Flag from 1908 Mawson trek delights Antarctic expeditioners

The Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) Club celebrated 75 years of exploration at the Shine Dome.

  • 2 mins read
Image Description
A collage of three images. Two smaller squares on the left show old photos and drawings of people on the ice. The main image shows two men looking at a framed Union Jack flag and photograph, resting on a table.

Photos, drawings and other Antarctic artefacts on display at the Shine Dome. The flag was constructed by Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FAA FRS, Sir T.W. Edgeworth David KBE CMG FRS and Alistair Mackay during the Nimrod Expedition.

A handmade, 118-year-old Union Jack flag was the crowd favourite at a gathering of Antarctic expeditioners at the Shine Dome earlier this month.

The flag was improvised – using red-spotted handkerchief, curtain pieces and pen ink – by Sir Douglas Mawson, T.W. Edgeworth David and Alistair Mackay during their trek to the South Magnetic Pole in 1908, part of the Nimrod Expedition led by Sir Ernest Shackleton.

The Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) Club viewed the flag on 10 October as part of their 75th anniversary celebrations.

The ANARE Club is an organisation for people who have been involved in Australia’s Antarctic research expeditions.

At the Shine Dome, members gathered to watch movies including ‘Australian Diary’, which shows Heard Island – a remote Australian subantarctic island – in 1948.

Archivist Bethany Holland provided an overview of some of the Antarctic material held within the Fenner Archive including two collections on the International Geophysical Year, the Edgeworth David Collection, the Leo Cotton Collection and the Stillwell Collection.

The Club also held a gala dinner at the National Museum of Australia, where Academy Fellow Professor Nerilie Abram FAA gave an address reflecting on the history and future of scientific work on the icy continent.

The flag is just one example of the many significant pieces of Antarctic history that the Academy holds. Images of other highlights, such as the 1912 Sketchbook of Antarctica or Stillwell's photography album, can be viewed online thanks to ongoing investment in the digitisation of our collections.

If you would like to support the preservation of Australia’s scientific legacy and help us to make more treasures accessible, please donate or contact us at philanthropy@science.org.au to find out more.

You can also organise to visit the Shine Dome and explore the archives firsthand by contacting the library.

Related

Initiative

Basser Library and Fenner Archives

The Basser Library and Fenner Archives of the Australian Academy of Science hold a rich and varied collection of published and primary source material documenting the history of science in Australia.
Basser Library and Fenner Archives banner image
Information

‘Still no Mawson’: Frank Stillwell’s Antarctic diaries 1911–13

In January 1913, Frank Stillwell and 14 other men waited anxiously at Main Base in Antarctica for three overdue men.
Article

Antarctica, geology and the Frank Stillwell Collection

Rare manuscripts and photographs documenting early Australian exploration of Antarctica and its connection to developments in geology and mineralogy have been digitised as part of an ongoing collaborative project between the Australian Academy of Science and the National Library of Australia.
Antarctica, geology and the Frank Stillwell Collection-thumbnail