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Kiwi of the Week

Bernard Freyberg

A First World War hero and commander of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Bernard Freyberg was British-born but New Zealand-raised. He proved to be a charismatic and popular military leader who would later serve a term as Governor-General

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Today in History

20 January

1957 Scott Base opened in Antarctica

Scott Base, New Zealand's permanent Antarctic research station, was declared established by Captain Harold Ruegg, the Administrator for the Ross Dependency. Ruegg gave a short speech to a small crowd, which included Admiral Dufek and other officers from the nearby American logistics support base. Appropriately, as the base was named after British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, the New Zealand flag was then raised on a flagstaff that had been used by Scott at Hut Point in 1903.

The base was originally established in support of the privately run Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (TAE) 1955-1958 to accommodate both the New Zealand party of the TAE, and a party of New Zealand scientists attached to the expedition, and contributing to the International Geophysical Year (IGY). These parties were the first to winter over at Scott Base. But an agreement with the Ross Sea Committee of the TAE saw the base become the property of the New Zealand government at the completion of the expedition.