Dogs, Meat and Douglas Mawson

• Published in: Australian Humanities Review
• Main Authors: Leane, E, Tiffin, HM
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: School of Humanities, Australian National University 2011
• Subjects: History; Heritage and Archaeology; Historical studies; Australian history; Antarctic; Greenland; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.22459/AHR.51.2011.10; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/72932

When the Aurora, the ship used to convey the Australasian Antarctic Expedition(AAE), left London on the first leg of its journey in late July 1911, its departurewas accompanied by an unsettling sound. One of those on board, LieutenantB.E.S. Ninnis, described the event evocatively: No soul but a solitary dockpoliceman witnessed our departure, and although noise we had in plenty, itdid not originate from the enthusiastic outpourings of a patriotic populace, butfrom the forty-eight Greenland sledge dogs, which swarmed about our decksand made the sultry July night hideous with [their] din as they voiced theirprotest at the unaccustomed heat and confinement (1). Although unusual, theaccompaniment was not inappropriate, for dogs were to play a pivotal role inthe expedition, and six of them would die alongside Ninnis the following year.