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93.06.07aPreferred Citation:
Henrik Bull to Ferdinand von Mueller, 1893-06-07 [93.06.07a]. R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora, J.H. Voigt and Monika Wells (eds), Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, <https://vmcp.rbg.vic.gov.au/id//letters/1890-6/1893/93-06-07a-final.odt>, accessed June 13, 2026
1
Letter not found. The text given here is from 'Antarctic Exploration. An offer from
Norway' in a report of the meeting of the Victorian Branch of the Royal Geographical
Society of Australasia held on 9 August 1893 (Argus, 10 December 1893, p. 7). It is introduced by 'At the meeting of the Royal Geographical
Society which was held last evening Baron
von Mueller, who presided, announced that
he had received a most encouraging letter
from Norway on the subject of Antarctic exploration. The letter, which spoke for itself, was as follows: —'.
2
Norway.
Herrn Baron F. von Mueller, Geographical Society, Melbourne.
Dear Sir Ferdinand,—
I had the pleasure to make your personal acquaintance through some letters that I
wrote to Melbourne papers in 189O and 1892
re
Antarctic exploration, and I got then convinced of the great interest you took in
such enterprise. I had the hope that in Melbourne I should have been able to have
formed a company that would have given the Antarctic a fair trial on merely commercial
lines, but owing to various circumstances I did not succeed. However I could not give
the idea up, and on my return to Norway a couple of months ago I laid my plan before
Commander Foyn, who with his usual energy and push has determined to take the first
risk on certain conditions, viz.:—He expects that the Australian Governments—or the
Victorian Government only—will grant him a bonus for thus trying to open up a new
source of wealth, from which the colonies no doubt in particular will reap the best
benefit, and at the same time Commander Foyn declares his willingness to let one or
two of your scientific men follow the vessel if your Government or the Geographical
Society should choose to do so, it being, however, distinctly understood that the
presence on board of these representatives of science must not interfere with the
expedition as a commercial enterprise, on which basis only Commander Foyn is prepared
to send his vessel. At the same time you may easily conclude that there will be a
number of opportunities for those scientists to make valuable observations, soundings,
&c. and they may be sure that on board they will be met with all due consideration
and assistance from captains and officers' side, so as to enable them to get a profitable
result of the voyage. The vessel that Commander Foyn intends to send for the purpose
is a ship of about 400 tons register, extremely strong built and provided with powerful
engines of about 90 to 100 h.p., in fact the very best type of her class, and I do
not hesitate to say that the colonies will hardly ever get a better chance to have
the Antarctic problem solved than the offer now made by Commander Foyn. It is besides
very difficult to find any one single man who is ready to undertake a risk of this
nature, and I do hope that your Government will make him an encouraging offer of bonus.
By this mail I also write to our consul, Mr H Gunderson, and ask him to see you on
this subject, and as the season is rapidly approaching I am telling Mr Gundersen to
let Commander Foyn or myself have a reply from your Government by cable. The vessel
ought to leave here not later than 1st September
a.c.
—
I remain, &c,
H. J. Bull.
3
See Home et al. (1992) for a discussion of Australian efforts to explore the Antarctic.