As claimant to the Ross Dependency, New Zealand took part in a 1959 conference in Washington DC about the political and international status of Antarctica. The resulting Antarctic Treaty was agreed to by the 12 participating states.
Antarctica
Events In History
4 January 1958
Sir Edmund Hillary’s New Zealand team became the first to reach the South Pole overland since Robert Falcon Scott in 1912, and the first to do so in motor vehicles.
20 January 1957
Captain Harold Ruegg, Administrator for the Ross Dependency, opened Scott Base, New Zealand’s permanent Antarctic research station, during a ceremony on Ross Island.
16 August 1923
A notice in the New Zealand Government Gazette gave effect to a British Order in Council, which stated that coasts of the Ross Sea would be administered by New Zealand.
Articles
Erebus disaster
On 28 November 1979, 237 passengers and 20 crew were killed when Air New Zealand Flight TE901 crashed into Mt Erebus, Antarctica. The tragedy was followed by a demanding recovery operation and a raging debate over who or what was to blame Read the full article
Page 1 - Erebus disaster
On 28 November 1979, 237 passengers and 20 crew were killed when Air New Zealand Flight TE901 crashed into Mt Erebus, Antarctica. The tragedy was followed by a demanding recovery
Page 2 - Tourist flights to Antarctica
Air New Zealand and Qantas began offering sightseeing flights to Antarctica in February
Page 3 - Timeline to disaster
The Erebus disaster was mainly caused by a late change in the flight path and atmospheric conditions over
Page 5 - Operation Overdue
A team of New Zealand Police officers and a Mountain Face Rescue Team were immediately dispatched to the scene of the Erebus disaster.
Page 6 - Finding the cause
Following the death of so many people, it was not surprising that official investigations of the tragedy sparked debate and
Edmund Hillary
The legendary mountaineer, adventurer and philanthropist – whose familiar, craggy face beams out from the $5 note – is the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived. His ascent of Mt Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on 29 May 1953 brought him worldwide fame – literally overnight. Read the full article
Page 1 - On top of the world: Ed Hillary
The legendary mountaineer, adventurer and philanthropist – whose familiar, craggy face beams out from the $5 note – is the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived. His ascent
Page 3 - From Everest to the South Pole
On 29 May – four days before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II – Hillary and the experienced Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mt Everest and became the first men to
Page 5 - Honouring Edmund Hillary
In 1987 Ed Hillary was among the first 20 people selected as members of the Order of New Zealand (ONZ), this country’s highest honour. He has been the recipient of numerous
Antarctica and New Zealand
NZ and Antarctica share a long and rich history. From Tuati in 1840 to Edmund Hillary in the 1950s and more recent scientists, Kiwis have explored, examined and endured the frozen continent. Read the full article
Page 1 - Antarctica and New Zealand
NZ and Antarctica share a long and rich history. From Tuati in 1840 to Edmund Hillary in the 1950s and more recent scientists, Kiwis have explored, examined and endured the frozen
Page 2 - First among men
New Zealanders were involved in a number of significant Antarctic firsts - notably, the first landing on the continent proper in 1895 and the first overland crossing between 1955
Page 3 - Triumph and tragedy
There is a New Zealand connection to a number of triumphs and tragedies that have occurred in
Page 4 - Sites of significance
There are connections between places in Antarctica and New Zealand, and between places in New Zealand and
Page 5 - Timeline
Key events in the history of New Zealand's involvement with
Page 6 - Further information
Sources of further
From Tuati in 1839 to Edmund Hillary in the 1950s and more recent scientists, Kiwis have explored, examined and endured the frozen continent.
Meaning of place name
The name Antarctica is the romanized version of the Greek compound word ἀνταρκτική (antarktiké), feminine of ἀνταρκτικός (antarktikos), meaning "opposite to the Arctic", "opposite to the north". The first formal use of the name "Antarctica" as a continental name in the 1890s is attributed to the Scottish cartographer John George Bartholomew.
