an of Hut--Macquarie Island

Twelve live sheep had been landed, and these had been driven on to
Wireless Hill so as to be accessible. We decided to kill one for
Christmas, so on December 24 Sandell and I, leaving the others at work
on the Shack, started out.

The hillsides are deeply ravined and the slopes covered with a dense
growth of tussock, which renders progress uncertain and laborious. Our
experience was a foretaste of many to come. We found the sheep huddled
together in a deep gully on the eastern side, and drove them round to
the front of the hill, where one was caught, killed and dressed.

Christmas Day dawned fine and sunny, and we decided to make some attempt
at a dinner. Blake produced a plum pudding, and this, together with
roast mutton and several kinds of vegetables, washed down with a little
claret, constituted our first Christmas dinner.

The sealing schooner, Clyde, had been wrecked without loss of life on
November 14, 1911, on the east coast, and was now lying on the beach
nearly half a mile away. A two-hundred-gallon tank had been saved
from the wreck and we managed on Christmas morning, after two hours of
carrying and trundling, to place it at the end of the Shack. This was a
valuable find, ensuring in the future a constant, convenient supply
of rain water. Further, we made use of the timber of the wreck for
building, and the broken pieces strewn about were stored up as firewood.

On the 26th we all went to the wireless station, and, as Sandell had the
aerial made, we pulled it into position. In the afternoon I unpacked
all my instruments and started them off so as to make sure that all
were working correctly. I did not intend to record any observations till
January 1, 1912, and therefore did not erect the meteorological screen
until the 28th.

On moving into our abode domestic arrangements were made. With regard
to cooking, each man took duty for a week, during which he was able to
write up his work and to wash and mend clothes. To Hamilton and Sandell,
who had had previous experience, frequent appeals were made as to
methods of cooking various dishes, but by degrees each one asserted his
independence. There were several cookery books for reference and each
week saw the appearance of some new pudding, in each instance prefaced
by the boast: "This is going to be the best pudding ever turned out on
the island!" The promise was not always made good.

We had a good deal of difficulty at first