Hillary's Antarctica: Adventure, Exploration and Establishing Scott Base - Hardcover

The first book to fully document and celebrate Sir Edmund Hillary's contribution to Antarctic history. Written by Nigel Watson of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, it is illustrated with Jane Ussher's stunning photographs, plus historic images and never-before-seen ephemera and diary entries. Hillary and the New Zealand team were supposed to be a support act to the British Commonwealth Antarctic crossing party. By heading on to the South Pole and reaching it before the crossing party, Hillary exceeded the brief. His actions created tensions, unleashed a media storm and denied the British an historic first overland to the South Pole since Captain Scott. Hillary even had the audacity to achieve the feat with three farm tractors. In doing so, Sir Edmund Hillary added another fascinating chapter to the exploration annals of Antarctica and he, and his expedition team, laid the foundations for New Zealand's continuous, and increasingly important, presence in Antarctica.

Nigel Watson is the Executive Director of the Antarctic Heritage Trust. The Trust cares, on behalf of the international community, for the first expedition bases left in Antarctica's Ross Sea Region. This includes the iconic expedition bases left by expeditions led by Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton and Sir Edmund Hillary. Nigel is an authority on Antarctic history and is the co-author of the acclaimed Still Life: Inside the Historic Huts of Scott and Shackleton with Jane Ussher and a contributor to Assouline's South Pole. Jane Ussher is highly respected for her documentary work as a photographer, and is regarded as one of New Zealand's foremost portrait photographers. She photographed the images for Still Life: Inside the Historic Huts of Scott and Shackleton, and her other published books include the award-winning Coast: A New Zealand journey, Face to Face, Worship: A history of New Zealand church design and Islands: A New Zealand Journey. In 2009 Jane was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to photography, and was also inducted into the Massey University Hall of Fame.