" 31 August 1988 L21/8720L01 52l Brunswick Street Mr Jim Keenan Fortitude Valley Department of Science: Antarctic Division Post Office Box 431 Antarctic Policy and Transport Studies Branch Fortitude Valley. Q. 4006 PO Box 65 Australia BELCONNEN ACT 2616 Telephone (07) 3584744 Dear Jim MAWSON'S HUTS We now enclose final copies of our report on the significance of Mawson1s Hu ts. One copy is bound and the other unbound for further photocopying should you require additional copies. L RICHARD ALLOM Director Allam Lovell Marquis-Kyle Pty Ltd Consultant: trading as Allam Lovell & Associates Pty Ltd Allam Lovell Marquis-Kyle Melbourne (03) 654 8910 Mawson's Huts Antarctica Statement of Significance CONTENTS i 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 MAWSON'S HUTS 1 1.2 THIS DOCUMENT 1 1.3 COMPLETENESS OF THE EVIDENCE 2 1.4 SYNOPSIS 3 1.5 THE STUDY TEAM 3 1.6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 2 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE 5 2.1 SUMMARY 5 2.2 POLAR REGIONS 5 2.2.1 The Arctic Region 5 2.2.2 Antarctica 7 2.2.3 Antarctica's Physical Geography 8 2.3 NORTH POLAR EXPLORATION 10 2.4 SOUTH POLAR EXPLORATION 11 2.4.1 The Pre-Wintering Period of South Polar Exploration 11 2.5 THE HEROIC PERIOD 12 2.5.1 Early Expeditions 13 2.5.2 Three Simultaneous Expeditions 1901-1903 13 2.5.3 Bruce's Expedition 1902-1904 14 2.5.4 Charcot's Expeditions 1904-1905 &. 1909-1910 14 2.5.5 Shackleton's Expedition 1909-1910 15 2.5.6 Scott's and Amundsen's Expeditions 1909-1911 16 Other Minor Expeditions 1911-1914 EARLY AUSTRALIAN INVOLVEMENT IN EXPLORATION 16 2.7 THE AUSTRALASIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION 1911- 1914 17 2.7.1 Sir Douglas Mawson 17 2.7.2 The Objectives of the Expedition 18 2.7.3 The Expedition 20 2.8 THE MACQUARIE ISLAND BASE STATION 21 2.9 THE MAIN BASE STATION 22 2.10 THE MAIN LIVING AND WORKSHOP HUT 23 2.10.1 Origins of the Design 25 2.10.2 The Specification of the Hut 26 2.10.3 The Construction of the Hut 27 2.11 OTHER STRUCTURES AT THE MAIN BASE STATION 30 2.11.1 The Hangar 30 2.11.2 The Absolute Hut 31 2.11.3 The Magnetograph House 31 2.11.4 The Transit Hut 32 2.11.5 The Memorial Cross and Plaque 32 2.12 THE WESTERN BASE STATION 33 2.13 CONCLUSION OF DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE 33 Allom Lovell Marquis-Kyle Architects CONTENTS ii 3 THE FABRIC OF MAWSON'S HUTS 35 3.1 SUMMARY 36 3.2 THE MAIN LIVING AND WORKSHOP HUT 36 3.3 OTHER STRUCTURES AT THE MAIN BASE STATION 37 3.3.1 The Hangar 37 3.3.2 The Absolute Hut 37 3.3.3 The Magnetograph House 38 3.3.4 The Transit Hut 38 3.3.5 The Memorial Cross and Plaque 38 3.4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS 41 3.5 MORE RECENT BUILDINGS AND ARTEFACTS 41 4: COMPARATIVEANALY&S 42 4.1 POLAR HUTS 42 4.2 HUTS OF THE HEROIC AGE OF ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION 42 4.2.1 Scandinavian Designs 43 4.2.2 British Designs 43 4.2.3 Australian Designs 44 4.3 MAWSON'S HUTS 44 4.4 OTHER SURVIVING HUTS 45 5 CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE 41 CONCEPT 5.3 CRITERIA FOR SIGNIFICANCE 48 5.4 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MAWSON'S HUTS 49 5.4.1 49 5.4.2 Rarity 49 5.4.3 Associational Value 49 5.4.4 Aesthetic, Creative and Technical 50 5.4.5 Social and Cultural Value 51 5.4.6 Scientific Value 51 5.5 SUMMARY STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE 52 6 POLICY ISSUES 6.1 ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED 54 6.2 A CONSERVATION POLICY FOR MAWSON'S HUTS 54 APPENDICES 58 7.1 CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTER OF THE NATIONAL ESTATE 58 7.2 ARCTIC HUTS 60 7.2.1 1596 Dutch Arctic Expedition 61 7.2.2 1891-1893 American Arctic Expedition 63 Allam Lovell Marquis-Kyle Architects CONTENTS iii 7.2.3 1893-1895 American Arctic Expedition 65 7.2.4 1898-1902 Norwegian Arctic Expedition 67 7.2.5 1899-1902 American Arctic Expedition 68 7.2.6 1900 Danish East Greenland Expedition 70 7.2.7 1903-1906 Norwegian Arctic Expedition 71 7.3 ANTARCTIC HUTS 72 7.3.1 1882-1883 German International Polar Year Expedition 73 7.3.2 1898-1900 British Antarctic Expedition 75 7.3.3 1901-1903 Swedish Antarctic Expedition 77 7.3.4 1901-1904 British National Antarctic Expedition 79 7.3.5 1902-1904 Scottish National Antarct ic Expedition 81 7.3.7 1907-1909 British Antarctic Expedition 85 7.3.8 1910-1913 British Antarctic Expedition 87 7.3.9 1910-1912 Norwegian Antarctic Expedition 89 7.3.10 1910-1913 British Antarctic Expedition (Northern Party) 91 7.3.11 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition (Macquarie Island Base Station) 93 7.3.12 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition 96 7.4 GEORGE HUDSON & SON LTD'S MANIFEST 98 7.5 BIBLIOGRAPHY 101 7.5.1 Published Sources 101 7.5.2 Unpublished Sources 102 Allam Lovell Marquis-Kyle Architects Mawson's Huts Antarctica Report on their Cultural Significance for Science August 1988 Allam Lovell Marquis-Kyle Architects 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 MAWSON'S HUTS The term 'Mawson's Huts' is that most commonly associated with the site, the huts' remains and the other artefacts associated with the main base of the 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition which was established at the head of a natural harbour towards the western end of Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, George V Land, Antarctica in January 1912. Named after the instigator and leader of the Expedition, geologist Douglas Mawson, the site was the location of two year's occupation by the 18 members of the main base party who undertook an extensive scientific programme covering such fields as terrestrial magnetism, meteorology, biology, geography and geology. The importance of this site to Australia's heritage and to the history of Antarctic exploration has been acknowledged through its inclusion on the Register of the National Estate. As the property of the Commonwealth of Australia it is offered protection within the terms of the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975. The site is also included in the Antarctic Treaty List of Historic Monuments and is afforded protection within the terms of that Treaty. Renewed interest in Mawson's Huts over the last few years has highlighted the necessity for the formulation of a suitable management plan to enable the significant aspects of the site to be retained in the future. The objective of this report, through clearly establishing the nature of cultural significance of Mawson's Huts, to provide an appropriate basis decisions can made or policy developed the conservation the Cape Historical Site, in accordance with the Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance (the Burra Charter). 1.2 THIS DOCUMENT The preparation of this document was commissioned by the Antarctic Division of the Department of Science on behalf of the .Commonwealth of Australia in May 1987. The requirements of the brief were to assess the cultural significance of the historic site at Cape Denison and to provide a succinct Statement of Significance. The a'ssessment of the cultural significance of Mawson's Huts involved two stages which are reflected in the layout of the report: 1 th e a nalysis of extensive, although often incomplete, documentary evidence on the history of Mawson's Huts and of its fabric; 2 the determination of the significance of Mawson's Huts compared with other polar huts, particularly those Antarctic huts constructed during the period between 1895 and the onset of World War I known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration. Allam Lovell Marquis-Kyle Architects 1 INTRODUCTION 2 Chapter 2 contains the documentary evidence relating to the physical characteristics of the Antarctic region, the historical background which led to the instigation of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914; the Expedition itself, its objectives and achievements and the buildings constructed in association with it, particularly those of the Main Base Station, Commonwealth Bay. Chapter 3 discusses the condition of the structures at the Commonwealth Bay site as understood from the available evidence. Chapter 4 compares Mawson's Huts and the Commonwealth Bay site with other polar huts, particularly those which are known to survive in the Antarctic region prior to World War I. In Chapter 5, the Cultural Significance of Mawson's Huts and its associated site is determined and stated in summary form with policy issues to be addressed appearing in Chapter 6. Within the Appendices, details of the polar huts used as part of the comparative analysis are tabulated chronologically. 1.3 COMPLETENESS OF THE EVIDENCE The scope of this study did not include the examination of the physical fabric of Mawson's Huts by the authors. This information was provided by the recent expeditions of Ledingham & others (1978), Project Blizzard (1984-1985; 1985-1986), Dr Michael Pearson (1986) and a report by Mr Duncan Marshall on the performance of the structure and materials of the main living and workshop huts and the memorial cross at Main Base Station of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914. Inf'orlmatioln with history at base of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, their construction and present condition is still incomplete with numerous questions remaining to be answered. These include: 1 Detailed comparison between the documentary evidence of the main living hut prior to its construction (the manifest and specification for the Main Hut from George Hudson and Son Ltd, Wholesale Timber Merchants) and the as-built plans and sections by Alfred Hodgeman combined with the remaining physical evidence on site.