To John Scott Keltie   3 December 1895

Melbourne, 3 Dec 1895

Last evening, dear Mr Keltie, a meeting of the antarctic Committee was held, when your Presidents¹ letter and that from you in respect to Mr Borchgrevinkes communication to the "Times" was submitted, and the reply given by the Rev. Will. Potter was unanimously affirmed. The Rev Gentleman has moreover with great sagacity and perseverance as Hon. Secr. of the antarctic Committee here followed up the subject of the voyage of the "Antarctic" without the slightest advantage to himself, and while doing justice to the Commander of the Ship has not been unmindful either to the praise due to Mr Borchgrevink and Mr Bull in their respective positions.²

Mr Bull has returned to Norway. As I stated to you or President Markham before, it seems to me that for Mr Borchgrevink a good opening exists by a separate small expedition to revisit Victoria-Land, with the primary view of ascending the glacier-plateaux for traversing it southward so far as the circumstances may permit. A winter might then be spent also in the newly discovered Harbour.³ I am writing to your distinguished President also this day expressing my hope, which is shared by the antarctic Committee here, that the Admirality may reconsider it is⁴ temporary decision to defer antarctic researches, as it is important that Britain should not be forestalled or even altogether be excluded from participating in it. ⁵ The Premier of this Colony, the hon. George Turner, declared himself willing when communicated with by the Premier of N.S. Wales,⁶ that he would support antartic⁷ further researches, if the other Australian colonies would do the same, and this would doubtless be the case, if the Home Government took up the subject. If would seem suffisient,⁸ if two for the [near]est purposes,⁹ to dispatch two of the oldest ships if, even only for 1 or 2 seasons as with steamships now less elaborate requirements are necessary than were needed for the antarctic voyage of the Erebus and Terror,¹⁰ and hence the extra-expenditure for keeping the two ships for a while in the south-polar ocean would not be enormously great, while South Africa would doubtless, if asked, would contribute also to the costs.

With regardful remembrance

your

Ferd. von Mueller¹¹