Antarctic Exploration: Honoring Sir Douglas Mawson

by David Evans Shaw

During a recent visit to Tasmania, I found myself standing inside the Mawson’s Huts Replica Museum in Hobart—an experience that vividly brings the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration to life.

The museum honors the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911–14 and the remarkable legacy of geologist and explorer Sir Douglas Mawson. Mawson’s expeditions during this era stand among the most extraordinary feats of endurance in exploration history. Through scientific rigor, courage, and sheer perseverance, he helped establish what would become the Australian Antarctic Territory and fundamentally expanded humanity’s understanding of Earth’s southernmost continent.

Mawson’s experiences are powerfully documented in his classic account The Home of the Blizzard. A recent republication of the book includes a foreword by legendary polar explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who calls it “one of the greatest accounts of polar survival in history.” I’ve had the good fortune of spending time with Ran Fiennes in Africa and at an annual dinner of The Explorers Club in New York.  His admiration for Mawson speaks volumes about the enduring influence of those early Antarctic pioneers.

Prompted by my visit to the museum, I’m pleased to share a blog post and short film reflecting on my own 2020 expedition to Antarctica, undertaken to mark the bicentennial of the continent’s discovery. The film pays tribute to early explorers—including Mawson—while also offering a contemporary perspective on Antarctica’s critical role in planetary health.

Antarctica is more than a place of heroic history. It is a regulating force for Earth’s climate, a repository of deep planetary memory, and a reminder that exploration and stewardship are inseparable. The courage of those who first ventured south challenges us not only to admire their achievements, but to carry their sense of responsibility forward.

I invite you to explore the accompanying blog post and short film HERE