australian

The 1911 expedition to Antarctica by leader Douglas Mawson ended in tragedy and death. Unbeknownst to him, he was headed to the windiest place on earth--Commonwealth Bay. When the expedition floundered, it was here that Mawson built a hut to shelter those who remained, and where they stayed for two years as they waited for rescue. And it was here that the legacy he built for himself, as the only survivor, began to unravel almost one hundred years later as diaries and letters came to light that told a different story from his memoirs.

Describes the life and career of the Australian explorer, Sir Doulgas Mawson, focusing on his 1912 scientific expedition to Antarctica.

Hubert Wilkins, born in 1888, was largely self-taught and grew up in the Australian outback. He became a celebrated newsreel reporter, pilot, spy, war hero, scientist and adventurer. He recognized early on the importance of new technology such as the airplane, submarine, and motion picture camera in exploring uncharted territory. He became the first to fly in the Antarctic, and the first to take a submarine under the Arctic ice. A visionary, he also grasped the link between the poles and changing global weather and he was a pioneer in weather forecasting and the study of global warming.

Describes the life and career of the Australian explorer, Sir Doulgas Mawson, focusing on his 1912 scientific expedition to Antarctica.