Leave a Gift in Your Will

Leave a Legacy of Antarctic Exploration

Thank you for considering including the Antarctic Heritage Trust in your Will. By leaving a gift to the Antarctic Heritage Trust in your Will, you will conserve, share and encourage the spirit of exploration for generations to come.
With your help, we can continue to safeguard the historic huts from Borchgrevink’s, Scott’s, Shackleton’s, and Hillary’s Antarctic expeditions and encourage the next generation of explorers.
A gift in your Will of cash, an asset or an item, no matter how large or small, will make a significant difference. As a registered charity, all of the programming we do depends on donations from supporters like you. By leaving a gift in your Will, you will help us to plan for the future and sustain the legacy of Antarctic exploration.

What will be your legacy?

Including a gift in your Will to the Antarctic Heritage Trust is truly special. You can be remembered for supporting the legacy of Antarctic exploration and creating opportunities for young people to be inspired by the heroic explorers that you admire.

Young Inspiring Explorers during the 2020 Worsley Weekend ©AHT

Leave a legacy of exploration

Though our initial phase of conservation work on Ross Island is well underway, we need your help to continue to conserve these special places, along with the 20,000 items left behind by the explorers.
The Trust continues to work on conservation of the first expedition base built on the continent – Borchgrevink’s Hut at Cape Adare. Your gift can help us to complete initial work, as well as execute an annual monitoring and maintenance programme which is critical to continuing the preservation of these sites.

Share the stories

Leaving a gift in your Will can tell the stories of these legendary Antarctic explorers. Through our education programme we are creating innovative resources using immersive technology which makes these stories and historic sites accessible to people across the world. Your gift could enable us to bring these stories to even more people, and make sure that they never get lost in the past.

Inspire the next generation of explorers

The early Antarctic explorers’ stories are iconic. Whether they ended in success or failure, fame or obscurity, they were incredible. Exploration embodies curiosity, allows us to embrace uncertainty and develop resilience. These qualities are more critical in today’s world than ever before and will be critical in shaping our shared future.
By leaving a gift in your Will to the Antarctic Heritage Trust, you could help encourage young people to grow an explorer mindset. Learning from explorers of the past, they will be better equipped to embrace the unknown, and make a positive contribution to our changing world. You may even inspire tomorrow’s Shackleton’s and Hillary’s!

Borchgrevink’s huts at Cape Adare. © AHT

Olive and Robin’s story

After visiting the historic huts during a 2012 expedition to the Ross Sea, Olive and Robin Day decided to leave a gift in their Wills to the Antarctic Heritage Trust.

“We want to contribute what we can to further the Trust’s endeavours, upkeep the huts, and educate younger people in the world who 50 years down the track, might want to do the same thing,” shared Robin.

They feel privileged to have been able to see a site that many will never get the chance to visit.

“If you don’t have anywhere specific to leave your inheritance, you should consider the Antarctic Heritage Trust and the work that they do,” shared Olive. “We’re looking generations ahead,” shared Robin. “If it’s not protected now there will be nothing to protect, he continued.

Olive and Robin Day outside Scott's 'Terra Nova' hut © Olive and Robin Day

How to leave a gift

Including a gift in your Will to Antarctic Heritage Trust is very simple to do, even if you have a current Will. A gift can be made in many ways and we encourage you to speak with your legal advisor to get appropriate advice. You should also let your family and friends know about your intention to support us.

Any inquiries will be kept strictly confidential. We would love to work with you to ensure that your gift will honour your legacy in the way you intend.

Your Will is important

Current research shows that 45% of people do not have a Will and that 1,500 people a year in New Zealand die without a Will. These statistics are similar and sometimes even worse abroad. This creates extra stress, worry and cost for family at an already difficult time.

Making a Will is a way of ensuring that your final wishes are known and can be fulfilled just as you wanted. It offers peace of mind, knowing that your assets will go to the very people and places you have chosen because they were important to you.

A couple standing on a balcony, with a marina and homes in the background.

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Letting us know

If you do leave a gift in your Will to us, please tell us as we would really like to be able to thank you. We would also welcome the opportunity to discuss how you would like us to acknowledge your gift. If you prefer to remain anonymous, we will honour that and make sure that is clear in our confidential internal records.

Sadra Sultani, Inspiring Explorer (2020), kayaking in Antarctica © AHT/Mike Dawson

Take the next step

If you are ready to have a confidential conversation about the possibility of leaving a Gift in your Will today, please fill out the form below and our Development and Philanthropy Manager, Patricia Mackenzie, will set up a time to chat. She is excited to work with you to make sure that you know your options and that your intentions are followed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Whether you’re updating your Will, or thinking about one for the first time, these FAQ’s might help.

What do the words gift in my Will, legacy, bequest and estate mean?

A gift in your Will, legacy or bequest refers to the property or money that you promise in your Will to give to another person, organisation or charity after you die.

Your estate means the whole of your property and assets at the time of your death.

Contact your lawyer, the Public Trust Office, or a trusted Will writing company to learn more about your options.

Why leave a gift in my Will to the Antarctic Heritage Trust?

Together we can continue to safeguard the historic huts and artefacts from Borchgrevink’s, Scott’s, Shackleton’s and Hillary’s Antarctic expeditions and encourage the next generation of explorers.

Download our complimentary brochure for more information (button)

How do I include Antarctic Heritage Trust in my Will?

Including a gift in your Will to Antarctic Heritage Trust is very simple to do, even if you have a current Will. A gift can be made in many ways, and we encourage you to speak with your legal advisor to get appropriate advice. You should also let your family and friends know if you do decide to support us.

Below are three examples of how to include a gift in your will. Please discuss with your legal advisor the best way to structure a gift in your will to the Antarctic Heritage Trust.

Residual – remainder of your estate after gifts to family and friends
Percentage – a percentage of the value of your estate
Pecuniary or specific – a specific sum of money, property or items.

Every gift, however large or small, will make a tremendous difference in conserving, sharing, and encouraging the legacy of Antarctic exploration.

When preparing your Will, please seek qualified legal advice from your Lawyer, the Public Trust Office or a trustee company such as Perpetual Guardian.

Can I state what project I want to support with my gift?

As it may be many years before we receive your gift, we encourage you not to be too specific in your wording as things can change. If you have strong preference of what you would like your gift to do, please discuss your wishes with us and we can ensure that your intent is clearly stated in our records.

Contact our Development & Philanthropy Manager, Patricia Mackenzie, to have a confidential discussion at p.mackenzie@nzaht.org or +64 021 198 9853.

Do I need to tell you that I have included Antarctic Heritage Trust in my Will?

If you do leave a gift in your Will to us, please tell us as we would really like to be able to thank you. If we know that you have left a gift in your Will, we will continue to keep you updated on Trust activities, invite you to special events, and share our Trust publications like The Explorer newsletter and annual report. These are great opportunities to see how your future gift might make an impact.

We would also welcome the opportunity to discuss how you would like us to acknowledge your gift. Some people like us to share their story in a Trust publication. Others want us to share how your gift was used to family or friends. If you prefer to remain anonymous, we will honour that. By notifying us it will help us to correctly follow your wishes.

Thank you for considering supporting us in this way.

Contact our Development & Philanthropy Manager, Patricia Mackenzie, at p.mackenzie@nzaht.org or +64 021 198 9853 for more information or to discuss your wishes in confidence.