Australian Cultural Resource Management in Antarctica: the case of Mawson’s huts
Summary of Sherrie-Lee Evans’s presentation at the 2024 OHA Biennial Conference
The Power of Oral History—Risks, Rewards & Responsibilities
Sherrie-Lee has started a PhD at the University of Tasmania with this topic, using the site of Mawson’s Huts – both the historic site in Antarctica and the replica in Hobart – as a case study. As a collection of buildings erected and occupied by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) of 1911-1914, led by geologist and explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, it is the most extensive and culturally prominent Historic Site in the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT).
Sherrie-Lee will be using archival research and conducting oral history interviews to understand how people made decisions about what to conserve and how to conserve it. To do this she will be interviewing key players about their involvement in managing Mawsons’ huts over the years, hoping to recover some of the ‘lost’ or ignored histories of historic site management in Antarctica.
The question her research is seeking to answer is whether the history of the conservation of Mawson’s Huts reflects the influence of a prevailing Antarctic heritage discourse, or a contest between competing discourses.
An understanding of the history of Cultural Resource Management (CRM) in Antarctica and its key drivers is essential to reaching a more systematic, considered, and professional approach to CRM in Antarctica. These drivers have had a significant impact on the implementation of CRM in Antarctica, including around:
- acceptance of CRM and heritage values
- engagement of professionals, and
- adoption of professional norms.
The project will benefit industry and government by providing new data and analysis to those who manage or interpret Antarctic heritage sites including tour operators and national Antarctic programs.
The project is intended to strengthen the Australian Antarctic Program’s role as a leader in Antarctic historic site management and provide a model for other Antarctic Treaty nations by fostering a greater understanding and protection of archaeological sites in the south.
Mawson’s huts 2006, photographer David Killick