An exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of Australia’s Mawson Station in Antarctica, and our co-operation and shared Antarctic history with Norway, has been well received by visitors to the Fram Museum in Oslo. The exhibition consists of 13 panels that describe and illustrate Australia’s links with Norway and our Antarctic science efforts at Mawson — Australia’s first permanent Antarctic station — since its establishment on February 13, 1954. Like Australia, Norway is an original signatory to the Antarctic Treaty. Norway’s Antarctic territorial claim, Dronning Maud Land, abuts the Australian Antarctic Territory, and Australia has chartered a number of Norwegian ships including the Polar Bird.
The exhibit, prepared by Elizabeth Haywood of the Australian Antarctic Division, was originally displayed in Hobart during Tasmania’s Midwinter Festival in July. It moved to Canberra in August and the Fram Museum in September. The exhibit will be displayed at the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromso at the beginning of the European summer and will tour other venues in Norway for a further 12 months.