Through Ice & Fire

by Sarah Laverick

The wild and desolate expanses of Antarctica have been the setting for many famous exploits and misadventures: a place where every decision has life-or-death consequences.

Legendary explorers such as Shackleton, Mawson and Scott continue to inspire to this day, and their faithful ships, the Endurance, Aurora and Tera Nova are vivid characters in their fateful voyages of discovery.

The first and only Australian-built Antarctic flagship, Aurora Australis, and her crews have likewise secured a place in Antarctic history.

This is the 30-year story of Aurora Australis and of her diverse charges - crew, technicians, scientists, explorers, writers and artists.

It's the tale of a problem-plagued construction, two devastating fires, a crippling besetment in ice and a blizzard-induced grounding in Antarctica. It tells of brave rescue missions of other ships and their grateful crews, and of the heroic administering of medical help while battling life-threatening temperatures and hurricane-force winds.

This is a tale of engineering brilliance, team tenacity and human resilience. It brings polar research to life and unveils stunning scientific discoveries. It transforms the Aurora Australis into a compelling character in Australia's chapter of Antarctic history and makes heroes of the men and women who have guided her through the most inhospitable seascapes on earth.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Memoir

410 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 27, 2019

Reviews

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The adventures, science and people behind Australia’s famous icebreaker Aurora Australis.’

I’ve seen the Aurora Australis a few times, dockside in Hobart. I’ve known a couple of people who’ve sailed on her various missions to Antarctica. I didn’t know, until I read this book, that she was built in Australia.

In this book, Ms Laverick writes of the challenges faced in building the ship, of the ship’s problem-
plagued construction in Newcastle, of the fires and other challenges faced while at sea. Ms Laverick also writes of the people who have sailed on her.

I am in awe of the crew, especially the engineers, who’ve built, maintained and sailed in her. I was fascinated by some of the description of how polar research is undertaken and the difficulties faced.
I enjoyed reading about the repatriation of the huskies, and the journey of ‘Stay’. I doubt that many of the Guide Dog Collection Dogs have seen quite so much of the southern hemisphere.

I learned that the Aurora Australis has undertaken 150 voyages over the last 30 years and is scheduled to be replaced.

I found this book interesting. It is not a complete history of the Aurora Australis, but it is a great summary of how the ship was built and some of her achievements.

‘Australia’s current reputation as a world leader in Antarctic marine science is directly attributable to the Aurora Australis.’

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I climbed the gangway of the Aurora Australis once. As Laverick says, these days you can't get near it because of *sigh* security. But one weekend when we were in Hobart the ship was in dock and a friendly crew member pulled aside the gangway rope and let me scamper up for a photo opportunity. But even if you don't have a personal memory of this striking ship, this 'bio' makes fascinating reading. The early chapters about the problems encountered by the Australian shipbuilders culminate in an extraordinary sequence of events: the Finnish designers of the ship were declared bankrupt, leaving the final stability calculations behind locked doors on the other side of the world, and when that problem was resolved the Newcastle earthquake struck:

Down on E deck, Bruce, bustling between meetings, hurried through the restaurant toward the aft end of the ship. But as he reached the back of the mess the ship suddenly — inconceivably — began to roll. Losing balance, Bruce grabbed a nearby pole and clung to it in alarm.

He assumed the only thing that seemed plausible: that the Aurora had somehow come off its blocks on the floating dock. 'God, what damage would be done?' Bruce thought, horrified. The lights went out. He felt the Aurora steady, then become stationary once again. He groped his way through the now pitch-black passageway to the aft stairwell and made his way up and out of the accommodation area. Blinking in the bright light of the helideck he saw people emerging in shock from all areas of the ship, trying to make sense of the situation.

One thing was immediately clear: the Aurora was still on her blocks. Bruce strode to the rail and scanned the dockyard, seeing powerlines lying on the ground nearby. He looked across the water to Newcastle and gave a startled shout. Clouds of dust and smoke were rising from the city.

'I think we've had an earthquake!' someone behind him exclaimed incredulously. (p.44)

The book goes on to recount the ecstatic welcome for the Aurora in Hobart (including a reproduction from The Mercury) and the initial trial voyages, first up the east coast of Tassie (guaranteed to offer some wild weather) and then her maiden voyage (delayed by a malfunction in her reserve autopilot). Descriptions of the 'Furious Fifties' give some idea of the vicious winds that rage around the globe unchecked by any land at that latitude.

But this is not just a book about a ship, it's the human story of the crew and the scientists of ANARE. So we learn how they put on weight from the 24-hour siren song of the open kitchenette containing a veritable buffet of biscuits [...] breads, spreads, fruits, cereals, tea, coffee and hot chocolate. We read about the frustrations of research equipment behaving in unexpected ways, the small disasters that narrowly avoid causing horrific injuries, and how misjudging fickle weather or the distance of an elephant seal added to the ever-present danger, even before arriving in Antarctica. Then there is the excitement of putting the Aurora through her ice-breaking capabilities in different kinds of ice. It's riveting reading, especially since you know that Antarctica being the hostile environment that it is, things won't always end well.

Dog lovers will remember the emotional repatriation of Australia's huskies under the Madrid Protocol during the 1992/1993 season.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2019/08/22/t...

[Indy Scarletti (paperindy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more like a 3.5 star rounded up, but I still thoroughly enjoyed ‘Through Ice and Fire’. I am lucky enough to get to occasionally work with Antarctic scientists in my job, and so it was so wonderful to hear the stories of the scientific research that gets conducted as a result of all the funding, policy contributions and international cooperation that goes into making Antarctica a scientific reserve.

This collection of tales over the course of the Aurora Australis’ working life is a highlights real of the most dramatic and story-worthy moments, but it really paints a great picture of why the iconic orange-hulled ship is so dear to so many who love Antarctica.

Though overall this was a really enjoyable read, it was a bit clumsy in its story craft and I wished the author had a little more guidance when it came to switching from scientific writing to creative writing. There was a frustratingly frequent use of adjectives assumingly in the hopes of determinedly emphasising the significantly momentous parts of each tale. A red pen through most -ly words would have made for sharper storytelling.

Laverick did a commendable job in pulling what sounds to be dozens and dozens of reports and records into a coherent string of events showing the lifetime of the ship. I think this had the potential to be a really beautiful and epic tribute to the best of humanity and what can be achieved when international cooperation goes right. It fell short of that vision, but it still made me cry, I’ve talked about it a tonne, and I’d recommend it to anyone interest in Australian Antarctic research.

[Lee Belbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

After being on the Aurora Australis for three voyages, this book brought back many memories. It is a well-written potted (selective) history of the AA: Events; personalities; science; Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. An easy read.

[Alexis Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confirmed my desire to go to Antarctica as valid

[Nikki Balzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fascinating once it got onto the journeys themselves. Of course if you were into boats the first bit would have potentially been interesting too.