Stephen Hicks
The TAE and the IGY – Turning Points in the history of Antarctica
Stephen Hicks, Gateway Antarctica
Supervisor
Bryan Storey, Gateway Antarctica
Philippa Mein-Smith, School of History
It is over half a century since the Trans-Antarctic Expedition (TAE) achieved its goal of an overland crossing of the Antarctic continent and since the world scientific community gathered during the IGY to continue the quest for nature's secrets with a focus on the polar regions. The record however is fragmented across a multitude of accounts, some ‘official', some not, some emphasising the TAE and some, the IGY, and some treating the two as if they were one. No account has yet treated these two distinct yet closely related ‘super-projects' in a historically rigorous manner.
Misconceptions have arisen and the populist objectives of the commercial media together with the layered recounting of anecdotes has led to either an incorrect or at least to an incomplete understanding of these key events from that pivotal decade in polar history.
My thesis is an attempt to update the record with new material as well as to correct misconceptions that have been promulgated regarding the British and the New Zealand parties, and also the role of the United States Antarctic Program before and after the crossing of the continent. Using diaries, archival material and largely primary sources my thesis will seek to clarify the issues that arose before, during and after the TAE achieved its goal. This will be presented in the political, scientific and environmental context of the period.