031 Byrd South Polar Expedition/142
The British Ambassador ( Lindsay ) to the Secretary of State
Sir: In accordance with instructions received from His Majesty’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs I have the honour to make to you, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government in New Zealand, the following communication.
The United States Government will doubtless be aware that an expedition to the Antarctic led by Admiral Byrd left New Zealand on December 12th for a base in Ross dependency which was established on his previous expedition in 1928–1929.12 His Majesty’s Government in New Zealand were glad to welcome Admiral Byrd again to the Dominion and are following the progress of his expedition with interest. As the United States Government may have heard, they sent him on his departure a message of good will in his endeavour coupled with an offer of all necessary facilities for the expedition while in the territory under their administration.
[Page 1011]His Majesty’s Government in New Zealand understand that the expedition has the official backing of the United States Government and in these circumstances they feel it necessary to state that their attention has been drawn to articles in certain newspapers reporting that it is intended to establish a post office at Admiral Byrd’s base in Ross dependency and that certain members of the expedition were before leaving the United States formally sworn in before the Postmaster General of the United States with the object of acting as postmasters at this post office. It is also understood that special stamps in connection with the expedition have been issued by the United States Government, and it has been reported that these will be used to frank letters posted at the expedition’s base. While His Majesty’s Government in New Zealand recognise that some allowance must be made for the absence of ordinary postal facilities in Ross dependency, they would point out that if a United States post office were to be officially established in the dependency, or if the United States Government were to sanction the use of United States postage stamps there without permission from the sovereign Power, such acts could not be regarded otherwise than as infringing the British sovereignty and New Zealand administrative rights in the dependency as well as the laws there in force.
Although it is understood that the expedition is operating a wireless station in Ross dependency, no licence for such a station was applied for, and similarly although it is understood that United States aircraft are being imported into the dependency for the purpose of making flights in or over its territory, the competent authorities received no application for permission for such flights. Since on his previous expedition Admiral Byrd established a wireless station at his base and carried aircraft to the dependency, and was not then required to obtain a licence or formal permission he may have thought it unnecessary to do so on this occasion. His Majesty’s Government in New Zealand are indeed willing to regard their offer of facilities as covering now, as on the previous expedition, permission both for the wireless station and for the flights over the dependency, but they would nevertheless point out that they would have preferred prior application to have been made to the competent authority by or on behalf of the expedition in accordance with the relevant legislation applicable.
His Majesty’s Government in New Zealand are not aware whether the expedition to the Ross dependency led by Mr. Lincoln Ellsworth13 is proceeding under the auspices of the United States Government, but [Page 1012] should this be the case they would wish to draw the attention of the United States Government to the same points in connection with the operation of a wireless station and aeroplane flights.
His Majesty’s Government in New Zealand trust that the United States Government will bear the above mentioned points in mind in the case of any United States expeditions under official auspices which may proceed in the future to territory under New Zealand administration.
I have [etc.]
- See Foreign Relations, 1928, vol. ii, pp. 1001 ff.↩
- Lincoln Ellsworth, Antarctic explorer and leader of the Ellsworth Trans-Atlantic Flight Expedition which left Dunedin, N. Z., on December 4, 1933. The abortive expedition was abandoned in the Bay of Whales and left the Ross Sea for Dunedin, N. Z., on January 15, 1934.↩