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The Adelie Blizzard: the Australasian Antarctic Expedition's neglected newspaper

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-16, 17:24 authored by Elizabeth LeaneElizabeth Leane
To prevent boredom and restlessness during early Arctic and Antarctic over-wintering expeditions, leaders often encouraged 'cultural' activities, one of the most successful of which was the production of newspapers. Expedition members contributed poetry, short fiction, and literary criticism as well as scientific articles and accounts of their daily activities. These newspapers provide an important insight into the experiences and attitudes of the men who took part in the expeditions. In some cases, the newspaper would be published on the expedition's return, as a means of publicity, fund-raising, and memorialisation. The most famous example is the South Polar Times, the newspaper produced by Robert Falcon Scott's two expeditions. Other polar newspapers remain unpublished and unexamined. This article focuses on the Adelie Blizzard, the newspaper of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14, led by Douglas Mawson. Despite Mawson's efforts, the Adelie Blizzard was never published, and is rarely discussed in any detail in accounts of the expedition. The aim of this article is to address this neglect, by examining the genesis, production and attempted publication of the Adelie Blizzard.

Funding

Australian Research Council

History

Publication title

Polar Record

Volume

41

Issue

216

Pagination

11-20

ISSN

0032-2474

Department/School

School of Humanities

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Place of publication

United Kingdom

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Literature

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