At last count there were 95 historic sites in Antarctica or on its adjacent islands. The list of historic sites was first drawn up in 1972 and cover everything from cairns of rocks to buildings from the heroic age of Antarctic exploration.
To be registered as an historic site they musty comply with at least one of the following criteria:
a particular historic event occurred at that location;
it is associated with a significant person in Antarctic history;
it is associated with a significant feat of “endurance or achievement”;
it is representative of a wider activity “important in the development and knowledge of Antarctica”;
the building itself is of intrinsic technical, historical, cultural or architectural significance;
it has educational potential about “significant human activities” in Antarctica; or that
it has “symbolic or commemorative value for people of many nations”
The sites can be as simple as a plaque or a cross and as elaborate as Mawson’s huts, or the remains of Antarctic bases. There are busts of important individuals, a grave, large sites that include cemeteries and artefacts from the days of whaling, Amundsen’s tent, a large Russian vehicle (“Kharkovchanka“), the wreck of Shackleton’s ship ‘Endurance’ and many others.
I have started with the Damoy Hut and have/will add more sites as time allows. Enjoy these segments of Antarctic history with me.
