Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01343:front:0:p47
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01343
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 120566–123467

the AAE's plans that brought them together in the first place.

     This sense of awe inspiring isolation experienced by the expeditioners was first demonstrated in the evocative images of the AAE photographer, Frank Hurley. Mawson's Huts Historic Site has continued to inspire artists, writers and visitors.

     The attributes are encompassed in the entire Mawson's Huts Historic Site.

    F. Creative or technical achievement

    The place is strongly evocative of the endeavours of a group of Australians in one of the fiercest environments on Earth. The remaining buildings reflect the development of building design for Antarctica and extensive experimentation in coping with a new and extreme environment. The pyramid-form Main Hut illustrates ideas learned by Mawson during earlier expeditions, as well as ideas borne out of collaboration with an architect and the suppliers of materials. The whole emphasis of the building is toward the weather and the vital need for a sturdy yet liveable base in a highly inhospitable climate.

     The AAE Main Hut is part of the group of Heroic Era huts where pragmatic considerations for shelter in a foreign and remote environment created the development of the expedition hut form appropriate for polar regions. The Main Hut is, perhaps, a climax of this building type and is clearly designed for its functional purpose.

     The AAE is the first Antarctic expedition to pioneer the use of wireless communication and the first to attempt to obtain an aeroplane for use in Antarctica.

     The attributes are the Main Hut with living section, workshop and verandahs.

    G.  Social value

    In Australian popular memory, the place is strongly associated with the heroic endeavours of a group composed primarily of Australians in the early twentieth century in one of the wildest and least known natural environments on Earth.

     Mawson's Huts Historic Site generally, with the Main Hut and memorial cross in particular, are symbolic of the AAE, its members, its achievements and its sacrifices.

     The place has symbolic cultural value in the stories of the exploits of the AAE, particularly Mawson's epic return from the tragic Far-Eastern Sledging expedition, and the role this has had in legend building and national psyche.

     The 'communities' who value these associations include the community of Antarctic veterans, the scientific community, and the Australian community as a whole. The place is especially important to the community of Antarctic workers past and present.

     The attributes are the same as criterion (A).

    H.  Significant people

    Mawson's Huts Historic Site is significant for its associations with all members of the AAE and the crew of the expedition vessel SY Aurora. The site's association is not only with the eighteen members of the Main Base at Cape Denison, but also the eight members of the