Safe and Secure

Sledge dogs were inclined to fight and roam, so to keep them safe they were often chained up. This also prevented them from getting into food storage areas and eating precious supplies. Hungry dogs were known to eat many other things including leather and rope.

Crack that Whip

Whips were used in Antarctica for training dogs, not disciplining them. The whip was cracked on the ice, and the sound kept the dogs in line and helped steer them. They were rarely needed when driving a well-trained dog team. In his diary from the 1950s, expedition surveyor Roy Carlyon noted:

“The dog whip is used mainly for turning the dogs rather than a weapon of punishment. The leather whips are 55ft long and practically unmanageable, so the dogs are pretty safe.”

Huskies in Harness

Harnesses were important equipment for sledging. The harness pictured above was used by the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition (1949–1952). It belonged to Truls, whose name is carved into the main strap. Later harnesses were made from durable webbing.

Beware!

This wind-eroded sign was recovered from Douglas Mawson's huts at Cape Denison near the site of the dog lines. Mawson ordered 50 Greenland dogs for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911–1914). These were supplemented by 21 of Roald Amundsen’s dogs and dozens of puppies that were born on the ice. Only a small number survived.