Leslie Whetter

Who is Leslie Whetter?

Leslie Hatton Whetter was a surgeon and Antarctic explorer from New Zealand. A graduate of the University of Otago, in 1911 he joined the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, led by Douglas Mawson. During 1912, Whetter joined two sledging parties, the first to lay supplies, and the second to explore the area to the west of the Main Base at Cape Denison. On the second expedition, his party of three man-hauled a sledge 158 miles from the Cape Denison base, and in the process discovered the first meteorite to be found in Antarctica. Mawson thought Whetter lazy, and the two clashed several times, Mawson describing Whetter as "not fit for a polar expedition".