Andrew Darby 86/87 and 97/98

Andrew Darby is a journalist with a special interest in Tasmania and Antarctica. He is the Hobart correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, and maintains an online news service: www.antarctican.com

Much of his work is about the environment and natural resources, and has taken him to both Antarctic Treaty and International Whaling Commission meetings around the world. He was an early telecommuter, and still works from a converted garden shed at his home outside Hobart, where his desk faces south.

Andrew travelled to Antarctica with the Australian Antarctic Division's Humanities program in 1986 and 1998.

Antarctic Impression

Writing about Antarctica without going there was a bit like talking about being a parent without having had a child. I could exchange received wisdom, but not cut to the realities. The two round-trips I have made with the Antarctic Division meant I could sniff the polar air, feel the enormous scale of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, and see how hard it is for expeditioners to exist there – let alone work. People often ask me what Antarctica is like. My short answer is: “It’s the closest I'll get to another planet”.