Rare Photos Of The First Australasian Antarctic Expedition

The Australasian Antarctic Expedition, led by Australian geologist Sir Douglas Mawson, is known for being one of the most treacherous expeditions known to man. There’s even a book entitled Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival in the History of Exploration by David Roberts who tells the brutal yet fascinating story of the leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition: Douglas Mawson.

In 1911 Douglas Mawson and a three-man sledding team set out to investigate the unknown Antarctic coast. As you’d imagine, the mission was extremely brutal as the men were subject to exhaustion, starvation, unforgiving terrain, and sub-zero temperatures. In fact, the journey was so merciless, two of his men — Xavier Metz and Belgrave Ninnis — perished. Ninnis slipped down a massive crevasse while carrying most of the group’s supplies and Metz died of exhaustion and possible toxicity from eating dog livers.

Ninnis took with him the six best dogs, rations, their tent, and various essential supplies. It was reported that Mertz and Mawson witnessed one injured dog and one dead dog on a ledge approximately 165 ft below them, but Ninnis was never seen again.

It’s said that the two turned back almost immediately with only one week’s worth of supplies, plenty of fuel, and no dog food. Both men suffered from dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain and more as both of their conditions continued to deteriorate for the sake of exploration, knowledge, and understanding of the region.

Thankfully, death and suffering weren’t in vain.

The men spent three patient-years on that expedition (1911-1914) to gain knowledge of the East Antarctic coastline which resulted in major advancements in academia and knowledge of the region.

Many species were described for the first time that was previously unknown to man and Mawson became a pioneer in his field for his bravery, determination, and contributions to the knowledge of Antarctica’s geology, biology, and meteorology.

Thankfully, photographer Frank Hurley was one of the crew members who managed to snap several fascinating photos of Mawson’s groundbreaking expedition.