The Terrors – Multiple Authors
Noel Downham – 1962 & 1963
The Terrors started life at Hope Bay for a season, were shipped to Marguerite Bay for a second season during which they returned to Hope Bay along the East Coast and back again to Stonington.
1964 – Geoff Renner – Drama and Death in Bill’s Gulch
The Terrors and the Komats shared much. They had originated at Hope Bay, trained and travelled many miles in one another’s company, moved to Stonington by ship then returned oversnow to Hope Bay. They also shared a family – a litter of five ‘semi-precious stones’. Whilst Amber, Jasper and Agate ran with the Komats, Jade and her brother Onyx pulled with the Terrors. Cain was a leader of the Terrors backed by the centre-trace pairings of Jade and Nick, Kelly and Jet, Onyx and Bryn, then nearest the ‘cowcatcher’ the powerhouse duo of Mac and Coll. Where Coll lacked in IQ he made up for in grit and spirit. He was also one of the first Antarctic huskies to undergo major surgery. This was to remove a seal bone critically lodged in his intestine. The operation was successfully completed during his sea passage from Hope Bay to Stonington Island in early February 1964 – on board the RRS John Biscoe. Unfortunately, Jade was never able to realise her full potential as a sledge dog for she was killed in a harrowing accident during her maiden journey out of Stonington Island.
In the early to mid sixties the scheduled field area for Stonington Island earth scientists was the east coast of Graham Land. The area bordered the Larsen Ice Shelf north of latitude 68° 30′ S. With aircraft support committed elsewhere personnel had no alternative but to travel and lay depots overland. A choice of two routes were known.
(Photo: Roger Scott)
The safest, though longest, lay across Neny Fjord then up the long incline of Snowshoe Glacier to descend the gradual contours of Gibbs Glacier on Mobiloil Inlet. The disadvantages were the short but demanding ice foot and cliff fronting Snowshoe Glacier, and prerequisite of reliable sea ice to blanket the open and windswept waters of Neny Fjord.
The more direct route lay inland from Stonington via Northeast Glacier, then by a long and difficult haul up Sodabread to attain the plateau at almost five thousand feet. Separating the plateau from Trail Inlet on the East Coast was Bill’s Gulch. Only the foolish did not fear it….
Dave Matthews – 1965 & 1966
The Terrors were a team well known for their huge journeys up and down the east coast between Bases “D” and “E” with Noel Downham running them tirelessly on their mammoth depot runs from the defunct Hope Bay. That is basically how they clocked up their remarkable mileages. David “Soopsey” Vaughan took them over after I arrived at Stonington in 1965 and, after various options for the year were chewed over, the decision was made that he and I should move to the old station at Horseshoe for the autumn where I could do some land based geology and learn how to handle the dogs. More a case of them learning how to handle me, for such a well-disciplined team, and we got on well.
Steve Wormald – 1973
Recent History
The Terrors started again virtually from scratch at relief 1973 after an apparently disastrous year in 1972 with no leader or supposedly potential leader, and hence spent the summer following the other team in the unit except on a very few days. (Janet, still in the team, had been a leader in 1971).
Juno and Duek had been lobbed to the Debs during the summer of 1972 in exchange for Debbie and Myth, who were reckoned to be possible leaders. Still no luck (if luck be the word).
Thus at relief 1973 the team stood at:
Debbie, Myth, Janet, Clough, Roald, Pete, Ceris, Thorax, Dwarfy, Cleve (these last three to retire),