It is 75 years since Australia’s legal recognition of the lands that Douglas Mawson explored,  a vast area that became known as the Australian Antarctic Territory. On August 24 a free public symposium will be held in Hobart to review Australia’s territorial, political, scientific and cultural achievements in Antarctica and to explore prospects for the Australian Antarctic Territory in the coming decades. Eminent speakers including current and former diplomats, prominent Australian adventurer Greg Mortimer and noted historian Tom Griffiths, along with local Antarctic identities including Sir Guy Green, will be guests on the day. The symposium is being jointly hosted by the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems CRC, the UTAS School of Government, the School of History and the Research School of Social Sciences at the ANU and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at UTas. A number of adventurers discovered and explored eastern Antarctica a century ago, but it was chiefly the activities of Australian pioneer, Douglas Mawson, that helped cement our place in Antarctica. His expeditions of 1911–14 and 1929–31 explored the coastline and provided the foundations upon which land could be claimed “in the name of His Majesty, King George the Fifth, King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions across the seas, Emperor of India”. In 1933 the British placed this territory claimed by Mawson under Australian authority. The Australian Parliament then passed the Australian Antarctic Territory Acceptance Act 1933, which gave effect to the British Order-in-Council. The Act came into operation by Proclamation on 24 August 1936. Symposium details Where: CSIRO Auditorium, Hobart When: Wednesday, 24 August 2011 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Program: Download Final Program Details Registration: For further information or to register please contact Dr Julia Jabour:julia.jabour@utas.edu.au.

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