Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica

This is a timeline of the history of New Zealand's involvement with Antarctica.

Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

;1773
*17 January Captain James Cook and the crews of his expedition's ships, "Resolution" and "Adventure", become the first explorers to cross the Antarctic CircleFraser, B. (ed.) (1986) "The New Zealand book of events." Auckland: Reed Methuen p 72] ;1770s - 1830s
*Sealers and whalers arrive in New Zealand;1838 - 1840
*French and American expeditions, led by Jules Dumont d'Urville and Charles Wilkes. John Sac, a Māori travelling with Wilkes, becomes the first New Zealander to cross the Antarctic Circle;1839
*The Balleny Islands discovered by English whaling captains John Balleny and Thomas Freeman;1841
*Ross Sea and Mount Erebus discovered by James Clark Ross;1895
*New Zealander Alexander von Tunzelmann becomes the first person to set foot on Antarctica, at Cape AdareFraser, B. (ed.) (1986) "The New Zealand book of events." Auckland: Reed Methuen p 73] ;1899
*February British expedition led by Carstens Borchgrevink, including several New Zealanders, establishes first base in Antarctica, at Cape Adare. This expedition becomes the first to winter over on the continent

1900s

;1902
*Scott Island (formerly "Markham Island") was discovered and landed upon by Captain William Colbeck

1910s

;1910
*Robert Falcon Scott leaves for Antarctica from Port Chalmers. Scott's party later died on the return journey after being delayed by a blizzard;1911 - 1914
*Four New Zealanders (H Hamilton, AJ Sawyer, EN Webb, and LA Webber) are members of Douglas Mawson's Australian Antarctic expeditionFraser, B. (ed.) (1986) "The New Zealand book of events." Auckland: Reed Methuen p 74]

1920s

;1923
*Ross Dependency proclaimed on July 30 as a British Territory entrusted to New Zealand;1928
*US Navy Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd leaves Dunedin for the first sea-air exploration expedition to the Antarctic. Byrd overflew the South Pole with pilot Bernt Balchen on November 28 and 29, 1929, to match his overflight of the North Pole in 1926. Establishes base at Little America;1929
*Combined UK-Australia-NZ expedition led by Douglas Mawson; New Zealand members include RA Falla and RG SimmersFraser, B. (ed.) (1986) "The New Zealand book of events." Auckland: Reed Methuen p 75]

1930s

;1933
*New Zealand Antarctic Society founded

1940s

;1946
*New Zealand joins the International Whaling Commission to help oversee whaling in the southern ocean;1949
*First publication of New Zealand Antarctic Society quarterly journal, "Antarctic"

1950s

;1955
*August The New Zealand Government decide to establish an Antarctic base as part of its contribution to International Geophysical Year (1957-58)Fraser, B. (ed.) (1986) "The New Zealand book of events." Auckland: Reed Methuen pp 75-76] ;1956
*McMurdo Station established; construction of both Scott Base and Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station started;1957
*20 January Scott Base established in Ross Dependency
*International Geophysical Year
*Hallett Station South of Cape Adare is established as a joint New Zealand-United States operationFraser, B. (ed.) (1986) "The New Zealand book of events." Auckland: Reed Methuen p 76] ;1958
*4 January Edmund Hillary, leading an expedition using farm tractors equipped for polar travel, arrives at the Pole, the first expedition since Scott's to reach the South Pole over land
*United States "Operation Deep Freeze" starts, based in Christchurch;1959
*1 December Antarctic Treaty signed with other countries involved in scientific exploration in Antarctica
*New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) established an Antarctic Division

1960s

;1964
*Hallett Station destroyed by fire. It is not rebuilt but is used as a summer-only base until 1973.;1965
*The first flight from New Zealand to Antarctica made by a Royal New Zealand Air Force C130 (Hercules) aircraft;1968
*Marie Derby becomes first New Zealand woman to work in the Antarctic;1969
*12 November South Pole visited for the first time by women — four Americans, an Australian, and New Zealander Pamela Young
*Vanda Station manned for the first time

1970s

;1970
*Antarctic Amendment Act comes into force;1972 - 1974
*First solo voyage to Antarctica, by New Zealand-born yachtsman and author David LewisFraser, B. (ed.) (1986) "The New Zealand book of events." Auckland: Reed Methuen p 77] ;1974
*December Joint NZ-France expedition makes first ascent, and descent into crater, of Mount Erebus
*Antarctic Museum Centre opened at Canterbury Museum;1975
*Prime Minister Bill Rowling had a formal proposal made at the Oslo Meeting for Antarctic to be declared a World Park.;1976
*Thelma Rogers, of New Zealand's DSIR, becomes the first woman to winter over on Antarctica;1977
*New Zealand proclaims Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles (370 km), which provides for the zone to also include Ross Dependency's waters;1979
* The Mount Erebus disaster: an Air New Zealand DC-10 crashes and 257 people die

1980s

;1980
*New Zealand is signatory to the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which comes into effect in 1982;1982
*20 January Robert Muldoon becomes the first Prime Minister of New Zealand to visit Antarctica
*June Antarctic Treaty nations meet in Wellington to discuss the exploitation of Antarctica's minerals;1987
*Closure of Scott Base Post Office (reopened in 1994)

1990s

;1995
*Closure of Vanda Station;1996
*Antarctica New Zealand established on 1 July to manage the Government's interest in Antarctica

2000s

;2006
* October (to January 2007): New Zealanders Kevin Biggar and Jamie Fitzgerald become the first people to walk to the South Pole without the aid of any supply dumps. [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10400843 Out of the freezer and to the South Pole - 12 September 2006 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news ] ] Their plan to parasail back is abandoned. [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/search/story.cfm?storyid=0003D08A-64A6-159A-B8F383027AF1010C] ;2007
*Prime Minister Helen Clark and Sir Edmund Hillary (aged 87) travel with an official party to Scott Base to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its founding.
* 4 June First New Zealand Antarctic Medal (NZAM) awarded, to geophysicist Dr Fred Davey.

References

Links

* [http://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/ Antarctica New Zealand website]
* [http://www.antarctic.org.nz/ New Zealand Antarctic Society]
* [http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/honours/overview/antarctic-medal.html New Zealand Antarctic Medal]

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