POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Ice axe used during Sir Dougas Mawson's Australasian Antartic Expedition

Object No. H9551

This ice axe and ice spike was used for cutting hand and foot holds in ice, and was used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE), Antarctica, 1911-1914. One of the objectives of this expedition was the exploration and charting of the largely unexplored coastline of Antarctica. This included meteorological and magnetic observations, and the collection of biological and geological samples. It also aimed to establish a wireless weather station to assist with weather forecasting. Sailing on the Newfoundland sealing vessel 'Aurora', the team entered a part of the world which was then little known. The expedition was not without tragedy. During a sledding trip to the east of the base with Douglas Mawson, Xavier Mertz and Belgrade Ninnis, a crevasse swallowed up Ninnis, a team of six dogs, and the sled containing most of their food. The survivors began the arduous journey back to base, some 500 kilometres away, during which they ate the remaining dogs for food. Mertz died during the return, leaving Mawson to travel the 100 kilometres back to base alone. Mawson later led the British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expeditions (BANZARE), 1929-1931. The expeditions aimed to assert British territorial claims in Antarctica, and were responsible for the mapping of more than 3000 kilometres of what is now Australian Antarctic Territory coastline. The AA and BANZAR expeditions were two of the most important Australian scientific expeditions of the 20th century, laying the basis for Australia's later claims to almost 42 per cent of the Antarctic continent. The ice axe and spike are indicative of some of the equipment necessary to survive and work in the harsh conditions of Antarctica, and is associated with one of the region's great explorers, Sir Douglas Mawson. Along with related items in the collection, they gives insight into a story of adventure, hardship, and tragedy in a time of heroic Antarctic exploration. In addition they forms part of a collection that signifies Australia's immense contribution to exploration and scientific research of the Antarctic region. REF: Haywood, Elizabeth, 'Australian Antarctica: Celebrating fifty years of Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions', Australia Post, 1997 Mortimer, Gavin, 'Shakleton and the Antarctic Explorers: The men who battled to reach the South Pole', Carlton Books Ltd, Dubai, 1999 Australian Dictionary of Biography Online: http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au Australian Antarctic Division: http://www-new.aad.gov.au/

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Summary

Object Statement

Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914

Physical Description

The ice axe consists of a wooden shaft with a metal pick and spike on one end of the axe. The ice spike has a wood shaft and a metal spike. More than half of the shaft is missing, with an obvious split in the wood.

PRODUCTION

Notes

The ice axe was made by Anton Hupfauf (1871-1916), a Swiss maker of mountaineering equipment, while it was sold through Leonhard Kost, an outfitters' sports store of Basel, Switzerland. The Kost company originated in 1866 but went out of business in about 2018. The Hupfauf ice axe factory was located in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, at the northern foot of the Swiss Alps, 30 km southeast of Zurich. It was established by Anton Hupfauf senior (1871-1916), a blacksmith who was born in Fulpmes, in the Tyrol region of Austria, and moved to Einsiedeln, Switzerland, in 1898. Initially, the Hupfaufs made farming tools and knives but gradually began to specialise in the manufacture ice axes and crampons for mountaineering expeditions. His equipment became well known and was exported around the world. In 1911, the same year as the Mawson Antarctic expedition, the Haupfaufs were awarded a gold medal at the Turin Worlds Fair for their equipment. Ice axes were made in numerous lengths and various models. After Anton senior's accidental death in 1916 the factory was carried on by Melchior Ochsner, one of his employees, until Anton senior's son, Anton Hupfauf junior (1908-1993), was old and experienced enough to take over the works in 1930. By then household goods were added to the factory's production while ice axes and crampons continued to be made and distributed worldwide, and even issued to the army during World War II. The factory, which employed about 15 workers, continued until about 1948.

HISTORY

Notes

The ice axe was used during the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914, and presumably by Douglas Mawson. It is part of a collection of objects donated to the Royal Australian Historical Society by the Expedition. It was acquired by the Museum as part of the Royal Australian Historical Society Collection in 1981 (RAHS #67)

SOURCE

Credit Line

Gift of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 1981

Acquisition Date

23 June 1981

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