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Text Content

 * Home
 * Preparation
   * Overview
   * Preparation: Introduction
   * Australia and Antarctica
     * Overview
     * The hunters
     * Building empires
     * Australia looks south
     * Australians under the British
   * Lobbying: London and Australia
     * Overview
     * The seeds of an idea
     * The Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science
     * Going public
     * In England
     * Banging the drums
     * Enter the Commonwealth
     * Grants and donations
   * Planning: science and logistics
     * Overview
     * Shelters from the stormy blast
     * A lot of hustle and bustle
     * Scientific equipment
     * Clothing, field equipment and fuel
     * Food
     * Medical equipment
     * Advice and training
     * And finally
     * Sources of equipment and supplies
   * Innovation
     * Overview
     * Mawson’s aerial plans
     * Signals from the South
     * Ice images
   * Selections
     * Overview
     * Wanted: brainy, enterprising, fit young men with moral qualities
     * The London selections
     * In the Antipodes
     * The physical scientists
     * The biologists
     * Medical men
     * The finger tappers
     * The photographer
     * Finding another leader
     * The contracts
     * On the small matter of payment
 * The Voyages
   * Overview
   * The Voyages: Introduction
   * Whaler turned explorer
     * Overview
     * A new role for an old workhorse
   * Departure from Hobart
     * Overview
     * Frantic last days
     * ‘A galvanism in it all’
     * Farewell to civilization
   * People of Aurora
     * Overview
     * John King Davis
     * John H Blair
     * Percival Gray
     * Clarence Petersen de la Motte
     * F.J. Gillies
     * F.D. Fletcher
     * The crewmen of the Aurora
   * Transporting the expedition
     * Overview
     * To Antarctica!
     * Westward passage
     * Bringing them home
     * The final voyage
   * Exploring the depths
     * Overview
     * The fourth scientific base
     * Ship of science
     * The 1912 marine science cruises
     * Science on a heaving deck
     * The final AAE cruise
   * Postscript: Aurora’s final years
     * Overview
     * Davis, Shackleton and Aurora’s final years
 * Macquarie Island
   * Overview
   * Macquarie Island: Introduction
   * The island
     * Overview
     * A sub-Antarctic treasure
     * A soggy green sponge
     * A bloody history
     * Seeing things differently
   * Building the base
     * Overview
     * Landfall
     * Down to business
     * A fortunate mistake
     * Stepping the mast
     * Home alone
   * The people
     * Overview
     * George Frederick Ainsworth
     * Leslie Russell Blake
     * Harold Hamilton
     * Charles A. Sandell
     * Arthur J. Sawyer
   * The wireless relay
     * Overview
     * Flying blind
     * Contact
     * Wireless problems
     * Cape Denison comes on air
     * Bad news – and a breakthrough
     * Another year, another innovation
   * Field science
     * Overview
     * Unique science
     * Changing skies
     * Restless seas
     * Out and about
     * Studying shape...
     * ...and structure
     * Studying the natives
     * Collecting the specimens
   * Survival
     * Overview
     * Forgotten men
     * An unexpected extension
     * Tightening the belt
     * Drawing together
     * Dashed hopes
     * Desperate times
     * Relief
 * Cape Denison
   * Overview
   * Cape Denison: Introduction
   * Building the base
     * Overview
     * A promising start
     * Unloading - and a warning
     * Bedding down the main hut
     * Home at 'the Hut'
     * Temples to science
     * A finishing touch
   * The people
     * Overview
     * Douglas Mawson
     * Edward Frederick Robert Bage
     * Cecil Thomas Madigan
     * Belgrave E. S. Ninnis
     * Xavier Mertz
     * Archibald Lang McLean
     * Francis Howard Bickerton
     * Alfred James Hodgeman
     * James Francis (Frank) Hurley
     * Eric Norman Webb
     * Percy E. Correll
     * John George Hunter
     * Charles Francis Laseron
     * Frank Leslie Stillwell
     * Herbert Dyce Murphy
     * Walter Henry Hannam
     * John Henry Collinson Close
     * Leslie H. Whetter
     * Sidney Jeffryes
   * At home
     * Overview
     * Life and work at Cape Denison
     * Magnetic fortresses
     * Windy, windier
     * The seas and the stars
     * Studying other lives
     * The wireless
     * Busy, busy, busy
     * The ups and downs of Cape Denison life
   * Journeys of discovery
     * Overview
     * Discovery
     * Pulling power
     * First forays
     * Practice runs
     * The Near East
     * Panoramas and perils
     * Trudging to nowhere
     * On the knife-edge
     * Westward ho!
   * Mawson’s fatal journey
     * Overview
     * A splendid march
     * Catastrophe
     * The death of Mertz
     * Alone
     * Hanging by a thread
     * Last gasp
   * Another winter
     * Overview
     * A difficult parting
     * Castaways
     * What to do?
     * Missing friends
     * News from home
     * Radio waves
     * Keeping boredom at bay
     * Homeward
 * Western Party
   * Overview
   * Western Party: Introduction
   * Shackleton Ice Shelf and Queen Mary Land
     * Overview
     * Floating fortresses
     * No place like home
     * Early encounters
     * Enter Aurora
   * Building the base
     * Overview
     * 'Anything was worth investigation'
     * Getting ashore
     * Down to work
     * Magnificent desolation
   * The people
     * Overview
     * Frank Wild
     * Andrew Douglas Watson
     * Sydney Evan Jones
     * Charles Turnbull Harrisson
     * Morton Henry Moyes
     * Alexander Lorimer Kennedy
     * Charles Archibald Hoadley
     * George Harris Sarjeant Dovers
   * The Grottoes
     * Overview
     * Getting the house in order
     * The magnetician’s trials
     * The Grottoes: Construction
     * Building the team
     * A plan gone wrong
     * Alone on the ice shelf
     * Waiting for Aurora
     * The ship arrives
   * New lands
     * Overview
     * Wild’s plans
     * Autumn reconnaissance
     * Preparing for spring
     * Investigating the ice shelf
     * Adventures on the sea ice
     * The serious work begins: the Eastern Sledge Journey
     * Frustration upon frustration
     * Westward ho!
 * Homecoming
   * Overview
   * Homecoming: Introduction
   * Celebrating Mawson’s homecoming
     * Overview
     * Signs of civilisation
     * Applause
     * A wedding with a difference
     * Now, down to work
     * Lost in the deluge
   * Marriage, knighthood, war and other tasks
     * Overview
     * Beating drums
     * America beckons
     * Awards and rewards
     * Battles at home and abroad
     * Lives in turmoil
 * National Heritage
   * Overview
   * National Heritage: Introduction
   * The physical remains: Mawson’s Huts
     * Overview
     * Cape Denison landscape
     * Main Hut
     * Magnetograph House
     * Absolute Magnetic Hut
     * Transit Hut
     * Memorial cross and plaque
     * Proclamation pole and plaque
     * Artefacts
   * Scientific collections and data: Science and the AAE
   * Scientific reports
     * Overview
     * Series A: Geography, Geology, Glaciology
     * Series B: Meteorology, Aural Observations, Wireless Observations,
       Magnetics, Tides
     * Series C: Zoology, Botany, Bacteriology
   * The scientific and political legacy
     * Overview
     * The scientific era begins
     * Australian Antarctic Territory defined
     * ANARE is created
     * Australian Antarctic Division established
     * Mawson Station established
     * The Antarctic work expands
     * A commitment to Antarctica
   * Heritage values
     * Overview
     * National heritage values
     * Commonwealth heritage values
     * Natural heritage values
   * Conservation
     * Overview
     * First efforts
     * Project Blizzard
     * Mawson’s Huts Foundation
     * The future
   * Protection and management
     * Overview
     * Antarctic Treaty and Protocol on Environmental Protection
     * National and Commonwealth heritage
     * Mawson’s Huts Historic Site Management Plan
 * Resources
   * Overview
   * Cape Denison databases
   * Websites about Antarctica's cultural heritage
   * Websites about Douglas Mawson
   * Video collection

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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HOME OF THE BLIZZARD


THE AUSTRALASIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION

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 1. Home

Known to be one of the windiest regions in the world, Cape Denison and the
iconic Mawson’s Huts are located on the Antarctic coast, about 4,000 km south of
mainland Australia. The home of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911 to
1914.

Preparation
How and why Douglas Mawson organised the first Australasian Antarctic
Expedition.
The Voyages
The birth of the Aurora, its maiden voyage and subsequent journeys south.
Macquarie Island
A look at the history and significance of this sub-Antarctic island.
Cape Denison
The expedition’s main base — a place of shelter, of scientific discovery, and of
tragic loss.
Western Party
The party led by Frank Wild bravely set up their base on Shackleton Ice Shelf.
Homecoming
A celebrated arrival at home, and life after Antarctica for Douglas Mawson.
National Heritage
The scientific and political legacy of the first expedition, and ongoing
conservation efforts.
Resources
Databases of artefacts and maps and related websites and videos.
This page was last updated on 10 February 2023.


PREPARATION

 1. Preparation: Introduction
 2. Australia and Antarctica
    * The hunters
    * Building empires
    * Australia looks south
    * Australians under the British
 3. Lobbying: London and Australia
    * The seeds of an idea
    * The Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science
    * Going public
    * In England
    * Banging the drums
    * Enter the Commonwealth
    * Grants and donations
 4. Planning: science and logistics
    * Shelters from the stormy blast
    * A lot of hustle and bustle
    * Scientific equipment
    * Clothing, field equipment and fuel
    * Food
    * Medical equipment
    * Advice and training
    * And finally
    * Sources of equipment and supplies
 5. Innovation
    * Mawson’s aerial plans
    * Signals from the South
    * Ice images
 6. Selections
    * Wanted: brainy, enterprising, fit young men with moral qualities
    * The London selections
    * In the Antipodes
    * The physical scientists
    * The biologists
    * Medical men
    * The finger tappers
    * The photographer
    * Finding another leader
    * The contracts
    * On the small matter of payment


THE VOYAGES

 1. The Voyages: Introduction
 2. Whaler turned explorer
    * A new role for an old workhorse
 3. Departure from Hobart
    * Frantic last days
    * ‘A galvanism in it all’
    * Farewell to civilization
 4. People of Aurora
    * John King Davis
    * John H Blair
    * Percival Gray
    * Clarence Petersen de la Motte
    * F.J. Gillies
    * F.D. Fletcher
    * The crewmen of the Aurora
 5. Transporting the expedition
    * To Antarctica!
    * Westward passage
    * Bringing them home
    * The final voyage
 6. Exploring the depths
    * The fourth scientific base
    * Ship of science
    * The 1912 marine science cruises
    * Science on a heaving deck
    * The final AAE cruise
 7. Postscript: Aurora’s final years
    * Davis, Shackleton and Aurora’s final years


MACQUARIE ISLAND

 1. Macquarie Island: Introduction
 2. The island
    * A sub-Antarctic treasure
    * A soggy green sponge
    * A bloody history
    * Seeing things differently
 3. Building the base
    * Landfall
    * Down to business
    * A fortunate mistake
    * Stepping the mast
    * Home alone
 4. The people
    * George Frederick Ainsworth
    * Leslie Russell Blake
    * Harold Hamilton
    * Charles A. Sandell
    * Arthur J. Sawyer
 5. The wireless relay
    * Flying blind
    * Contact
    * Wireless problems
    * Cape Denison comes on air
    * Bad news – and a breakthrough
    * Another year, another innovation
 6. Field science
    * Unique science
    * Changing skies
    * Restless seas
    * Out and about
    * Studying shape...
    * ...and structure
    * Studying the natives
    * Collecting the specimens
 7. Survival
    * Forgotten men
    * An unexpected extension
    * Tightening the belt
    * Drawing together
    * Dashed hopes
    * Desperate times
    * Relief


CAPE DENISON

 1. Cape Denison: Introduction
 2. Building the base
    * A promising start
    * Unloading - and a warning
    * Bedding down the main hut
    * Home at 'the Hut'
    * Temples to science
    * A finishing touch
 3. The people
    * Douglas Mawson
    * Edward Frederick Robert Bage
    * Cecil Thomas Madigan
    * Belgrave E. S. Ninnis
    * Xavier Mertz
    * Archibald Lang McLean
    * Francis Howard Bickerton
    * Alfred James Hodgeman
    * James Francis (Frank) Hurley
    * Eric Norman Webb
    * Percy E. Correll
    * John George Hunter
    * Charles Francis Laseron
    * Frank Leslie Stillwell
    * Herbert Dyce Murphy
    * Walter Henry Hannam
    * John Henry Collinson Close
    * Leslie H. Whetter
    * Sidney Jeffryes
 4. At home
    * Life and work at Cape Denison
    * Magnetic fortresses
    * Windy, windier
    * The seas and the stars
    * Studying other lives
    * The wireless
    * Busy, busy, busy
    * The ups and downs of Cape Denison life
 5. Journeys of discovery
    * Discovery
    * Pulling power
    * First forays
    * Practice runs
    * The Near East
    * Panoramas and perils
    * Trudging to nowhere
    * On the knife-edge
    * Westward ho!
 6. Mawson’s fatal journey
    * A splendid march
    * Catastrophe
    * The death of Mertz
    * Alone
    * Hanging by a thread
    * Last gasp
 7. Another winter
    * A difficult parting
    * Castaways
    * What to do?
    * Missing friends
    * News from home
    * Radio waves
    * Keeping boredom at bay
    * Homeward


WESTERN PARTY

 1. Western Party: Introduction
 2. Shackleton Ice Shelf and Queen Mary Land
    * Floating fortresses
    * No place like home
    * Early encounters
    * Enter Aurora
 3. Building the base
    * 'Anything was worth investigation'
    * Getting ashore
    * Down to work
    * Magnificent desolation
 4. The people
    * Frank Wild
    * Andrew Douglas Watson
    * Sydney Evan Jones
    * Charles Turnbull Harrisson
    * Morton Henry Moyes
    * Alexander Lorimer Kennedy
    * Charles Archibald Hoadley
    * George Harris Sarjeant Dovers
 5. The Grottoes
    * Getting the house in order
    * The magnetician’s trials
    * The Grottoes: Construction
    * Building the team
    * A plan gone wrong
    * Alone on the ice shelf
    * Waiting for Aurora
    * The ship arrives
 6. New lands
    * Wild’s plans
    * Autumn reconnaissance
    * Preparing for spring
    * Investigating the ice shelf
    * Adventures on the sea ice
    * The serious work begins: the Eastern Sledge Journey
    * Frustration upon frustration
    * Westward ho!


HOMECOMING

 1. Homecoming: Introduction
 2. Celebrating Mawson’s homecoming
    * Signs of civilisation
    * Applause
    * A wedding with a difference
    * Now, down to work
    * Lost in the deluge
 3. Marriage, knighthood, war and other tasks
    * Beating drums
    * America beckons
    * Awards and rewards
    * Battles at home and abroad
    * Lives in turmoil


NATIONAL HERITAGE

 1. National Heritage: Introduction
 2. The physical remains: Mawson’s Huts
    * Cape Denison landscape
    * Main Hut
    * Magnetograph House
    * Absolute Magnetic Hut
    * Transit Hut
    * Memorial cross and plaque
    * Proclamation pole and plaque
    * Artefacts
 3. Scientific collections and data: Science and the AAE
 4. Scientific reports
    * Series A: Geography, Geology, Glaciology
    * Series B: Meteorology, Aural Observations, Wireless Observations,
      Magnetics, Tides
    * Series C: Zoology, Botany, Bacteriology
 5. The scientific and political legacy
    * The scientific era begins
    * Australian Antarctic Territory defined
    * ANARE is created
    * Australian Antarctic Division established
    * Mawson Station established
    * The Antarctic work expands
    * A commitment to Antarctica
 6. Heritage values
    * National heritage values
    * Commonwealth heritage values
    * Natural heritage values
 7. Conservation
    * First efforts
    * Project Blizzard
    * Mawson’s Huts Foundation
    * The future
 8. Protection and management
    * Antarctic Treaty and Protocol on Environmental Protection
    * National and Commonwealth heritage
    * Mawson’s Huts Historic Site Management Plan


RESOURCES

 1. Cape Denison databases
 2. Websites about Antarctica's cultural heritage
 3. Websites about Douglas Mawson
 4. Video collection

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