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MS WYATT EARP moored at the Bay of Whales, Antarctica, January 1936
MS WYATT EARP moored at the Bay of Whales, Antarctica, January 1936

MS WYATT EARP moored at the Bay of Whales, Antarctica, January 1936

Date1936
Object numberANMS1445[082]
NamePhotograph
MediumPhotograph, paper
DimensionsOverall: 150 × 190 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Rhod Cook
DescriptionWilliam Frank Cook was First Lieutenant on HMAS WYATT EARP, the primary research vessel for the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition of 1947-1948. Prior to its purchase by the Royal Australian Navy the WYATT EARP had been used by American explorer Lincoln Ellsworth to explore Antarctica from 1936-1939.HistoryLincoln Ellsworth (1880-1951) made four expeditions to Antarctica between 1933 and 1939 using MS WYATT EARP as an aircraft transporter and base. The ship was a former Norwegian herring boat. In 1939 it was purchased from Ellsworth by the Australian Government and handed over the Royal Australian Navy. On restarting its Antarctic research program the ship was recommissioned by the Australian Government as HMAS WYATT EARP on 17 November 1947 at Port Adelaide and William Frank Cook appointed First Lieutenant. Following a visit by the Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, it sailed for Williamstown, Victoria, in December 1947 for preparation and loading, which included an OS2U Kingfisher amphibian aircraft of the RAAF. HMAS WYATT EARP left from Nelson Pier, Williamstown, on 19 December 1947 and proceeded to Hobart. Gales caused some problems en route. After several days in Hobart, the ship left for the Antarctic on 26 December 1947, but storm damage caused its return to Melbourne for repairs, leaving again on 8 February 1948. Bad weather made landing at Adelie Land impossible. HMAS WYATT EARP made for Macquarie Island where it met HMAS LABUAN and transferred a team of scientists over to it. HMAS WYATT EARP then returned to Melbourne ending its career in the RAN.SignificanceThis folder of official naval appointment documents is significant because it provides a complete record of William Cook's service aboard ships during his naval career. Cook's record can be traced from his origins as a Naval Cadet Midshipman at Flinders Naval Depot in 1930 to his appointment to the honourary rank of Captain upon retirement in 1960. Further, his complete collection of 'flimsies', or conduct documents, chronicle how he was perceived by his superiors before, during and after the Second World War. Such comprehensive service records for a single individual during the period covered (1930-1960) are relatively rare.