The COVID-19 global pandemic has impacted the Trust’s Antarctic operations for the upcoming 2020-2021 season.
Antarctic Heritage Trust is excited to have a new creative project being developed using augmented reality (AR).
The Trust was honoured to have New Zealand Prime Minister Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern launch a new book, ‘Hillary’s Antarctica’, at an event in the New Zealand Parliament Grand Hall in late October.
“Like seeing Antarctica for the first time” is how Lizzie Meek (Programme Manager – Artefacts) described her experience at Stonington Island on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Antarctic Heritage Trust has finished the last major job of saving Sir Edmund Hillary’s hut at Scott Base – installing a new roof.
The Trust raised nearly a million dollars to save the hut, also known as the TAE/IGY Hut, which was built by a team under Sir Ed’s leadership in 1957 just before his famous dash to the South Pole.
While working to conserve Hillary’s (TAE) Hut in 2016, the need for a weather-tight long-term roofing solution was identified.
Programme Manager Al Fastier says the Trust wanted the roofing solution to last a minimum of 35 years but more likely 50 to 100 years. A plan was then developed to overclad the historic roof, meaning the original roof remained intact.
A key feature of the newly restored hut is the painted aluminium roof, complete with new battens painted in the original bright orange.
“It gives it a real point of difference,” says Fastier, a long time visitor to the ice.
Antarctic Heritage Trust Assembling the battens for the roof
“I’ve never been that cold,” says Burgess, who had to race indoors on the odd occasion to regain feeling in his hands.
The project manager for Architectural Metalformers is used to working through complicated roofing projects in rural, commercial and urban environments – less so in the world’s harshest environment.
“The opportunity to waterproof such an important New Zealand building with our product, while endeavouring to make it visually similar to the original aesthetic could not be passed up, regardless of the weather complexities,” Burgess says.
Not one to opt out of a challenge, Burgess combined his more than 20 years in the business, with further research, to come up with the robust long term waterproof roofing solution.
The Trust acknowledges, Architectural Metalformers, Pacific Coilcoaters, Sika NZ, Nexus Foams and Dulux New Zealand for their donated products and technical assistance.
Antarctic Heritage Trust Chris Ansin, Al Fastier and Geoff Cooper taking a break on the roof of the hut.
Antarctic Heritage Trust Antarctic Programme Manager Al Fastier working on the roof
The Trust is delighted to have our team assisting UKAHT on the Antarctic Peninsula as part of the new multi-year agreement.
The Trust raised nearly a million dollars to save the hut, also known as the TAE/IGY Hut, which was built by a team under Sir Ed’s leadership in 1957 just before his famous dash to the South Pole. The fundraising campaign included a 2012-kilometre tractor journey from Piha Beach to Mount Cook, collecting donations on the way.
Assembling the battens for the roof
The team are now thrilled to have completed conservation work on an iconic piece of Kiwi history.
New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust programme manager Al Fastier says it’s been a long and successful road to save the hut and conserve the hundreds of artefacts within it.
“As a historic site, its significance is that it’s the birthplace of New Zealand’s presence in Antarctica and the link to Sir Ed’s famous tractor trip to the South Pole.”
Antarctic Heritage Trust Antarctic Programme Manager Al Fastier working on the roof
“As a historic site, its significance is that it’s the birthplace of New Zealand’s presence in Antarctica and the link to Sir Ed’s famous tractor trip to the South Pole.”
While working to conserve Hillary’s Hut last season, the need for a weather-tight long-term roofing solution was identified.
Fastier says the Trust wanted the roofing solution to last a minimum of 35 years but more likely 50 to 100 years. A plan was then developed to overclad the historic roof, meaning the original roof remained intact.
Antarctic Heritage Trust Antarctic Youth Ambassador Chris Ansin working on the hut roof
“It gives it a real point of difference,” says Fastier, a long time visitor to the ice.
For Fastier, there was an even greater connection to the restoration effort, New Zealand and Hillary, given he slept in the hut on his first trip to the ice in 1987.
Antarctic Heritage Trust Chris Ansin, Al Fastier and Geoff Cooper taking a break on the roof of the hut.
Temperatures averaged -8 to 15 degrees Celsius during the project, with a few -25 and -30 degree Celsius days thrown into the mix.
For specialist Standing Seam roofer, Mike Burgess, the conditions provided a job unlike anything he had ever tackled.
“I’ve never been that cold,” says Burgess, who had to race indoors on the odd occasion to regain feeling in his hands.
The project manager for Architectural Metalformers is used to working through complicated roofing projects in rural, commercial and urban environments in and around Auckland – and less so in the world’s harshest environment.
When he was granted the opportunity to join the conservation effort, Burgess did not hesitate to accept.
“The opportunity to waterproof such an important New Zealand building with our product, while endeavouring to make it visually similar to the original aesthetic could not be passed up, regardless of the weather complexities,” Burgess says.
Not one to opt out of a challenge, Burgess combined his more than 20 years in the business, with further research, to come up with the robust long term waterproof roofing solution.
Burgess and Architectural Metalformers offered their time free of charge.
Having now returned from the ice, Burgess remains under the Antarctic spell.
“It’s been an experience that I will never forget, images and my words certainly don’t do it justice” he says.
“The scale, beauty and the history of the Antarctic – I’ve been bitten by the bug.”
Burgess and the Trust would also like to thank Pacific Coilcoaters, Sika NZ and Nexus Foams for their donated products and technical assistance.
Antarctic Heritage Trust conservators found a 100 year old fruit cake among the artefacts from Cape Adare.
Antarctic Heritage Trust Fruit cake after conservation treatment.
Conservation treatment involved rust removal, chemical stabilisation and coating of the tin remnants. Deacidification of the tin label and some physical repair to the torn paper wrapper and tin label was also carried out. The cake itself was in excellent condition. Programme Manager-Artefacts Lizzie Meek said “With just two weeks to go on the conservation of the Cape Adare artefacts, finding such a perfectly preserved fruitcake in amongst the last handful of unidentified and severely corroded tins was quite a surprise. It’s an ideal high-energy food for Antarctic conditions, and is still a favourite item on modern trips to the Ice.”
Antarctic Heritage Trust Huntley and Palmer’s fruit cake in wrapper.
Antarctic Heritage Trust Fruit cake found at Cape Adare thought to be from Scott’s Northern Party (1911).
Since May 2016, a team of four conservators have been working in the Canterbury Museum lab on the conservation of Antarctic artefacts from Cape Adare. The team recently finished the large project in July this year, conserving almost 1500 artefacts. The Trust is now planning to begin the conservation work on the buildings at Cape Adare. The huts were built by Norwegian Carsten Borchgrevink’s expedition in 1899 and later used by Captain Scott’s party in 1911. The buildings were the first in Antarctica and are the only examples left of humanity’s first building on any continent. The permit the Trust was granted to collect the artefacts stipulates that all of the items must be returned to the site following conservation, in accordance with the site’s status as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA). This will happen once the huts themselves have been restored. The Trust is very grateful for the support it receives from its funders, Norwegian Government, Canterbury Museum for its facilities and logistical support from Antarctica New Zealand to get the artefacts out of and back to Cape Adare. Check out the Huntley and Palmers online archive.
New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust has discovered an almost perfectly preserved 118 year old watercolour painting among penguin-excrement, dust and mould covered papers found in an historic hut at Cape Adare, Antarctica.
Canterbury Museum The water colour was painted by Dr Edward Wilson who died with Captain Robert Falcon Scott and three others on their return from the South Pole in 1912.
Canterbury Museum Dr Edward Wilson
“I opened it and there was this gorgeous painting… I got such a fright that I jumped and shut the portfolio again. I then took the painting out and couldn’t stop looking at it – the colours, the vibrancy, it is such a beautiful piece of work. I couldn’t believe it was there.” The painting is labelled ‘1899 Tree Creeper’ and has the initial ‘T’ on it. It depicts a Tree Creeper bird specimen. The discovery was made in September 2016, but has been kept confidential until now to enable the team to focus on restoring all of the 1,500 artefacts from Cape Adare.
Antarctic Heritage Trust
Antarctic Heritage Trust The Trust’s Programme Manager – Artefact Conservation, Lizzie Meek says it wasn’t immediately clear who the artist was given that two expeditions had based themselves at Cape Adare. “The Cape Adare huts were built by Norwegian Carsten Borchgrevink’s expedition in 1899 and later used by Captain Scott’s party in 1911. We knew the artist was likely to be among the men on those expeditions,” says Lizzie.
Antarctic Heritage Trust Borchgrevink’s hut at Cape Adare is built amongst a colony of over 400,000 breeding pairs of Adelie penguins.
As the Trust was working to identify the artist, Josefin attended a lecture at Canterbury University on Dr Wilson. “The presenter showed some of Dr Wilson’s artwork… as soon as I saw his distinctive handwriting, I knew he had painted the Tree Creeper. This made sense as there was also a 1911 newspaper article from the Lyttelton Times in the papers and Scott’s party went to Antarctica via New Zealand.”
Antarctic Heritage Trust Lizzie Meek says Dr Wilson was a remarkable man. “He was not only a talented painter, but a scientist and a medical doctor who was an integral member of both of Scott’s expeditions to the Ice.” Josefin is not surprised the painting survived in such excellent condition. “Water colour paintings are particularly susceptible to light so the fact this work has spent more than a hundred years tightly packed between other sheets of paper in completely dark and cold conditions is actually an ideal way to store it.” Lizzie Meek says how the painting came to be in the hut is still something of a mystery. “It’s likely that Wilson painted it while he was recovering from tuberculosis in Europe. Clearly, he could have taken the painting to Antarctica on either of Scott’s expeditions but we think it’s more likely the artwork travelled with him in 1911, and somehow made its way from Cape Evans to Cape Adare.”
Antarctic Heritage Trust The permit the Trust was granted to collect the artefacts stipulates that all of the items must be returned to the site following conservation, in accordance with the site’s status as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA). This will happen once the huts themselves have been restored. The Trust’s General Manager Operations and Communications, Francesca Eathorne says finding the painting is a poignant reminder of the inspiring legacy the early polar explorers left behind. “More than a century later we are still sharing stories about those expeditions. We’ve been able to create a high quality facsimile of the painting so we are now looking forward to sharing it with the rest of the world. We are in no doubt this will attract global interest – particularly from our friends in the UK.” Visit Cheltenham’s art gallery and museum The Wilson: www.cheltenhammuseum.org.uk
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Antarctic Heritage Trust
7 Ron Guthrey Road, Christchurch 8053, New Zealand
Private Bag 4745, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
Antarctic Heritage Trust
7 Ron Guthrey Road, Christchurch 8053, New Zealand
Private Bag 4745, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
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