Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01343:front:0:p50
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013L01343
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 128454–131607

Australia before the expedition. Mawson developed the huts using his own knowledge and experience. The designs incorporated the need for wind resistance, simplicity, portability and resistance to the cold.

Mawson's Huts are significant as evidence of Mawson's design theory that included modifying Australian building form for Antarctic conditions. Mawson's Huts were functionally designed using theory and experience. The use of verandahs and hipped roofs which are design features common to Australia were adapted to provide strength and insulation.

                  Official Values

                  Commonwealth Heritage Criteria Values

    A.  Events, Processes

    Mawson's Huts Historic Site is a place of great historical and social significance. The site is significant as the first base for scientific and geographical discovery in Antarctica by Australians. The Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914 (AAE) was the first large-scale scientific inquiry after Federation. Mawson's Huts is a complex historical site, a remnant of the 'Heroic Era' of exploration in Antarctica. The expedition survived the isolation and the severe climate and the site illustrates this through its form and setting. The site is, for Australia, of political significance as the location for what eventually became sovereignty claims. The site fabric demonstrates the intense period of AAE occupation between 1912-13. The external relationship of buildings and artefacts illustrates the way the AAE organised their activities spatially.

     Attributes:

    -          All of the historic fabric including its form, layout, setting, external relationship of buildings, and associated artefacts.

    B.  Rarity

    The site is significant as one of only nine wintering expedition bases built in Antarctica during the 'Heroic Era' of exploration, of which only six now survive. This base is the least disturbed by human activities making it one of the most diverse and unique. The site is a fundamental part of the history of Antarctic exploration and of the two bases constructed by Australians during this period it is the only surviving base. The overall site with its range of buildings, scientific equipment and artefacts demonstrates life in Antarctica during this period.

     Attributes:

    -          The integrity of the overall site with its range of buildings, scientific equipment and artefacts.

    C.  Research

    The Mawson's Huts Historic Site is an area of substantial archaeological deposit and archaeological potential. The site has already yielded archaeological evidence providing insight into the living conditions experienced by the AAE. The interiors of the huts are important in that they contain evidence of the domestic and work life of the AAE. The site still retains a great deal of physical evidence which can be interpreted by archaeological study.

     Attributes:

    -          The whole site including archaeological deposits external to the huts, and associated artefacts.

    E.  Aesthetic characteristics

    The Mawson's Huts Historic Site is of aesthetic value. The location of the huts on a small