Author Archive for: comms@nzaht.org

By Josefin Jimenez In most cases the historic food that comes off the ice is interesting, rather than appetizing. Even if it had not been 100 years old and come from a tin covered in corrosion and penguin remains the names ‘Bloaters’ and ‘Lunch Tongue’ are not something that would make most people reach for their knife and fork. Not in this day and age, anyway! There have been a few exceptions though, such as tablets of compressed coffee that still smelled like the fresh beans, mango chutney from the Indian Condiment Manufacturer and, in one notable case, lard so […]

By Sue Bassett Conserving artefacts from the early British Antarctic expedition huts whilst actually living in Antarctica is without doubt a unique, ultimately challenging and wonderful experience for any conservator. Truth be known, it’s life-changing. The Trust’s current artefacts conservation team, working on the contents of the earliest and most remote British hut in Antarctica, is based in Christchurch. This is because it was logistically simpler to transport frozen artefacts from Antarctica’s Cape Adare to New Zealand for treatment, and then refreeze them and take them back. The Christchurch location offers the team a different set of opportunities, such as […]

By Ciarán Lavelle The men of Scott’s 1910 expedition would have been at the peak of their physical fitness on the eve of their expedition south. The harshness and physical demands of not just their sea journey but also their time in the icy south required a great deal of both mental and physical strength and stamina to face the trials and tribulations of such a harsh foreboding environment. In our modern fitness and gym-obsessed world it is interesting to think about these virile men and how they organised their own fitness regimes to keep their strength and stamina at […]

By Josefin Jiménez The work to conserve the artefacts from Cape Adare, the base established by Carsten Borchgrevink’s British Antarctic Expedition (Southern Cross) 1898 ̶ 1900, has just begun. Due to Cape Adare’s inaccessible location the artefacts won’t be conserved on the ice at Scott Base this winter but have instead been frozen and transported to Christchurch for treatment. The team is made up of four conservators, some of whom are old hands with AHT and some of whom are new faces. Sue Bassett, lead conservator, has led AHT Winter teams through 2013 and 2014, has experience with many interesting […]