Celebrating Australia’s role in Antarctica

The ACE CRC was one of the hosts of a successful symposium held in Hobart on August 24 to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Australian Antarctic Territory. About 80 people attended the public symposium to hear 15 speakers, who covered the spectrum of Australia’s territorial, political, scientific and cultural achievements in Antarctica. The keynote speakers were Tom Griffiths, who is Professor of History and Director of the Centre for Environmental History at the Australian National University, and Everest mountaineer and Antarctic adventurer Greg Mortimer. Former Tasmanian Governor, honorary Antarctic ambassador and ACE patron Sir Guy Green gave the opening address. A highlight of the day was a live cross from the CSIRO Auditorium in Hobart to Mawson Station, where station leader Mark Williams talked about life on the station and the support the expeditioners were giving to Australia’s Antarctic program. It is 75 years since the proclamation of the Australian Antarctic Territory. A number of adventurers discovered and explored eastern Antarctica from over a century ago, but it was the activities of Douglas Mawson that cemented Australia’s place there. In 1933 the British placed the territory claimed by Mawson under Australian authority and 24 August 1936 the Australian Antarctic Territory Acceptance Act came into operation by proclamation. ACE, the UTAS School of Government, the School of History and Research School of Social Sciences at the ANU and the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies at UTAS jointly hosted the symposium. Its proceedings are published here.
 

Authorised by the CEO of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre October 2019.

The ACE CRC was established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program.

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