A polar explorer in insanity's archives: transmitting the story of Antarctic wireless operator Sidney Jeffryes
This article recounts the authors journey through polar and asylum archives in order to tell the story of a forgotten Antarctic expeditioner. A radio operator for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 191114, Sidney Jeffryes was a pioneer of Antarctic telecommunications, making two-way wireless c...
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:135314 2023-05-15T13:55:18+02:00 A polar explorer in insanity's archives: transmitting the story of Antarctic wireless operator Sidney Jeffryes Leane, E 2019 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10344233.2019.1672942 https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2019.1672942 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/135314 en eng Routledge http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2019.1672942 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT120100402 Leane, E, A polar explorer in insanity's archives: transmitting the story of Antarctic wireless operator Sidney Jeffryes, AICCM Bulletin, 40, (1) pp. 50-59. ISSN 1034-4233 (2019) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/135314 History and Archaeology Historical Studies Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History) Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2019 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2019.1672942 2020-03-02T23:16:15Z This article recounts the authors journey through polar and asylum archives in order to tell the story of a forgotten Antarctic expeditioner. A radio operator for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 191114, Sidney Jeffryes was a pioneer of Antarctic telecommunications, making two-way wireless contact between the continent and the rest of the world for the first time. However, his mental illness during and after the expedition saw him institutionalised and marginalised from Australian Antarctic exploration history. Telling Jeffryes story challenges the way we remember Australian achievement in the Antarctic, but piecing this story together is far from straightforward. With published accounts often eliding his achievements or repeating century-old misstatements, documents preserved in archives become key witnesses to his experience. Dispersed, faded, often illegible, and swamped by the masses of irrelevant documents surrounding them, these feel like the noisy signals that Jeffryes decoded in the Antarctic. In attempting to transmit Jeffryes story, this article also tells the story of deciphering his messages from the past. For the conservator, the important lesson is that the material documents held in the archives, although at times messy and frustrating, enabled this retelling. Indeed, this messiness was an integral part of their message. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Antarctic The Antarctic AICCM Bulletin 40 1 50 59 |
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eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
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ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
History and Archaeology Historical Studies Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History) |
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History and Archaeology Historical Studies Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History) Leane, E A polar explorer in insanity's archives: transmitting the story of Antarctic wireless operator Sidney Jeffryes |
topic_facet |
History and Archaeology Historical Studies Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History) |
description |
This article recounts the authors journey through polar and asylum archives in order to tell the story of a forgotten Antarctic expeditioner. A radio operator for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 191114, Sidney Jeffryes was a pioneer of Antarctic telecommunications, making two-way wireless contact between the continent and the rest of the world for the first time. However, his mental illness during and after the expedition saw him institutionalised and marginalised from Australian Antarctic exploration history. Telling Jeffryes story challenges the way we remember Australian achievement in the Antarctic, but piecing this story together is far from straightforward. With published accounts often eliding his achievements or repeating century-old misstatements, documents preserved in archives become key witnesses to his experience. Dispersed, faded, often illegible, and swamped by the masses of irrelevant documents surrounding them, these feel like the noisy signals that Jeffryes decoded in the Antarctic. In attempting to transmit Jeffryes story, this article also tells the story of deciphering his messages from the past. For the conservator, the important lesson is that the material documents held in the archives, although at times messy and frustrating, enabled this retelling. Indeed, this messiness was an integral part of their message. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Leane, E |
author_facet |
Leane, E |
author_sort |
Leane, E |
title |
A polar explorer in insanity's archives: transmitting the story of Antarctic wireless operator Sidney Jeffryes |
title_short |
A polar explorer in insanity's archives: transmitting the story of Antarctic wireless operator Sidney Jeffryes |
title_full |
A polar explorer in insanity's archives: transmitting the story of Antarctic wireless operator Sidney Jeffryes |
title_fullStr |
A polar explorer in insanity's archives: transmitting the story of Antarctic wireless operator Sidney Jeffryes |
title_full_unstemmed |
A polar explorer in insanity's archives: transmitting the story of Antarctic wireless operator Sidney Jeffryes |
title_sort |
polar explorer in insanity's archives: transmitting the story of antarctic wireless operator sidney jeffryes |
publisher |
Routledge |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10344233.2019.1672942 https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2019.1672942 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/135314 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2019.1672942 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT120100402 Leane, E, A polar explorer in insanity's archives: transmitting the story of Antarctic wireless operator Sidney Jeffryes, AICCM Bulletin, 40, (1) pp. 50-59. ISSN 1034-4233 (2019) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/135314 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/10344233.2019.1672942 |
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AICCM Bulletin |
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40 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
50 |
op_container_end_page |
59 |
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1766261715976060928 |