University. Students were invited to create digital interactive prototypes using archival content from the NFSA collection. Home of the Blizzard: An Antarctic Adventure was developed from an original idea by student, Sophia Booij.
''For teachers''
The Home of the Blizzard game links to multiple themes and topics in the Australian Curriculum including; English, Science, History, Humanities and Media Arts. We have prepared a teachers’ guide to help stimulate discussion, research and activities with the game.
<a href="https://nfsa.gov.au/home-blizzard-teachers-guide" target="_blank">DOWNLOAD THE HOME OF THE BLIZZARD TEACHERS' GUIDE</a>
''Please note:'' This game is a fictionalised account based on real events. It is not intended to always be historically accurate. All moving footage is from the silent film, //Home of the Blizzard// (1913) by Frank Hurley, preserved in the collection of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
You are a climate researcher and have been chosen to be part of the next Australian Antarctic Expedition!
You jump on a flight to Hobart, Tasmania to join the expedition.
After arriving, you spot a large, orange ship bobbing in the harbour.
It’s the //Aurora Australis//!
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<p>The //Aurora Australis// was launched in 1989 and decommissioned in 2020. It will be replaced by the //RSV Nuyina// in 2021. ‘Nuyina’ means ‘southern lights’ in palawa kani, the language of the Tasmanian Aborigines.</p>
<p class="imgCredits">//Photo//: //Aurora Australis// by sallysetsforth is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.</p>
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(//Psst, remember you can click on pictures to find out more!//)
As you head down the jetty towards the ship you trip over something small. It’s an old film canister with faint writing on the side.
You pick it up.
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<p>//Home of the Blizzard// was Frank Hurley’s own title for the film he shot on the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911–1914. //Image//: Sol Blackshaw.</p>
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You notice the words //Home of the Blizzard// written on its side.
You immediately feel dizzy...
The world starts to spin...
Everything suddenly goes dark...
[[...you slowly wake up...|Aurora > Talk to someone nearby]]When you wake up something is very, very wrong!
'Are you alright, mate?', asks a passerby.
You look around and everyone appears to be in old-fashioned clothes. You look down and so are you!
At the end of the dock the //Aurora Australis// has been relaced by a wooden steam and sailing ship called the //Aurora//.
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<p>The Aurora was purchased by Douglas Mawson in 1910. It was a wooden sailing ship with additional engines. In 1917, on a trip from Newcastle, NSW to Chile with a cargo of coal, the Aurora disappeared without a trace. //Image source//: Cool Antarctica.</p>
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A newspaper drifts past.
You look at the date.
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<p>This front page news headline may not be the real one from 1911, but Tasmania's newspaper, //The Mercury//, has been published in Hobart since 1854 making it one of Australia's oldest continually published newspapers.</p>
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It reads, ''Saturday December 2, 1911''
Oh no! What's happening?
Is it possible? Have you travelled... ''BACK IN TIME''?!
You start to panic and...
[[...look for someone to explain what's happened|Primmer > approach/don’t approach student]]You run up to a man who is setting up a film camera and ask what's going on.
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<p>This is actually a photo of Frank Hurley, not Richard Primmer, with his camera on the much later Banzare expedition, 1929-1930. //Photo//: R. J. Ross.
//Image source//: National Library of Australia.</p>
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'Don't you know?', he says, 'The Australasian Antarctic Expedition is about to set sail. Mawson, the man leading the expedition, wanted me to accompany them as the official photographer but that upstart Frank Hurley got the job. Anyway, I'm Richard Primmer from Gaumont Films, leading journalist and cinematographer.'
You try to stay calm and introduce yourself as a student of...science.
Primmer says, 'Oh, I see, so you're here to try and get on the expedition. Well, you didn't hear it from me but Madigan is considering dropping out. If you're interested why don't you go and ask him? And if you see Hurley pass on the message that Gaumont Films doesn't tolerate failure, or poor footage!'
You thank Primmer and....
[[Approach Madigan|Approach the student]]
[[Leave the student alone|ENDING 1 / didn’t board ship]]{<div>
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<p> Cecil Madigan (1889 – 1947), was an Australian explorer, geologist, academic, aerial surveyor, meteorologist and author. He served as an officer of the British Army in the First World War. //Image source//: State Library of South Australia.
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You meet meteorologist Cecil Madigan. he confides in you that on the way from the mainland he found he got terribly seasick.
Hearing that you're interested in joining the expedition he offers you his letter of invitation from the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science.
'Oh, my mother will just love this,' he says. 'She's been trying to get me thrown off this expedition for months! Just hand this letter to Mawson. He'll be glad to have you on board'.
[[Board the //Aurora//|Board the Aurora]]
[[Stay on the dock|Ending 3]]Without permission to join the team you cannot board the //Aurora//.
You are left behind on the dock, stuck in 1911...forever!
#GAME OVER
''Where's your sense of adventure?''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin"/>
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]{<div>
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<p> The expedition had to be largely self-sufficient. Almost 21 tonnes of food and fuel was stored on board. They also took with them sewing machines, gramophones, a piano, a library of books (including encyclopaedias and volumes of polar journeys) and a typewriter.
//Photo//: Percy Gray.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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On the dock men are busy loading supplies for the expedition.
While trying not to trip over boxes you spot the leader of the expedition, Douglas Mawson, and approach him.
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<p> Sir Douglas Mawson (1882–1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, military officer and academic. He was a key figure during what has been called the ‘Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration’ and led the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911–1914). Mawson was knighted in 1914.
//Photo//: J Thompson.
//Image source//: State Library of South Australia.
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You introduce yourself and hand him the letter of introduction Madigan gave you.
Mawson says, 'Ah, have you come to fill Madigan's position? Poor chap suffers from terrible seasickness and we cannot have that on this expedition!'
He looks at you very closely and asks, 'How would you describe your moral qualities?'.
[[I'm not sure]]
[[They're good|Sound, Sir.]]
You watch the //Aurora// sail away.
You're jostled by the crowd on the dock and panic when you realise you're stuck in Hobart in 1911 and have no way to go back to the future!
#GAME OVER
''You should have gone with the ship!''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin"/>
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]'Not sure? Not sure?!', barks Mawson.
You panic and break down. The day's events have become too much for you.
You tell Mawson your whole story about finding a film canister and travelling back in time to 1911.
'Are you mad? There is no such thing as time travel!', yells Mawson.
He thinks you're crazy and has you thrown off the ship.
You are now stuck in 1911 with no way of getting back to your own time.
#GAME OVER
''Maybe you should have said your moral qualities are good.''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin"/>
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]'That's exactly what I am looking for! You can take Madigan's position as our Cape Denison meteorologist. Welcome aboard', says Mawson.
Mawson strides away, busy preparing the //Aurora's// departure.
Despite being shocked by the day's events, you lean over the ship's railing and watch the crowd on the dock waving farewell as you and the ship slowly leave Hobart for Antarctica.
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You see a man holding a camera.
You wonder if it's Frank Hurley, the man Primmer told you about.
[[Introduce yourself|Meet Hurley]]{<div>
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<p> James Francis ‘Frank’ Hurley (1885–1962) was an Australian photographer and adventurer. He participated in a number of expeditions to Antarctica and served as an official photographer with the Australian Defence Force during both the First and Second World Wars.
//Image source//: Australian Antarctic Program.
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You approach the man and introduce yourself.
As you suspect, he is the young photographer Frank Hurley, the man who has replaced Richard Primmer on the expedition.
Should you pass on Primmer's message that that there will be consequences if the footage of the expedition is not good quality.
[[Yes]]
[[No. Better to say nothing|Ending 4]]<img src="assets/Frank Hurley.jpg " alt="Portrait of Frank Hurley"/>
Hurley laughs,'That sounds like Primmer alright. Forget Primmer, this may be my first Antarctic expedition but I know what I'm doing'.
'I'm about to head over and shoot some film of the sled dogs. Would you like to come?', he asks.
[[Sure, I love dogs|To The Dogs]]
[[No thanks|Deck or dinner?]]<img src="assets/Frank Hurley.jpg " alt="Portrait of Frank Hurley"/>
You ask Hurley about his experience and he explains that although it's his first Antarctic expedition he is confident in his abilities.
He also tells you how he convinced Mawson to pick him over Primmer:
'I bribed a train conductor, you know, so I could corner Mawson and talk my way into the job. Then, after that dratted letter was sent, Gaumont Films sent me to get a full medical clearance for the trip! But it helped that I offered to work for free. Well, it's my win in the end. Ahh, looks like we're approaching some rough seas. I'll stay here and do some filming, but you should go below deck and get yourself some dinner'.
[[See about Dinner|Dinner]]
[[Stay on deck|Ending]]Instead of tagging along with Hurley, you wonder if you should stay above deck or go below and find out about dinner.
[[Stay topside|Ending]]
[[See about dinner|Dinner]]There are over 50 Greenland sled-dogs on the ship.
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Hurley introduces you to their handlers, Xavier Mertz and Belgrave Ninnis.
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<p> //Left//: Xavier Mertz (1882 – 1913) was a Swiss polar explorer, mountaineer and competitive skier. He joined Belgrave Ninnis and Douglas Mawson exploring unknown coastal regions in Antarctica. He died trying to return to basecamp with Mawson after Ninnis had also died when he fell into a crevasse.
//Right//: Belgrave Ninnis (1887 – 1912) was jogging beside his sledge when he disappeared into a crevasse with his sled dogs and most of the team’s supplies.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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They chat to you about their time in Europe while they feed the dogs.
'Speaking of food', says Ninnis, 'What about we head below deck to dinner?'
[[Thanks, but I think I'll stay here|Ending]]
[[Good idea, let's go have dinner|Dinner]]Below deck you meet Charles Sandell.
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<p>Charles Sandell (1886 – 1980) was a wireless operator and mechanic on the expedition.
//Image source//: National Library of Australia.
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He is one of the team members charged with setting up the wireless station on Macquarie Island.
He tells you that dinner tonight is pork roast, to celebrate the beginning of the expedition.
'Enjoy it while you can. You won't be getting meat like this or fresh vegetables for a while', says Sandell.
The dinner looks delicous but you're also feeling a bit seasick.
Do you...
[[Skip dinner]]
[[Eat Dinner]]Despite warnings from the crew you decide to stay on deck.
It starts to rain heavily.
The deck gets slippery.
You're unfamiliar with sailing ships and lean a little too far over the railing.
''You fall overboard! ''
Nobody saw you fall and the sea is freezing cold.
You yell desperately for help but no one hears you.
The //Aurora// sails away and you slowly drown.
#GAME OVER
''Maybe going below deck might have been a better idea.''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin"/>
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]You skip dinner with the crew, preferring to get an early night.
But later on you feel hungry and head to the galley for something to eat.
You spot a tin of biscuits.
<img src="assets/Douglas Mawson.jpg" alt="Douglas Mawson"/>
Just as you are about to eat the first one, a voice from the darkness says, 'A midnight snack, eh?'.
You turn around and it's Mawson!
You share some biscuits with him and he tells you about the expedition, showing you a roughly drawn map.
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<p> Mawson’s original hand drawn map showed he planned to explore over 3,000 km of Antarctic coastline.
//Image source//: South Australian Museum.
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'The plan is to travel first to Macquarie Island, set up a station there, and then travel on to Antarctica. In Antarctica, the expedition will set up the main base at Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay, then another two bases along the coast. Frank Wild, who has previous Antarctic experience, will lead the Western Party and Herbert Dyce Murphy will lead the final base'.
'Reaching the South Pole has already been done', scoffs Mawson, 'What we are focused on is the serious endeavour of //science//! Sure, there will be adventure and whatnot, but scientific discovery is our main aim!'
Just before you head back to bed, Mawson assigns you a regular night watch shift. The worst shift. Must have been because you skipped dinner.
At least tonight you can...
[[...go to sleep|Weeks Pass]]At dinner you meet the rest of the 31-person team.
Most are students and have never been to Antarctica before.
The pork roast looks delicious!
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<p>While in Antarctica the diet of the men included large amounts of seal and penguin meat. Sledging parties also relied on Plasmon biscuits.</p>
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During the meal, Mawson shows everyone a hand-drawn map of the intended journey.
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<p> Mawson’s original hand drawn map showed he planned to explore over 3,000 km of Antarctic coastline.
//Image source//: South Australian Museum.
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After you eat, everyone draws straws to see who will be on night watch duties up on deck.
By the time the straws get to you there are only three left.
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<p>Drawing straws is a very old method of picking who will have to undertake a task. It even appears in //The Canterbury Tales//, written by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. //Image source//: free Adobe stock image by Leo.
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Which do you choose?
[[Left|First Straw]]
[[Middle|Second Straw]]
[[Right|Third Straw]]Over the next nine days you fall into a regular routine.
On the ninth day, the 11 December, you sight Macquarie Island for the first time.
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Should you go ashore with the rest of the crew?
[[Yes|Go Ashore]]
[[No|Stay on board]]Unlucky!
You've drawn the shortest straw.
You can't go to bed now because you have to stay up all night keeping watch on deck.
The next day, as the sun rises over the horizon, you head below and...
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<p> Just before sunrise or at sunset, when the barest edge of the sun is still visible above the horizon, it will sometimes flash green. This is a meteorological optical phenomena that can be most clearly seen at sea. //Image source//: Creative commons, ‘Feb 17, 2015 - sunrise on the beach, 04’ by Ed Yourdon is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
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[[...go to sleep|Weeks Pass]]Lucky!
You didn't draw the shortest straw.
You head to bed and...
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<p> //Image source//: ‘Recreated Jamestown, VA’ by buhny is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
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[[...go to sleep|Weeks Pass]]Lucky guess!
You haven't drawn the shortest straw.
You head to bed and...
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<p> //Image source//: ‘Recreated Jamestown, VA’ by buhny is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
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[[...go to sleep|Weeks Pass]]Along with the others you head ashore to set up the Macquarie Island station.
Over the next two weeks you help construct the buildings and install the massive wireless pole that will relay messages between the main base in Antarctica and Hobart.
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Your team uses an old flying-fox pulley that sealers had previously set up to haul blubber.
At one point the pole almost slips but you catch it just in time to stop it crushing Mawson.
A plan is presented detailing how the hut is to be built.
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<p> Plan of the Macquarie Island expedition hut.
//Image source//: Mawson’s Huts Foundation.
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Two days later, on the 13 December, the rest of the expedition's stores arrive on the ship, the //Toroa//, along with an additional 17 expedition members.
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<p> The //Toroa// was a ship that traded between Melbourne and Tasmanian ports. //Image source//: Cool Antarctica.
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You help unload around 50 sheep and lots of coal. The //Toroa// leaves on the 16th, carrying with it the last mail from the expeditioners and a large amount of sea-elephant oil.
Once the station is set up you have some free time. You spot a line of penguins walking up into the hills.
Do you follow them?
[[Yes. The penguins are just so cute|Follow Penguins]]
[[No. Leave the little guys alone|Ending 6]]You decide to stay on board and watch the landing party depart, taking with them the prefabricated pieces needed to set up the research station.
In addition, they take the large wireless pole meant for the top of a nearby mountain.
Over the next week you tend to your duties and only occassionally go ashore to exercise the dogs.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551290013?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="5_Animals on Macquarie"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
One day, as you watch the seals and penguins on the shore, you hear a mighty crash.
''Oh no! The wireless pole has fallen and crushed someone!''
When they bring the body back to the ship you realise it was Mawson.
Without its leader the expedition cannot continue.
The //Aurora// heads back to Australia.
The expedition is a failure.
#GAME OVER
''What a terrible way for the expedition to come to an end.''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin"/>
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]You follow the penguins up the cliffs...
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551316445?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="11_Follow penguins Macquarie"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
...and come upon a spectacular landscape.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551317051?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="12_Macquarie landscape"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
Hurley is already there, filming it all.
He points out the penguin 'digesting' huts in the distance, where penguins are harvested year-round by a New Zealand company for their oil. Hurley makes sure he doesn't capture //that// in his film.
The thought of anyone hurting penguins makes you very angry.
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<p>Over two million penguins were killed for their oil, dramatically reducing their numbers on the island before an international campaign put an end to the industry.
//Image source//: New Zealand Geographic.
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You then...
[[...head down to the beach|Head to the beach]]Instead of following the penguins you head down towards the beach and see some seals.
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There is a sealer's hut in the distance.
You remember Mawson telling you about how the island's seal population had been decimated by sealers who harvest seals for their blubber and oil.
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<p> Joseph Hatch (1837 – 1928) was a New Zealand politician who became very wealthy harvesting oil from penguins and elephant seals on Macquarie Island. Over two million penguins were killed for their oil, dramatically reducing their numbers on the island before an international campaign put an end to the industry.
//Image source//: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
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'Now there is this new bloke,' said Mawson with contempt. 'A New Zealander, Joseph Hatch, who is slaughtering as many penguins as he can get his hands on for their oil. I will do my best to put an end to this when we return to Australia.'
You decide to steer clear of the huts in the distance and instead approach some seals lying about on the beach.
You think, 'I wonder what would happen if I tickled a Weddell seal? Or if I poked an elephant seal?'
[[Tickle a Weddell seal|Tickle]]
[[Poke an elephant seal|Fight Elephant]]When you arrive at the beach, you realise the ship is about to depart.
Those staying behind include the meteorologist George Ainsworth and wireless operator, Charles Sandell, who you have become friends with during the journey so far.
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<p> //Left//: George Ainsworth (1878 – 1950) was an Australian meteorologist. He established the weather station as well as a radio relay station on Wireless Hill, Macquarie Island, which pioneered the first radio communications between Antarctica and the outside world.
//Photo//: Percy Correll.
//Right//: Charles Sandell (1886 – 1980) was a wireless operator and mechanic on the expedition.
//Image source//: Mawson’s Huts Foundation.
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It's their job to set up and maintain the wireless station that will allow the Antarctic team to contact Hobart, as well as to study and record the ecology of the island.
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<p> View of Wireless Hill, Macquarie Island, from the south. The expedition’s wireless operators used morse code to communicate with the outside world.
//Photo//: Leslie Russel Blake.
//Image source//: National Library of Australia.
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Should you stay on Macquarie Island or continue to Antarctica?
[[Stay on Macquarie Island|Stay on island]]
[[Leave for Antarctica|Leave Macquarie Island]]You tickle a seal and quickly get out of the way when it wakes up!
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551313258?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="9_Macquarie seal tickle"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
Hurley is filming the whole encounter and it's great fun. You look up and see Mawson gesturing for you to come over.
He says, 'You have a choice. Stay here with the Macquarie Island team or continue with us to Antarctica. Just a warning though, the journey from here on will be much more dangerous.'
What do you do?
[[Stay on Macquarie Island|Stay on island]]
[[Leave for Antarctica|Leave Macquarie Island]]
You poke a large elephant seal and it roars at you.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551312439?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="8_Elephant seal leaves"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
Tired of you annoying it, the seal retreats into the ocean.
You hope that the team staying behind don't have to hunt it for meat. But there are only so many stores that could be brought by ship and seal and penguin are some of the best sources of meat around.
Mawson starts waving at you from the landing boat and you realise the ship is about to leave. The only people left behind will be the researchers needed to run the wireless station.
Should you...
[[Stay on Macquarie island?|Stay on island]]
[[Leave for Antarctica?|Leave Macquarie Island]]You stay with the five-person research team on Macquarie Island.
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<p> The Macquarie Island team.// From left to right//: Sandell, Ainsworth (Leader), Sawyer, Hamilton, Blake.
//Image source//: State Library of New South Wales.
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The island sits on the edge of two colliding tectonic plates and there are regular earthquakes. It rains there almost every day, with the relative humidity normally 90%.
Over the next year you help record these phenomena as well as assist the team collecting specimens, operating the wireless and hunting for food - mostly seal meat.
As your stores run lower and lower your team strikes up a friendship with some sealers also living on the island and you trade food with each other.
You also get extremely constipated from eating too much seal meat and no vegetables!
A year passes, but the //Aurora// never comes back. Something must have happened to it at sea.
At the beginning of 1913 you and the team head back to Hobart aboard the brigantine //Rachel Cohen//.....
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<p>The brigantine //Rachel Cohan// was built in 1871. //Image source//: State Library of Queensland.
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....a ship originally meant to drop off supplies on the island.
Since the expedition never returned, you are unable to travel back to the future. However, inspired by the unique ecology of Macquarie Island and the exploitation of penguins and seals you witnessed there, you spend the rest of your days as a revolutionary conservationist.
Some say you were ahead of your time!
#GAME OVER
''Maybe this ending isn't so bad really.''
[[Next|Credits]]You and the remaining crew row back to the //Aurora// and set sail once more.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551317886?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="13_Sail away Macquarie"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
The next stop will be Antarctica!
As the weeks pass the weather becomes more and more treacherous.
One afternoon in early 1912 Ninnis asks if you could go and feed the dogs?
[[No problem, I'll feed the dogs|Feed Dogs]]
[[No way! Make an excuse|Ending 7]]
You feed the dogs, giving your favourites, Pavlova and Basilisk, their food first.
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Once the dogs are fed you lean on the railing and enjoy the refreshing cold air.
In the distance you spot something bobbing in the water. It's a small iceberg!
You race to the front of the ship and watch as more and more ice drifts past.
You hear a shout!
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<p> 18 members of the expedition lived for up to two years in the wooden buildings at Commonwealth Bay. They still exist today .
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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You have officially reached Antarctica! (well, you've reached the outer edge of Commonwealth Bay at least).
From now on sailing becomes more dangerous.
You have been asked to take emergency watch on deck that night.
Do you accept?
[[No|Ending 8]]
[[Yes|Emergency Watch]]
You get out of feeding the dogs and instead spend your time writing in your diary, recording the events of the expedition so far.
Your diary also contains the story of your time travel, so you guard it and plan to only give it to Mawson once you're safely back in Hobart.
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<p> Journals and diaries provide us with important details of history but are not always reliable. //Photo//: Taylor Liberato licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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Immersed in your writing, you don't immediately hear the shout.
Then you see Hurley stumble past with his camera equipment.
Seeing you, he says, 'What are you doing down here?! We've arrived at Commonwealth Bay!'
You immediately...
[[...follow Hurley above deck|Follow Hurley]]Another crew member takes the watch and you drift peacefully off to sleep.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551323559?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="17_Hull through ice"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
That is, until you feel a massive crash and hear alarm bells ringing.
There is water filling the corridor as you struggle to make it to the deck, and when you do you realise that the ship must have hit an iceberg!
The person on watch must have fallen asleep and missed it!
You stumble over to the lifeboats, but they won't release.
As the ship starts to sink you remember the tragedy of the //Titanic// in 1912 (which of course hasn't happened yet).
The //Aurora// quickly sinks and everyone on board drowns.
#GAME OVER
''If only //you// had taken the watch instead! ''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin"/>
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]You take the emergency watch and keep an eye out for any dangerous looking icebergs.
You remember the tragedy of the //Titanic// that sank on 15 April 1912 (a tragedy which hasn't happened yet!).
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<p> Is this the iceberg that sunk the //Titanic//? Some people seem to think so. The townships of Ballarat and Broken Hill both have memorials commemorating the band members who perished on the //Titanic//. It was reported that the band played the hymn, 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' while the ship sank.
//Photo//: Stephen Rehorek, 1912.
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Knowing this, do you...
[[Stay vigilant]]
[[Fall Asleep|Go to sleep]]You watch in awe as the //Aurora// sails by massive chunks of ice.
You remind yourself that although they're beautiful, they are also a deadly risk to the ship.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551322918?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="16_Ice arrives big 2"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
Because of the danger of the increasing ice field you are asked to take emergency watch that night.
Do you accept?
[[No|Ending 8]]
[[Yes|Emergency Watch]]
Your constant vigilance pays off!
You spot a half-submerged iceberg in the ship's way and alert the captain to change course just in time.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551323559?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="17_Hull through ice_LOADED"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
The next morning the //Aurora// arrives at Cape Denison.
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<p> The Aurora at Cape Denison
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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Do you go ashore?
[[Yes, go ashore|Go to shore]]
[[No, stay on the ship]]
You're exhausted...
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...and fall asleep.
You fail to see the iceberg in the Aurora's path!
The //Aurora// crashes into it and quickly starts to sink.
You drown with the rest of the crew in the icy waters.
#GAME OVER
''If only you had stayed awake!''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin"/>
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]You tag along with Hurley and others to explore the Cape in a smaller vessel.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551324443?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="19_To shore Commonwealth Bay"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
When you return to the ship it has been decided that this is the perfect place for the expedition's base.
Over the next few weeks you help establish the huts and meteorological stations.
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<p> Eric Webb (1889–1984) was an engineer and magnetician.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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They weren't kidding when they said this was the windiest place on Earth!
Eric Webb, one of the teams magneticians, tells you:
'We're lucky the blizzard hasn't set in yet'.
'What do you mean?,' you ask.
'Well, we reckon that for about nine months of the year there is a continuous blizzard across this section of Adélie Land'.
With that thought, you make sure you have all the appropriate snow gear, including large seal skin mittens!
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<p> Natural materials such as fur, animals skins and wool were used to protect explorers from the intense cold.
//Image Source//: State Archives and Records, NSW.
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It's then time for the //Aurora// to head off to explore Antarctica to the west and then return to Hobart. Do you...
[[Leave on the //Aurora//|Leave with Captain Davis]]
[[Stay at Cape Denison]]Instead of going ashore you stay on the ship and anchor near a large ice shelf.
You help harvest ice for the //Aurora's// water supply.
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Mawson calls a meeting.
He's decided this is the perfect place to establish the expedition's main base.
The team sets about unloading all the necessary supplies. You also assist with building the huts that the team will live in for the next year.
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<p> Main hut construction with the stove already in use. Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth and the stove needed to be kept running at all times.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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Once complete, it's time for the //Aurora// to return to Australia, along the way dropping off a smaller team to set up the second base near the Shackleton Ice Shelf.
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<p> Captain John Davis (1884 – 1967), was the captain of the //Aurora//. He was described by many as the greatest captain in Antarctic history but was nicknamed ‘Gloomy’ because of his reserved personality.
//Photo//: Swaine Studios.
//Image source//: Australian Antarctic program.
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Captain Davis, second in command of the expedition, gives you a choice.
You can either stay with the team at the main base or travel back on the Aurora...
[[Leave on the //Aurora//|Leave with Captain Davis]]
[[Stay at Cape Denison]]You decide to leave the main team behind...
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...and journey further west on the //Aurora//.
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<p> Biologist Charles Harrisson (1866 – 1914) made the traps used on the voyage to obtain specimens from the depths of the Southern Ocean.
//Photo//: Morton Moyes.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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Back out in open water the crew are busy.
Charles Harrisson, the western team's biologist, is collecting water samples.
Other crew members are working the fishing machinery.
Do you help Harrisson or the others?
[[Help collect water samples|Water Samples]]
[[Go fishing|Go Fishing]]You decide to stay at the main base to explore the shoreline some more.
Coming across a trail of penguins leading into the hills, do you....
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[[Follow them?|Follow Penguins 2]]
[[Keep following the shoreline?|Explore shoreline]]You help Harrisson drop his collecting apparatus into the ocean...
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...and ask him what he is measuring.
'Well, I'm looking for micro plankton in the water,' he says.
You ask about whether he thought the ice caps might melt some day and he stares at you blankly.
Oops, you've forgotten that climate change is not something people at this time know anything about!
It's okay, you manage to pass the comment off as a joke. You leave a slightly confused Harrisson behind peering at samples.
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Soon the waves turn choppy and you decide to head below deck.
Out of the corner of your eye you notice two crew members running to the stairs.
Do you...
[[Keep walking?|Continue on]]
[[Move out of their way?|Let them pass]]
You help the crew check all the machinery...
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551333327?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="29_Fishing machinery"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
...and haul in a catch.
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Included in this are several starfish and a tonne of sea urchins, all of great interest to the biologists on board.
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Soon the waves turn choppy and you decide to head below.
Out of the corner of your eye you notice two crew members running to the stairs.
Do you...
[[Keep walking|Continue on]]
[[Move out of their way|Let them pass]]
The crew jostle you as they go past.
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You almost regain your balance but slip on a fish left over from the recent catch.
You fall over the railing...
...into the ocean...
...and are immediately swallowed by the waves as the //Aurora// sails on.
#GAME OVER
''Maybe get out of the way next time!''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin"/>
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]Knowing that one slip up could cost you your life, you let them pass and safely make your way below deck.
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After several weeks of exploration you finally reach the Shackleton Ice Shelf and set up the western base.
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<p> The //Aurora// alongside the Shackleton Ice Shelf, the location of the Western Base.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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Captain Davis must put the //Aurora// alongside fast ice around 27 kilometres from the coast. With the winter ice pack quickly approaching this is an increasingly dangerous position.
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<p> Frank Wild (1873–1939), was a veteran explorer having been on a number of expeditions for over 20 years. He was also directly related to Captain Cook.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: Wikimedia Commons.
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You to try to find a suitable place for the base with Frank Wild.
Wild makes the decision to construct it near the ice shelf itself, which he is convinced is safe and suitable.
You and the others then help get everything necessary ashore. The team name the base, 'The Grottoes'.
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<p> The Grottoes under construction at Cape Denison. The huts still exist, over 100 years later.
//Photo//: Andrew Watson
//Courtesy//: State Library of NSW.
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On the 21 February the //Aurora// can no longer stay. The ice is setting in and the ship needs to head back to Hobart.
As leader of the Western Party Frank Wild gives you a choice.
Would you like to stay on with them or head back with the Aurora?
[[Get me out of here... //Aurora// it is!|Go back with the Aurora]]
[[I'll stay. The Western Party sounds like an adventure|Stay with Western Party]]
You head back to Hobart on the //Aurora//.
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<p> The Aurora at sea.
//Image source//: Cool Antarctica.
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The trip is much faster now without the heavy expedition supplies and equipment.
Over the next year, no word is received about Mawson or Wild's team.
At the end of 1912 the //Aurora// heads back to Antarctica to pick them up.
You volunteer for the journey.
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<p> Arthur Sawyer (1885-1932) was chief wireless operator at Macquarie Island until August 1913, when he
returned to New Zealand because of illness.
//Image source//: State Libary of NSW.
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When you arrive at Macquarie Island the team are very relieved to see you.
'I don't ever want to eat seals or penguins again,' says Arthur Sawyer, one of the radio operators.
However, when you arrive in Commonwealth Bay and hike to Cape Denison, there is very little to be found, just the wreckage of the huts buried under metres of snow.
What had happened to the team?
After days of searching you cannot find anyone, even the dogs, so the //Aurora// heads to the Western Party's base.
Once there, it is clear that no one has survived. The once stable iceshelf has collapsed.
The //Aurora// travels back to Australia and breaks the sad news.
You can't go back to the future so instead you make a name for yourself as a sailor and eventually rise to the rank of captain, just in time for the start of the First World War in July 1914.
Just before the war ends though, your ship hits a mine and is destroyed.
#GAME OVER
''Oh well, you had an adventurous life anyway.''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin" />
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]You stay with the Western Party, who become increasingly isolated from the rest of the expedition when their two wireless masts break.
{
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<p> Meteorologist Morton Moyes (1886 – 1981) was alone for nine weeks at 'The Grottoes' when Frank Wild and his team were on a sledging trip.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley. //Image source//: Cool Antarctica.
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During the following year Frank Wild leads several sledging expeditions, always leaving behind two people in the Grottoes to keep up with weather readings and maintenance.
However, during the eastern sledging expedition, Morton Moyes, the party's meteorologist, is left alone for over two months. You don't envy him one bit. When you return he says that living alone in Antarctica was the worst experience of his life.
By the third week of January all the sledging parties have returned and everyone is eagerly awaiting the return of the //Aurora//.
Over the next month you all become increasingly worried about the Aurora and keep lookout for the ship - if she hasn't survived nobody will know where the Western Party is!
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<p> Wild, Dovers and Jones on the roof of the Grottoes waiting for the Aurora.
//Photo//: Andrew Watson. //Image source//: Cool Antarctica.
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After several false sightings the Aurora arrives and you all leave Antarctica on 23 February 1913.
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<p> The Aurora at sea.
//Image source//: Cool Antarctica.
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While on board you hear about what caused the Aurora's delay in Cape Denison. Mawson and his team had been missing, but he had returned one day after the Aurora left. Ninnis and Mertz had died while Mawson himself was extremely ill.
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<p> Report of Mawson's extended stay in Antarctica. //Adelaide Register//, 17 March 1913.
//Image source//: South Australian Museum.
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The Aurora sails back to Hobart. The ship would return in 1914 to collect Mawson and those remaining at Cape Denison.
As you leave the ship and step out onto a dock full of well-wishers, you see the //Home of the Blizzard// film canister on the ground.
You immediately turn around and hand Captain Davis your journal, which tells of your journey from the future.
'Give this to Mawson', you say.
Satisfied with your efforts you...
[[...pick up //The Home of the Blizzard//...|Complete 1]]Even though you've seen so many penguins, you still think they're cute so you head into the hills to look at their nests.
Once there you realise it must be hatching season.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551763169?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="Penguins Ad&eacute;lie"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
There are eggs and fledgling penguins everywhere.
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<p> John George Hunter (1888 – 1964) was Mawson’s biologist at Cape Denison.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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The team's biologist, George Hunter, is also everywhere, stealing eggs for the expedition's scientific collection.
The penguins aren't very happy with Hunter moving their eggs about and try to attack him.
After watching several chicks being fed, the wind picks up and you decide to....
[[...head back to the newly built huts|Head to Huts]]You can see the storm brewing on the horizon as you head into the hut. It looks like a big one and being a meteorologist, you would know.
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<p> The team in the kitchen and recreation room of the main hut which they built in extreme weather. The stove was kept burning all day and night.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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'There's a big storm coming', you say to Mawson as you enter. He lets out a disappointed sigh.
'Getting the ice samples will be tricky then,' he says. 'You wouldn't want to volunteer for the job would you?'
[[Sure, blizzards don't bother me|Ice Samples]]
[[Aaah, no thanks. I'll stay indoors where it's warm|Dinner 2]]Tired of penguins by this point, you decide instead to tag along with Charles Laseron, the team's taxidermist and biological collector, who has a keen interest in Antarctic birdlife.
While you explain to the amused Laseron the differences between bird watching, birding and twitching, you see some Skuas eating a seal carcass...
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...and a Skua nest.
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You then spy a pair of Snow Petrels in the rocks.
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<p> Charles Laseron (1887 – 1959) was a naturalist and was wounded during the First World War at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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Laseron busily scribbles notes in his journal.
'This is fabulous stuff!', he says excitedly.
'We should get Hurley to film this', you add.
'Great idea!', says Laseron.
Both of you decide to get Hurley to film these fantastic birds at the earliest opportunity.
For now, you both head back to the huts for dinner.
[[Head to the huts|Head to Huts]]Along with some others you suit up in your special blizzard gear, including your seal fur mittens.
You head outside with pickaxes and a box to hold the samples. When you step through the door the wind almost knocks you all over. You persist and collect the samples, slipping and sliding all over the place!
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The blizzard becomes unbearable and the team heads back inside.
You have dinner, a meal of penguin meat, and head to bed.
Just before you fall asleep you remember you have mess duty the next morning.
[[Wake up at 7:00am|Wake up duty]]Instead of collecting samples you help Herbert Murphy sort the food stores.
Murphy was supposed to establish the third base, however, after Mawson decided to abandon this base he was put in charge of Cape Denison's stores.
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<p> Herbert Dyce Murphy (1879 – 1971) was a great storyteller. He was once recruited as a spy and, as part of his intelligence work, lived for several years impersonating a woman called Edith Murphy. He was so convincing that a French officer wanted to marry him!
//Photo//: John George Hunter.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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Murphy is a lot of fun and tells excellent stories about his travels around the world.
'I'm very glad to be on this expedition', says Murphy. 'I volunteered for Shackleton's expedition in 1908 but the old goat rejected me', said Murphy.
You want to ask him to explain further but before you can he shows you the weekly menu:
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<p> The menu shows they supplemented their diet with large amounts of penguin and seal meat.
//Image source//: Mawson’s Huts Foundation.
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After dinner you begin your first shift as night watch.
Someone always has to be awake due to the risk of fire from the stove, so you spend the night keeping an eye on it and making observations about the weather conditions.
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<p> The nightwatchman’s duties included keeping the temperature in the hut between freezing and 7 degrees Celsius. Which sounds very uncomfortable!
//Image source//: Mawson’s Huts Foundation.
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The blizzard rages all night and by morning the only way to leave the hut is to go through the hatch in the ceiling!
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<p> //Left//: Percy Correll (1892-1974) was only 19 years old when he joined the expedition as a mechanic and an assistant physicist.
//Right//: Alfred Hodgeman (1885-1964) was an Australian architect and cartographer who designed and oversaw construction of the main huts
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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The next day you have the option of helping Percy Correll, mechanic and assistant physicist, collect weather data from the nearby monitoring station or surveying the coast in a small boat with Alfred Hodgeman, cartographer and sketch artist.
[[Go with Correll|Weather data]]
[[Go with Hodgeman|Small Boat]]Your duties start at 7:30am and you help the cook prepare breakfast. The full list of your duties that day are:
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<p>//Image source//: Mawson’s Huts Foundation.</p>
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You also get to choose the morning's music.
You have to ask Hurley how to use the Edison wax cylinder phonograph.
You choose....
[[Abide With Me|Abide with me]]
[[Mother's Lullaby|Take a pair of sparkling eyes]]
You head off with Hodgeman to survey the coast.
Hurley has lent you his film camera and you have strict instructions not to break it!
There are lots of leopard seals along the way and you film some from the boat.
You then go ashore, just in time to film Hodgeman riding a seal!
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After that you both head back to the huts as the light begins to fade.
When you arrive, Mertz tells you that Mawson wants him and Ninnis to be part of the Far East sledging expedition. Several teams have already explored the nearer regions, and Bickerton had gotten his 'air tractor' (a monoplane converted into a sledge hauler) working so that food stores could be deposited at further distances away from the main hut.
'But I haven't told you the good news. Mawson has invited you too!' says Mertz.
You very vaguely remember something bad happens on this trip.
Knowing this, do you go on the Far East sledging expedition with Mawson, Mertz and Ninnis?
[[No, I'll stay at the base|Stay at base]]
[[Yes! Let's Go!|Far East Expedition]]Everyone enjoys the music, even though they've played the song many times before. By the end everyone is singing along. It's great fun but you really miss television and the internet.
<div style="padding:75% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/585181693?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="Abide with me.mp4"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
After the song finishes, it’s time to get stuck into work.
You have the choice of helping Frank Bickerton turn the Vickers monoplane into a sledge hauler or collecting weather data with Percy Correll, the team's mechanic and assistant physicist.
Do you....
[[Go with Correll?|Weather data]]
[[Help Frank with the plane?|Help Frank]]Everyone enjoys the music, even though they've played the song many times before. By the end everyone is singing along. It's great fun but you really miss television and the internet.
<div style="padding:75% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/585182523?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="Mothers lullaby.mp4"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
After the song finishes, it’s time to get stuck into work.
You have the choice of helping Frank Bickerton turn the Vickers monoplane into a sledge hauler or collecting weather data with Percy Correll, the team's mechanic and assistant physicist.
Do you....
[[Go with Correll?|Weather data]]
[[Help Frank with the plane?|Help Frank]]Because of the constant blizzard conditions the hut is snowed in and the only way to enter or exit is through a hatch in the ceiling.
You and Percy Correll head out to the weather station and check the instruments, particularly the thermometer and hygrometer.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551761904?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="Instrument check"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
On your way back you think, 'We could walk down the hill, but sliding down might be easier...and much more fun'.
What do you do?
[[Slide|Slide]]
[[Don't slide|No Slide]]You help Frank modify the Vickers monoplane, which had hit the ground at Adelaide racecourse the previous year and broken its wings. But you don't need wings to haul supplies over snow and ice.
You both get the 'air tractor' up and running.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551755062?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="60_Testing the windracer"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
When you later return to the huts, Mertz tells you that Mawson wants him and Ninnis to be part of the Far East sledging expedition.
'But I haven't told you the good news. Mawson has invited you too!', says Mertz.
You vaguely remember something bad happens on that trip.
Knowing this, do you go on the Far East sledging expedition with Mawson, Mertz and Ninnis?
[[Sure! Far East here I come!|Far East Expedition]]
[[No, that's alright, I'd rather stay at the base|Stay at base]]You immediately feel dizzy...
The world starts to spin...
Everything suddenly goes dark...
When you wake up a worried passer-by asks if you're ok.
'You seemed to have slipped over and hit your head', they say.
But you know what's happened, you've travelled BACK TO THE FUTURE!
You look around and the //Aurora Australis// sits like a bright orange beacon in the harbour.
<img src="assets/Aurora Australis 2.jpg" alt="large red ship in harbour with Aurora Australis written on its side"/>
As you board the ship you see a plaque dedicated to the original expedition and your name is on it! You pass it off as a coincidence to the crew, but you know the truth - you survived the first Australasian Antarctic Expedition!
#Congratulations, you have completed the game!
<img src="assets/Happy penguin.jpg" alt="Cartoon of a happy dancing penguin"/>
<img src="assets/One star.jpg" alt="One golden star and four grey ones"/>
By choosing this ending you have earned 1 star!
The best you could have gotten is 5 stars.
''TIP: Perhaps you should have stayed in Antarctica.''
[[Play again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]We hope you enjoyed playing //Home of the Blizzard: An Antarctic Adventure.//
[[Start again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
<a href=" https://nfsa.gov.au/home-blizzard-teachers-guide" target="_blank">''Download the Home of the Blizzard Teachers' Guide''</a>
<a href=" https://nfsa.gov.au/" target="_blank">''Visit the NFSA website''</a>
There are also many websites available with further information about Antarctica and its early explorers.
''Australian Antarctic Division: Leading Australia’s Antarctic Program''
<a href="https://www.antarctica.gov.au" target="_blank">www.antarctica.gov.au</a>
''Home of the Blizzard – The Australasian Antarctic Expedition''
<a href="https://mawsonshuts.antarctica.gov.au/" target="_blank">https://www.mawsons-huts.org.au/</a>
''Mawson’s Huts Foundation''
<a href="https://www.mawsons-huts.org.au/" target="_blank">https://www.mawsons-huts.org.au/</a>
''Cool Antarctica''
<a href="https://www.coolantarctica.com" target="_blank">https://www.coolantarctica.com</a>
''NFSA and Australian Screen Online''
The Official Film of the Mawson Antarctic Expedition (c.1916)
<a href="https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/home-blizzard/" target="_blank">https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/home-blizzard/</a>
Siege of the South (1931)
<a href="https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/siege-of-the-south/" target="_blank">https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/siege-of-the-south/</a>
Endurance (1933)
<a href="https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/endurance/" target="_blank">https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/endurance/</a>
Australia Today – Antarctic Pioneers (1963)
<a href="https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/antarctic-pioneers/" target="_blank">https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/antarctic-pioneers/</a>
The Last Husky (1993)
<a href="https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/last-husky/" target="_blank">https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/last-husky/</a>
Home of the Blizzard (1998)
<a href="https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/home-blizzard-1998/" target="_blank">https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/home-blizzard-1998/</a>
Frank Hurley: The Man Who Made History (2004)
<a href="https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/frank-hurley/" target="_blank">https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/frank-hurley/</a>
Happy Feet (2006)
<a href="https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/happy-feet/" target="_blank">https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/happy-feet/</a>
Mawson: Life and Death in Antarctica (2007)
<a href="https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/mawson-life-and-death/" target="_blank">https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/mawson-life-and-death/</a>
AKA Home of the Blizzard by Quentin Turnour
<a href="https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/aka-home-blizzard-part-one" target="_blank">https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/aka-home-blizzard-part-one </a>
Australian Antarctic Expedition 2013 – 2014
<a href="https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/introduction-australian-antarctic-expedition-2013-2014 "target="_blank">https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/introduction-australian-antarctic-expedition-2013-2014</a>
''This game has been developed from an original idea by Sophia Booij.
Images are from various sources, as credited.
'Abide With Me', performed by Frank C. Stanley. 'Mother's Lullaby' performed by Nat Keith and George Strickland, c 1902. Edison Cylinder Collection. NFSA title: 682975
Ningen animation, penguin graphics and animated Edison wax cylinder player created by Sol Blackshaw.''
You slide down the hill! It is the best way to travel!
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551748939?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="53_Sliding downhill"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
When you arrive back at the huts Mertz tells you that Mawson wants him and Ninnis to be part of the Far East sledging expedition. Several teams had already explored the nearer regions and Bickerton had gotten his 'air tractor' (a monoplane converted into a sledge hauler) working so that food stores could be deposited at further distances away from the main hut.
'But I haven't told you the good news. Mawson has invited you too!', says Mertz.
You vaguely remember something bad happens on this trip.
Knowing this, do you go on the Far East sledging expedition with Mawson, Mertz and Ninnis?
[[When do we leave?|Far East Expedition]]
[[Oh, that's ok I think I'll stay here|Stay at base]]You try to slowly walk down the slope but the ice makes it very dangerous.
Despite being very careful you slip and crash heavily on your back against a sharp rock.
Lying there in great pain you know you've done some serious damage to your spine.
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<p> Archie McLean (1885-1922) was the chief medical officer at Cape Denison. He also studied the effects of Antarctica on other members of the expedition by taking blood and skin samples. He treated Mawson’s injuries when he returned from the tragic sledge expedition and Sidney Jeffryes for symptoms of paranoia.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
</p>
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Percy helps you back to the huts and one of the team’s doctors, Archie McLean, assesses you.
There are no X-Ray machines in Antarctica and McLean knows your injuries are not looking good. He tries to nurse you back to health but on the third day you develop a bad fever and by the fifth day you have died.
They bury you and erect a small headstone at the base in your memory.
#GAME OVER
''Maybe have a bit of fun and go for a slide next time.''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin"/>
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]You decide to stay at the base.
You say goodbye to some of your favourite sled dogs, including Pavlova and Blizzard the puppy, and wish Mawson well.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551755671?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="61_Sleigh dogs"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
The team depart on 10 November 1912 and plan to be back before 15 January 1913.
Months pass and the excitement for the //Aurora's// arrival grows each day. It's expected to arrive sometime in January to take the Cape Denison and Western Party home.
You help pass the time by playing checkers.
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<p> Charles Harrison and Andrew Watson play checkers in the Grottoes.
//Photo//: Andrew Watson.
//Image Source//: Cool Antarctica.
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On 13 January Captain Davis and the //Aurora// arrive at Cape Denison....but Mawson, Mertz and Ninnis have yet to return.
The ship can only stay until the end of the month as it needs to travel 2000 km to the west to pick up the Western party and then leave for Australia before the pack ice sets in.
Captain Davis waits until 8 February, hoping that Mawson and the team will return. During that time the explorers restock the food depots around the base.
When Mawson's team doesn't return Captain Davis nominates a team of six to stay behind for another year and wait for them.
You can either stay with this team in Antarctica for another year or leave with the <i>Aurora</i>.
What do you do?
[[Stay at Cape Denison|Stay another year]]
[[Travel back with the //Aurora//|Back with Aurora]]You decide to go with Mawson, Mertz and Ninnis on the Far Eastern sledging journey and help get both large sledges and dog teams ready for the trek.
The total weight of supplies is over 800 kg. This is worrying because the team will be travelling across some dangerous crevasses.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551754206?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="59_Getting the sleigh ready"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
You choose your favourite dogs for the trip, including Pavlova and Blizzard the puppy. They help make up two teams of eight to pull the heavy stores.
On 10 November 1912 it's time to begin. Mawson tells Murphy that you will return before 15 January 1913.
'Is everything ready to go?', he asks.
[[Yes, let's get going|Head off]]In a little over a month the team have travelled around 500 km, travelling in 24-hour sunlight.
The route to the east has taken your team across the upper reaches of two large glaciers with many deep and dangerous crevasses.
You are now good friends with everyone, but it is clear Mertz and Ninnis are very close - best friends in fact.
On 13 December, Mawson makes the decision to discard one of the damaged sledges. You help load up the remaining sledge with supplies, making it even heavier.
That evening a blizzard rolls through and you all sit inside the tent for warmth. You help Ninnis dress some wounds on his fingers that are looking infected.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551756252?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="62_Setting up camp in a storm"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
The plan for the following day is to take a quick dash east before turning back towards Cape Denison.
The plan is for Mertz to lead the group and take you around any dangerous spots. Mawson will then follow with a smaller sledge pulled by the weaker dogs. Ninnis will bring up the rear with the heaviest sledge pulled by the strongest dogs.
Thinking about this, you bunk down in your sleeping bag and get some rest.
[[The next day]]You decide to stay and continue the search for Mawson, Ninnis and Mertz.
A day after the Aurora departs you spot someone stumbling down the hill towards the huts.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551741714?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="48_Man out in storm_LOADED"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
You and the others run out. It's Mawson! He is in a very bad way but manages to tell you of the deaths of Ninnis and Mertz and his story of survival.
The wireless operator immediately transmits a message to the ship.
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<p>Walter Hannam (1885-1965) was a mechanic and wireless operator on the expedition.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: Mawson’s Huts Foundation.
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It reads:
##Mawson arrived. Mertz and Ninnis dead. Return at once and pick up all hands.
The //Aurora// is 160 km north when it receives the message and travels back through the night to pick up the remaining team. However, strong winds keep it offshore and Captain Davis eventually makes the decision to sail away to collect the Western Party before the pack ice sets in.
You and the team must stay in Antarctica for another year before returning to Australia.
The loss of Mertz and Ninnis is keenly felt by the men. You keep busy with scientific work, recording weather, star locations and the basic duties needed to keep the hut in order.
{
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<p> Washing the dishes. Domestic tasks don’t stop just because you’re living in the coldest place on Earth.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: Mawson’s Huts Foundation.
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The wireless, with its messages from the outside world, becomes increasingly important as you forget what it is like to live in a land with grass and modern plumbing. Throughout the winter wireless reception is patchy and very hit-and-miss. But when spring arrives contact with the Macquarie Island station is re-established and you can finally receive regular news from Australia.
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<p> Sidney Jeffryes (1884-1942) was the wireless officer at Cape Denison during the second year. He developed symptoms of paranoia and thought the others were plotting to murder him. Mawson had to relieve him of his duties.
//Photo//: John King Davis. //Image source//: //The West Australian//.
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Unfortunately, during the winter the new wireless operator, Sidney Jeffryes, suffers a severe mental breakdown and must be officially stood down from his duties in October. At one point he had messaged the Macquarie Island team that everyone at Cape Denison had gone insane except for him. Mawson and Bickerton take over his duties.
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<p> Cover of the first edition of //The Adélie Blizzard//.
//Photo//: Liz Haywood.
//Image source//: Australian Antarctic Program.
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Everyone is starting to feel stressed. To boost morale, McLean begins <i>The Adélie Blizzard</i>, a newspaper about all things Antarctica.
FINALLY, on 12 December 1913 the //Aurora// arrives to take you all home.
There is much celebration, especially when you realise that Captain Davis had already picked up the remaining members from Macquarie Island. The rest of the team receive letters from home.
Aboard the //Aurora// that night, you have your nicest meal in two years, complete with white tablecloth, Australian mutton, fresh vegetables, fruit and cigars.
It takes the //Aurora// a little over two months to sail back, not to Hobart but to Adelaide, South Australia.
On 26 February 1914 you sail into harbour. On the dock is a crowd of cheering people.
As you are stepping off the ship you spot a film canister on the ground.
You immediately turn around and give Mawson your journal.
'This will explain everything', you say and shake his hand.
You then reach down and...
[[...pick up //The Home of the Blizzard//|Complete 3]]You leave Cape Denison, sailing towards the Western Party.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551708947?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="34_Rough seas"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
However, that night the ship receives a shocking message:
##Mawson arrived. Mertz and Ninnis dead. Return at once and pick up all hands.
Captain Davis immediately turns the ship around and sails through the night back to Cape Denison.
But when you arrive, gale force winds keep you from reaching land. After several hours, Captain Davis makes the very difficult, and unpopular, decision to leave the Cape Denison team behind and sail again for the Western Party.
This means that Mawson and the others must spend another year in Antarctica.
The //Aurora// arrives at the Shackleton Ice Shelf on 23 February 1913 and collects the Western Party. They are shocked to hear of Mawson's predicament.
On the way back to Hobart you stop at Macquarie Island to implore the team to stay on to ensure the line of communication out of Antarctica stays open. They very bravely agree and you continue to Hobart.
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<p> Report of Mawson's extended stay in Antarctica. //Adelaide Register//, 17 March 1913.
//Image source//: South Australian Museum.
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The plan is for the Aurora to return to Cape Denison sometime in 1914 to collect Mawson and those remaining.
When you arrive in Hobart you see a large crowd on the wharf waiting to celebrate the expedition's return. As you disembark, however, you spot a small film canister on the ground...
You immediately turn around and hand Captain Davis your journal, which tells of your journey from the future, and ask him to give it to Mawson once he returns. Satisfied with your efforts you...
[[...pick up //The Home of the Blizzard//|Complete 2]]You immediately feel dizzy...
The world starts to spin...
Everything suddenly goes dark...
When you wake up, a worried passer-by asks if you're ok.
'You seemed to have slipped over and hit your head', they say.
But you know what's happened - you've travelled BACK TO THE FUTURE!
<img src="assets/Aurora Australis 2.jpg" alt="large red ship in harbour with Aurora Australis written on its side"/>
You look around and the //Aurora Australis// sits like a bright orange beacon in the harbour. As you board the ship, you see a plaque dedicated to the 1911-1914 expedition, and your name is on it! You pass it off as a coincidence to the other crew, but you know the truth - you survived the first Australasian Antarctic Expedition!
#Congratulations, you have completed the game!
<img src="assets/Happy penguin.jpg" alt="Cartoon of a happy dancing penguin"/>
<img src="assets/Three stars.jpg" alt="Three golden stars and two grey ones"/>
By choosing this ending you have earned 3 stars!
The best you could have gotten is 5 stars.
''TIP: Perhaps you should have gone on the Far East sledging expedition?''
[[Play again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]You immediately feel dizzy...
The world starts to spin...
Everything suddenly goes dark...
When you wake up, a worried passer-by asks if you're ok.
'You seemed to have slipped over and hit your head', they say.
But you know what's happened - you've travelled BACK TO THE FUTURE!
<img src="assets/Aurora Australis 2.jpg" alt="large red ship in harbour with Aurora Australis written on its side"/>
You look around and the //Aurora Australis// sits like a bright orange beacon in the harbour. As you board the ship, you see a plaque dedicated to the 1911-1914 expedition, and your name is on it! You pass it off as a coincidence to the other crew, but you know the truth - you survived the first Australasian Antarctic Expedition!
#Congratulations, you have completed the game!
<img src="assets/Happy penguin.jpg" alt="Cartoon of a happy dancing penguin"/>
<img src="assets/Two stars.jpg" alt="Two golden stars and three grey ones"/>
By choosing this ending you have earned 2 stars!
The best you could have gotten is 5 stars.
''TIP: Perhaps you should have stayed for another year?''
[[Play again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]After feeding the dogs you must choose must choose between travelling with Ninnis or Mawson.
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Who do you choose?
[[Ninnis]]
[[Mawson]]{<div>
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<p> Dog-hauled sledges were the main means of transportation in Antarctica. After the expedition some of the remaining dogs were sent to Kosciuszko National Park and pulled sledges for tourists.
//Image source//: State Library NSW
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You set off, helping Ninnis manoeuvre the larger sledge.
Halfway through the morning you hear Mawson shout, 'Crevasse!'
Ninnis is distracted with one of the dogs and doesn't hear.
Do you tell him?
[[Yes|Tell him]]
[[No|Don't tell him]]You decide to walk with Mawson that day and chat to him about climate change and its impact on Antarctica. He finds your ideas very interesting.
Mertz spots a crevasse and shouts back to let you know to avoid it.
Mawson changes course to the right and shouts back to Ninnis at the rear but...
##Tragedy strikes the team!
''Ninnis, his sledge and the dogs have disappeared into a crevasse.''
Mertz recorded what happened next in his journal:
<img src="assets/Mertz diary 2.jpg" alt="Fascimile of a page from a diary"/>
[[Many days pass|days pass]]You shout the warning to Ninnis who makes a quick correction to your course and you both narrowly avoid the crevasse.
The team then begins the long journey back to Cape Denison.
You return back just in time for the arrival of the //Aurora// on 13 January 1913.
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<p> The //Aurora// at sea.
//Image source//: Cool Antarctica.
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With everyone accounted for at the base, work begins packing up personal belongings and loading them onto the ship.
A few days later the team leaves Cape Denison forever and the //Aurora// travels 2000 km to pick up the Western Party.
They are overjoyed to see you and you spend many nights talking about your adventures. The same goes for the team you pick up from Macquarie Island on the way back to Australia. You also use this journey to finish your diary, which details your story of time travel and adventure.
As the //Aurora// sails into Hobart, you can see the crowd on the wharf waiting to celebrate the expedition's return. As you disembark, however, you spot a small film canister on the ground...
You immediately turn around and hand your diary to Mawson.
'This will explain everything', you say and give him a firm handshake.
You then reach down and...
[[Pick up //The Home of the Blizzard//|Complete 5]]A couple of steps later the last thing you hear is the crack of ice giving way as you, Ninnis, the dogs and the sledge fall into a deep crevasse.
You're knocked unconscious.
When you come to, you see Ninnis is dead and you are trapped underneath the sledge.
Out of the corner of your eye you spot something very large moving in the darkness...
You struggle to see what it is...
It moves towards you...
Oh no!
It's...
It's....a...
#NINGEN!
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/618630102?h=afc4b6ae81&badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="Ningen.mp4"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
You stare in horror!
It grabs you in its claws and eats you alive!
#GAME OVER
''That didn't end well, did it!''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin"/>
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]The loss of Ninnis strikes the team very hard.
Mertz, in particular, is broken-hearted at losing his best friend.
You, Mawson, and the distraught Mertz begin to make your way slowly back to the base with very few supplies.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551759022?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="65_Sleeping bags"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
As rations dwindle it gets harder and harder to get up each morning.
You have to resort to eating the sled dogs, one at a time, to survive.
By early January 1913 you are two-thirds of the way back and Mertz is becoming increasingly weak. On 7 January he develops a fever.
'His heart seems to have gone,' says Mawson.
The next day you help haul Mertz along on the remaining parts of Mawson's sledge. However, the combined weather exposure, lack of good food and heartbreak causes Mertz to die at 2 o'clock on the morning of 8 January.
You have a burial service the next day and then continue to push ahead. By this point you and Mawson are both very weak.
On 17 January you watch in horror as Mawson falls into a crevasse. Since he was attached to his sledge by a rope you are able to pull him back out again.
You both collapse at the crevasse's edge, exhausted by the physical labour.
What do you do next?
[[You are very tired and decide to have a short rest before heading off again|Too tired]]
[[You keep walking, helping Mawson tow the sledge|Keep pushing forward with Mawson]]You drift off to sleep...
never wake up again...
and die from hypothermia.
Mawson makes it back to the base a month later on his own.
He names a glacier each after you, Mertz and Ninnis in remembrance.
#GAME OVER
''What a shame. You //almost// made it back alive.''
<img src="assets/Sad penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a sad penguin"/>
[[Try again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]You keep pushing forward, knowing that falling asleep in the snow means certain death.
You decide to saw the remaining sledge in half to reduce its weight and continue on, despite regular blizzards.
By 28 January you can see in the distance the shape of Commonwealth Bay and the next day Mawson spots a cache of food. Some of the team must have been there this morning!
On 1 February you finally reach the shelter of Aladdin's Cave where you find an assortment of fresh fruit, including a pineapple! This must mean that the //Aurora// is here!
Just as you are about to head off again a roaring wind begins and it's impossible to journey for at least a week.
When the wind dies down you both head off and on 8 February you stumble down the slope to the hut.
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551741714?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="48_Man out in storm"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
This is how Mawson describes your return in his journal:
<i>I continued slowly downwards and they ran to meet me. As it was a very steep climb up it took some minutes for the first man to arrive … Bickerton it was for certain when within 50 yds. This was a good start. Very soon five had arrived — Bickerton, Bage, Madigan, McLean, Hodgeman — and I learnt that the ship had left finally only a few hours before and they, with a new wireless man, comprised the party left by Capt Davis to search for us.</i>
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<p> Sidney Jeffryes (1884-1942) was the wireless officer at Cape Denison during the second year. He developed symptoms of paranoia and thought the others were plotting to murder him. Mawson had to relieve him of his duties.
//Photo//: John King Davis.
//Source//: Wikimedia commons.
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Even though you both made it back alive, the //Aurora// has already left. Sidney Jeffryes, the new radio operator, sends out a wireless communication to the Aurora as soon as possible. The ship is 160 km north when it receives the message:
<b>'Mawson arrived. Mertz and Ninnis dead. Return at once and pick up all hands.'</b>
The ship sails back through the night to reach Cape Denison, however strong winds keep it offshore.
Knowing this, Mawson sends a short message to Captain Davis: //Use your discretion.//
He does, and decides to sail away to collect the Western Party before the pack ice sets in. You and the team must stay in Antarctica for another whole year before returning to Australia.
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<p> Report of Mawson's extended stay in Antarctica. //Adelaide Register//, 17 March 1913.
//Image source//: South Australian Museum.
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[[During that year...]]You and Mawson spend most of the next few months being nursed back to health by McLean, the one remaining doctor.
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<p> Archie McLean (1885–1922) was the chief medical officer at Cape Denison. He also studied the effects of Antarctica on other members of the expedition by taking blood and skin samples. He treated Mawson’s injuries when he returned from the tragic sledge expedition and Sidney Jeffryes for symptoms of paranoia.
//Photo//: Frank Hurley.
//Image source//: State Library of NSW.
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Unfortunately, Mawson seems to have lost most of his hair, but his betrothed, Paquita Delprat, doesn’t seem to mind when he tells her via wireless. She is probably happy that he is alive at all!
The loss of Mertz and Ninnis is felt keenly over the next year.
You all continue with scientific work, recording weather and star locations, and with the basic duties needed to keep the hut in order. You also pass the time by playing checkers.
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<p> Charles Harrison and Andrew Watson play checkers in 'The Grottoes'.
//Photo//: Andrew Watson.
//Image Source//: Mawson’s Huts Foundation.
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The wireless, with its messages from the outside world, becomes increasingly important as you forget what it is like to live in a land with grass and modern plumbing. Throughout winter its reception is patchy and very hit-and-miss. But when spring arrives contact with the Macquarie Island station is re-established and you can finally receive regular news from Australia.
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<p> Sidney Jeffryes (1884-1942) was the wireless officer at Cape Denison during the second year. He developed symptoms of paranoia and thought the others were plotting to murder him. Mawson had to relieve him of his duties.
//Photo//: John King Davis
//Image source//: Wikimedia commons
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Unfortunately, during the winter, Sidney Jeffryes suffers a severe mental breakdown and has to be officially stood down from his duties in October. At one point in September he had messaged the Macquarie Island team that everyone at Cape Denison had gone insane except for him. Mawson and Bickerton take over his duties.
{
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<p> Cover of the first edition of //The Adélie Blizzard.//
//Photo//: Liz Haywood.
//Image source//: Australian Antarctic Program.
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Everyone is starting to feel stressed. To boost morale, McLean begins <i>The Adélie Blizzard</i>, a newspaper about all things Antarctica.
FINALLY, on 12 December 1913 the //Aurora// arrives to take you all home.
There is much celebration, especially when you realise that Captain Davis had already picked up the remaining members from Macquarie Island. The rest of the team receive large boxes of letters and correspondence.
Aboard the //Aurora// that night, you have your nicest meal in two years, complete with white tablecloth, Australian mutton, fresh vegetables, fruit and cigars.
{
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<p> The //Aurora// at sea.
//Image source//: Cool Antarctica.
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It takes the //Aurora// a little over two months to sail back, not to Hobart but to Adelaide, South Australia.
On 26 February 1914, Adelaide is sighted, and you sail into harbour. On the dock are masses of people cheering.
As you are stepping off the ship, you spot a small film canister on the ground.
You immediately turn around and give Mawson your journal.
'This will explain everything,' you say and give him a firm handshake.
You then reach down and...
[[Pick up //The Home of the Blizzard//|Complete 4]]
##Congratulations, you have completed the game!
<img src="assets/Happy penguin.jpg" alt="Cartoon of a happy dancing penguin"/>
<img src="assets/Five stars.jpg" alt="Five golden stars"/>
By choosing this ending you have earnt the maximum five stars!
While this ending may not be the most historically accurate, everyone has returned home safely.
You are now a fully accomplished Antarctic explorer!
The best thing is, you avoided the dreaded...
##NINGEN!
[[Play again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]You immediately feel dizzy...
The world starts to spin...
Everything suddenly goes dark...
When you wake up, a worried passer-by asks if you're ok.
'You seemed to have slipped over and hit your head', they say.
But you know what's happened - you've travelled BACK TO THE FUTURE!
<img src="assets/Aurora Australis 2.jpg" alt="large red ship in harbour with Aurora Australis written on its side"/>
You look around and the //Aurora Australis// sits like a bright orange beacon in the harbour. As you board the ship, you see a plaque dedicated to the 1911-1914 expedition, and your name is on it! You pass it off as a coincidence to the other crew, but you know the truth - you survived the first Australasian Antarctic Expedition!
#Congratulations, you have completed the game!
<img src="assets/Happy penguin.jpg" alt="Cartoon of a happy dancing penguin"/>
<img src="assets/Four stars.jpg" alt="Four golden stars and one grey one"/>
By choosing this ending you have earned 4 stars!
The best you could have gotten is 5 stars.
This ending is the most historically accurate.
However, there is a 5 star ending.
''Tip: Perhaps you could have saved the lives of Ninnis and Mertz ?''
[[Play again|Film cylinder > wake up]]
[[Learn more about the blizzard|Credits]]
# jQuery Modal
{<div>
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<p><strong>Press ✕, ESC, or click outside of the modal to close it</strong></p>
<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Quo repellendus reprehenderit accusamus totam ratione! Nesciunt, nemo dolorum recusandae ad ex nam similique dolorem ab perspiciatis qui. Facere, dignissimos. Nemo, ea.</p>
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{<div>
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<p><strong>Press ✕, ESC, or click outside of the modal to close it</strong></p>
<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Quo repellendus reprehenderit accusamus totam ratione! Nesciunt, nemo dolorum recusandae ad ex nam similique dolorem ab perspiciatis qui. Facere, dignissimos. Nemo, ea.</p>
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AWS S3 endpoint: assets/<script>
$(".modal-button").on('click', function(e) {
$(this).parent().find('.modal').addClass('is-visible');
});
$(".close-modal, .close-btn").on('click', function(e) {
$(this).parents('.modal').removeClass('is-visible');
});
document.addEventListener("keyup", e => {
// if we press the ESC
if (e.key == "Escape" && $(".is-visible").length !== 0) {
$(".is-visible").removeClass('is-visible');
}
});
</script>''How to play''
> Click on the hyperlinks at the bottom of each page to take another step on your adventure
> You may have to choose between two or more options – choose carefully!
> If you make a wrong turn, use the ‘back arrow’ to change your decision and keep playing
> Click on the images to reveal extra historical facts
> Use your sense of adventure to make it to the end alive!
<img src="assets/Happy penguin.jpg" alt="cartoon of a happy penguin"/>
[[Start the game|Film cylinder > wake up]]
<br>
<hr><a href="https://nfsa.gov.au/"><img src="assets/NFSA_logo_white.png" alt="Logo of the National Film and Sound Archive (Australia)" class="logo" style="max-height:60px"/></a>