VW Beetles in Antarctica

In 1962, the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) was looking for cheap motorised transportation to complement the heavy tracked vehicles at Mawson. Transport at Mawson was normally provided by tracked vehicles, dog sleighs and motorbikes. But all these had their limits. The motorbikes could only transport small loads. The tractors could run at a maximum speed of 5km/h and used too much fuel. The dog teams needed to have been in harness for a long time, required continual care and could only be managed by someone experienced in their handling.

In November 1962, the incoming 1963 expedition leader was a young engineering draughtsman named Ray McMahon. While he was making preparations at ANARE Head Office in Melbourne, he read that there were a couple of water-cooled vehicles at Mawson; a Ferguson tractor and a flat topped Bedford truck. He reckoned if they were being used successfully around the station, then why wouldn’t an air cooled VW be suitable for some ‘around the station’ functions? Using his initiative, he picked up the phone and rang the marketing office of Volkswagen Australasia at Clayton. Ray spoke with a cadet marketing person by the name of Graham Massingham. Ray asked him if VWA would be cooperative and loan ANARE a VW to take to Mawson for the year.

It just so happened that the Volkswagenwerk Head Office in Germany had recently been encouraging their subsidiaries around the world to concentrate their marketing efforts on publicising VW service in Arctic conditions. Young Graham scored the promotional coup of his life, and the opportunity to send a VW to Mawson was enthusiastically welcomed by his superiors.

Ray was invited to Clayton, and an Australian-made Ruby-Red 1962½ model Beetle was selected at random from a batch made in December 1962. The Ruby-Red colour was chosen so the car would stand out from the snowscape.

The Clayton Service Workshop then gave the Beetle a thorough ‘winterising’, a northern European process unknown in hot Australia. The engine was rebuilt with special European ‘winter’ quality crankshaft bearings for extreme service low-temperature conditions, such as those in Norway and Finland. The exhaust manifolds were wrapped in asbestos insulation to assist initial warm-up. The front wheel bearings and torsion bars were lubricated with winter-spec lithium grease. The VW was fitted with a pair of heavy-duty six-volt batteries in series, so that starting could be achieved at 12 volts through the 6-volt starter motor, but the rest of the electrical system remained 6-volt. A rear tow bar and sump guard was fitted, and a factory storage rack was bolted to the roof.

Official VW preparation was very thorough. The car was delivered with a box of general spare parts and spare wheels, as well as a quality Bolex cine camera with a generous stock of movie film. Large ANARE labels were painted on the doors, and special aluminium ‘ANTARCTICA 1’ number plates were made and mounted front and rear. Volkswagen Australasia covered the costs of the vehicle and all spares and modifications.

After collection and inspection by Ray McMahon, the VW was loaded aboard the supply ship Nella Dan at Port Melbourne, and shipped 6100km south to Mawson. It was unloaded with the normal year’s supplies in January 1963. The engineers filled the petrol tank with BP winter-grade petrol, which proved perfectly suitable for the local conditions.

The VW underwent some initial trial runs, including a 35km round-trip to the inland Rumdoodle airstrip up on the ice plateau. The VW made the run in 65 minutes, a near record. There is a very steep snow slope behind Mawson, which must be climbed to reach the plateau. Many doubters — including even the Captain of the Nella Dan – bet Ray McMahon that the Volkswagen wouldn’t make it under its own power. It did.

ANARE official photographer Geoff Merrill took a number of photos of the VW at Mawson, at the airstrip at Rumdoodle, and in several stunning nearby locations that showed the beauty of the Antarctic area. He also shot the first 500 feet of movie film, which returned to Hobart aboard the Nella Dan. These first photos were used in a string of VW ads and promotions.

The VW spent a whole year at Mawson, competing with dog teams, Polaris medium over snow vehicles and larger tracked vehicles such as the Weasels, Caterpillars and Porsche 356-engined Snowtracs. Subjected to smothering snows, bitter cold down to −50°C and knifing 200km/h winds, it turned out to be excellent for running around the station and short traverses of the ice-bound country. It even went up snow-covered hills which were difficult to climb on foot because of the sinking snow. Being air-cooled it never froze, and being tightly sealed it was immune from drifting powder snow, which at Mawson was so fine that it could blow through pin holes.

Scientists soon fell in love with the VW and christened it their ‘Red Terror’, but it was officially known as Antarctica 1. VW Australia proudly called it ‘the first production car to visit Antarctica’. It was used for a multitude of purposes and within its limitations proved extremely useful, according to ANARE people who used it. With snow chains on all four wheels, it could be used for everything from transporting supplies out to field teams, to towing skiers around the base, to taxiing VIPs to and from the airfield at Rumdoodle, to driving glaciologists three or four kilometres out onto the sea ice to test its thickness.

While Antarctica 1 performed admirably, the brutal treatment it received over its year in the ice did reveal one major weakness — the chassis frame head, where the two transverse front suspension tubes mounted to the frame. Although it’s not an unknown weakness in VW Beetle construction, it almost never showed up in a lifetime of normal use for most cars. In Antarctica the cracking could be induced in only a few hundred miles, thanks to the punishing conditions and extremely low temperatures. Antarctica 1 suffered frame head cracking only a month or two after it arrived, thanks to assorted heavy hands and leaden feet. Then again, on washboard-like corrugated ice thousands of years old, and driving over ice cracks ten or twenty centimetres across and bottoming the suspension constantly under full loads of men and equipment in temperatures dozens of degrees below zero, what wouldn’t fail in such conditions? The Mawson mechanical workshops soon learnt to diagnose the problem and were always on hand for a welding repair job.

When the 1964 expedition team arrived they brought with them Antarctica 1’s replacement — another Volkswagen called Antarctica 2. The new car was also an Australian-made Beetle; a 1963 model painted International Orange. It was fitted out in the same winterised manner, complete with ANARE labels on the doors and special ‘Antarctica 2’ number plates. It also had the benefit of additional bracing of the front axle to reduce the frame head problem. The orange car was unloaded at Mawson to begin its term of service, and briefly the two Antarctic VWs stood side by side at the docks for the first and only time, before Antarctica 1 was loaded onto the Nella Dan for the journey home.

The cine camera was used to make a fascinating short general interest 16mm film called Antarctica 1. There is an original 16mm copy in the National Library of Australia’s collection. A shorter edited version called Taxi to Rumdoodle was also released and is currently available on DVD from the Club Veedub Sydney library.

Phil Matthews
Volkswagen Club, Sydney

Dr Phillip Law

In 1947 and 1948 Phillip Law was involved in the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) trip to Macquarie Island and Antarctica. Appointed leader of ANARE and director of the Antarctic Division of the Department of External Affairs in 1949. He personally led 23 voyages to Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic regions and directed activities that resulted in the mapping of 4000 miles of coastline and 800,000 square miles of territory. In 1954 he founded the Mawson, Davis and Casey bases in Antarctica.

Thala Dan

Built in 1957 in Denmark, the MV Thala Dan was a substantial ship for the time. Following the success of the Kista Dan, the J. Lauritzen Lines built another two ships of the same type, but larger and more powerful: the Thala Dan and the Magga Dan. Each ship was ice-strengthened for navigation in polar waters. ‘Thala’ is a Scandinavian name; ‘Dan’ means from Denmark (Danish).

Specifications

• Motor Vessel (MV)
• Lloyds + 100 A1 Ice Class 1 “Strengthened for navigation in Ice” and Finnish Ice Class 1A
• main engine: Burmeister & Wain 2020 IHP (Indicated Horse Power)
• capacity: 1400 tons dead weight
• length: 75.14 metres
• breadth: 13.7 metres
• 50 passengers in 2, 3, 4 and 5 berth cabins
• service speed: 12 knots
• 3 cargo holds with overall capacity of 1800 cubic metres
• 9 heavy lift derrick cranes with lifting capacity ranging from 2 to 30 tons

Key Antarctic voyages

In 1959, the Thala Dan, approaching newly established Davis station, ran onto an unchartered rock pinnacle. Station Leader John Béchervaise recalled the incident:

Suddenly we struck a rock. This was really a tremendous shock, in every sense of the term. I can remember the masts quivering and making a strange noise, as if they were vibrating, and a few men were almost thrown off their feet.

Captain Hans Christian Petersen followed the same course of action as Captain Cook when his ship, the Endeavour, suffered a similar fate on the Great Barrier Reef in 1770.

A sail was passed under the hull which prevented the inflow of water, the water was pumped out of the tank, and the captain prepared a number of wooden wedges to be driven into the gash from the oil tank just inside the hull, which had taken the strain. — Interview with John Béchervaise & Tim Bowden, ANARE Jubilee history project.

It took over two weeks to free the ship, and almost another fortnight to continue the short distance to Davis station, where temporary repairs enabled the ship to return to Australia.

Later life

Over the course of its Antarctic service, the Thala Dan was used during the Arctic northern summer to transport cargo and passengers to Greenland.

In 1982, the ship was purchased by the Brazilian Navy for Antarctic service, and renamed the Baroa de Teffe. The ship ceased service in 2002, and was scrapped in 2007.

Source: https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/history/transportation/shipping/lauritzen/thala-dan-1957-82/

Kista Dan 

The MV Kista Dan played a vital role in the establishment of two ANARE stations: Davis and Mawson. Built in Denmark in 1952 by the J. Lauritzen Lines, the Kista Dan’s diesel-powered engine and hull form were capable of navigating in difficult ice conditions. ‘Kista’ is a Scandinavian name; ‘Dan’ means from Denmark (Danish).

Specifications

• Motor Vessel (MV)
• Lloyds + 100 A1 “Strengthened for navigation in Ice” and Finnish Ice Class 1A.
• main engine: Burmeister & Wain diesel, type 635-VF-62, bore 350mm, stroke 620mm.
• length: 64.89 metres
• breadth: 11.2 metres
• capacity: 1250 tons gross
• range of action: 14 500 nautical miles
• speed: 12 knots
• passenger capacity: 24 with 2, 3 and 6 berth cabins

Special features

The Kista Dan was the first of the Lauritzen ships to have the vivid red that has since become emblematic of polar ships.

The ship impressed all on board with its speed and ability to break through the pack ice. With significant cargo capacity, the larger cargo hold could transport an Auster aircraft used by ANARE for early mapping and surveying work.

Key Antarctic voyages

During her first ANARE voyage in December 1953, the Kista Dan visited sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island and Heard Island to resupply the stations, and Kerguelen Island. Heading further south to Antarctica in early 1954, the voyage’s key aim was to find a suitable location for Australia’s first continental station. Using the materials transported on the Kista Dan, expeditioners built huts and buildings to establish Mawson station.

In 1955, on return to Australia, the Kista Dan was lighter having unloaded cargo to the stations. Encountering rough seas caused by a hurricane off the Antarctic coastline near the Vestfold Hills, the Kista Dan lay on a 30 degree angle tilt due to the force of the winds. The ship’s engineer was unable to pump sea water into the forward tanks to improve stability because of frozen pipes. Captain Hans Christian Petersen was unable to gain full control of the ship. Antarctic Division Director Phillip Law recalled:

No combination of rudder and engine revolutions could counteract the force of the winds on the bows, and the Kista Dan broached to. Lying over on the port side, she drifted helplessly, pounded by every breaking wave and held in a permanent list by the hurricane.

The Auster aircraft strapped to the deck was blown over the side. Fearful passengers endured the terrible conditions. Large waves smashed frozen ice floes against the ship’s side causing horrible, menacing sounds. Eventually, the ship’s crew managed to free the frozen pipes and Captain Petersen was able to steer the ship to safety.

The Kista Dan was charted by ANARE until 1957 when it was replaced by the Thala Dan and the Magga Dan.

Later life

In 1967, the Kista Dan was sold to the Karlsen Shipping Co. Ltd for the Canadian sealing industry, and renamed Martin Karlsen.

The ship was sold in 1979 to the Bowring Steamship Company, renamed Benjamin Bowring, and chartered to the Transglobe Expedition, the first ever longitudinal circumnavigation of the world (including the both poles) across land, sea and ice.

Sold to Halba Shipping Ltd London, who intended to charter the ship for research work, in 1983 it was renamed the Arctic Gael. Bought the following year by Freighters & Tankers Ltd, and renamed Olympiakos, the ship was converted to a yacht.

In 1997, the ship was sold to Polar Ventures Ltd. However, due to the cost needed to repair serious structural damage to the hull caused by collision with the harbour wall during a storm, Polar Ventures Ltd was forced to sell the vessel for scrap.

Recent history of Kista Dan supplied by Antony Bowring, of the Transglobe Expedition 1979–1982.

Source: https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/history/transportation/shipping/lauritzen/kista-dan-1953-1957/

MV Magga Dan

Like the other Dan ships, the MV Magga Dan made a significant contribution to resupplying Australian Antarctic stations, and facilitating mapping, surveying and exploration. The Magga Dan was constructed in Denmark by the J. Lauritzen Lines, and was equipped with very similar features to the Thala Dan.

‘Magga’ is a Scandinavian name; ‘Dan’ means from Denmark (Danish).

Specifications

• Motor Vessel (MV)
• Lloyds+ 100 A1 “Strengthened for Navigation in Ice”, and Finnish Ice Class 1 A
• main engine: Burmeister & Wain type 735-VBF-62. The engine was a direct reversible single-acting two-stroke, 7-cylinder diesel motor with turbo charge
• length: 75.14 metres
• breadth moulded: 131.72 metres
• bunker capacity: 450 tons
• range of action: 16 000 miles
• speed: 12 knots
• passenger capacity: 35

The Magga Dan was ice-strengthened to an unusual extent with stem and shell plating beyond requirement. Like the Thala Dan, the ship was fitted with an ice knife to protect the rudder when going astern. In addition, three ice fins were arranged on each side of the hull to protect the propeller from ice damage.

Key Antarctic voyages

On the Magga Dan’s 1959–1960 voyage, ANARE surveyors and scientists explored the entire coastline of the Australian Antarctic Territory using land-based expeditions via dog-sledge, and mapping and surveying via aircraft operations. It was the first time that helicopters were used by ANARE in Antarctica. They became an established tool of operations from 1960.

In 1961, artist Nel Law, wife of Antarctic Director Phillip Law, became the first woman to visit Antarctica with ANARE travelling on the Magga Dan.

Source: https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/history/transportation/shipping/lauritzen/magga-dan-1959-61/

Nella Dan

Without doubt, the Nella Dan was the most famous of the J. Lauritzen’s Dan ships to serve with ANARE.

Built by the Aarlborg Shipyard Pty Ltd in 1961 with input from the Antarctic Division, the Nella Dan was named in honour of Nel Law, wife of the Director Phillip Law.

At the time of its construction, the Nella Dan set the standard for polar vessels. The ship’s design incorporated all the features of the other Dan ships. Although the ice breaker stern, ice fins and ice knife were regular Dan features, a novel addition was the double hull in the Nella Dan’s engine room and holds.

The Nella Dan sailed to the Antarctic every year of the 26 years it was chartered by ANARE.

Specifications

• main engine: turbo-charged Burmeister & Wain diesel, with an output of 2500 IHP (Indicated Horse Power); reversible propeller blades
• length overall: 75.5 metres
• breadth moulded: 14.3 metres
• bunker capacity: 736.2 tons
• speed: 12.5 knots
• originally 34 passenger capacity; later 42 with addition of cabins on starboard aft deck
• helicopter deck of about 100 square metres on the aft deck
• special built-in shaft for hydrographic surveys extended from the promenade deck to the bottom of the ship; also supported echo sounders

Key Antarctic voyages

The Nella Dan played a key role in the development of Australia’s major Antarctic and Southern Ocean marine science program.

In 1979, the Antarctic Division joined the internationally coordinated program to study marine living resources in the Southern Ocean: BIOMASS (Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic Systems and Stocks). This was the first major Australian Antarctic project investigating deep sea marine science. The Nella Dan was modified to support deep sea research trawling with instrument rooms, echo sounders, a computer data logging system, and laboratory. An additional innovation was a closed circuit television to allow vision of the trawl deck from the instrument room and the bridge.

On the Nella Dan’s last fateful voyage in December 1987, bad weather blew up during resupply operations at Macquarie Island. The Nella Dan dragged anchor and was driven aground just metres off the island. Although plans were initially made to salvage the vessel, the decision was eventually made to scuttle the ship. It was sunk in deep water off Macquarie Island.

The response from around the world was overwhelming. Crew and expeditioners who had sailed in the ship composed poetry, songs and eulogies in its honour. A former expeditioner mourned:

A tired old ship disappeared under the sea, but it is only the empty shell and not the soul of Nella Dan. Nobody can destroy the memory and love of hundreds of expeditioners who sailed in the little red ship during her 26 years… Nella Dan rests now at the bottom of the sea, but will live forever in the hearts of thousands of friends. – From ‘Farewell Nella Dan’, Aurora, March 1988.

After the Aurora Australis, the Nella Dan served the longest time with the Australian Antarctic program.

Source: https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/history/transportation/shipping/lauritzen/magga-dan-1959-61/