Scotland and the Antarctic

Section 2: Antarctic Exploration ... Early Twentieth Century

German Antarctic Expedition 1901-03

This expedition was led by Professor Erich von Drygalski. There was co-operation with the British expedition so that magnetic and meteorological records could be compared in different parts of Antarctic continent. The expedition went to the area named Kaiser Wilhelm Land (changed to Wilhelm II Land after the first world war). Their ship the Gauss was named after the German scientist who worked on magnetism. The expedition made several sledge journeys, a balloon ascent, discovered the volcano Mount Gaussberg and recorded penguins on a phonograph. On becoming trapped they laid a 200-metre strip of rubbish which helped to melt the ice so that the ship had a channel to the sea. The Gauss was the second ship to overwinter in the Antarctic (with Scotia and Discovery).