Hillary’s Antarctica: Adventure, Exploration and Establishing Scott Base

Sir Edmund Hillary’s exploits in Antarctica include the riveting story of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition and the establishment of Scott Base.

Written by Nigel Watson of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, and illustrated with Jane Ussher’s stunning photographs, historic images, and never-before-seen ephemera, this is the first book that fully documents and celebrates the contribution Hillary and the New Zealand team made to Antarctic history, and the legacy they left behind.

Hillary and the team were primarily a support act to the British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1955-58) crossing party, led by Sir Vivian Fuchs. By heading on to the South Pole and reaching it before the crossing party, Hillary’s actions created tensions, unleashed a media storm, and achieved an historic first overland to the South Pole. Hillary even had the audacity to succeed using three farm tractors.

The epic journeys of this expedition added another fascinating chapter to the exploration annals of Antarctica. Hillary and his team laid the foundations for New Zealand's continuous, and increasingly important, presence in Antarctica.

Watson is the Executive Director of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, which cares for the first expedition bases left in Antarctica’s Ross Sea Region, has led expeditions to Antarctica for 18 seasons, and is an authority on Antarctic history. Ussher travelled to the Antarctic in 2009 and spent over four weeks photographing the historic huts of Scott and Shackleton. Those images were published in her book ‘Still Life: Inside the Historic Huts of Scott and Shackleton’ which she co-authored with Watson. This is one of a number of books related to this expedition.