Norway and the 'winning' of Australian Antarctica
Enquiries by Norwegian whalers precipitated the British annexation of the Falkland Island Dependenciesand the Ross Dependency. Seeking territory free of British control, Lars Christensens Norwegian whalers claimedBouvet Island, which the British believed was theirs. Realisation of the economic value...
| Published in: | Polar Record |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ Press
2009
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247409008328 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/62098 |
| Summary: | Enquiries by Norwegian whalers precipitated the British annexation of the Falkland Island Dependenciesand the Ross Dependency. Seeking territory free of British control, Lars Christensens Norwegian whalers claimedBouvet Island, which the British believed was theirs. Realisation of the economic value of whaling led Leopold Amery,of the British colonial office to develop Britains Antarctic domination policy. In pursuit of this policy, the 1926Imperial Conference formulated a process to claim a sector of Antarctica for Australia. A.G. Prices The Winning ofAustralian Antarctica describes the role of the Mawson led BANZARE in this process. To gain title to Bouvet Island,the Norwegian Government, dependant on friendly relations with Britain, agreed not to claim territory listed by theImperial Conference as of special interest to Britain. Claims made by whalers who had mapped and named territoryin the unlisted area between Kemp and Queen Mary Lands were rejected by the Norwegian prime minister. Followingthe 1933 Order in Council establishing the Australian Antarctic Territory, Norway raised concerns that the territoryincluded Haakon VII Vidde (polar plateau) and the parts of Dronning (Queen) Maud Land that had been mapped anddiscovered by Norwegians. Prices contention that Australian Antarctica was won is questionable. |
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