Norway and the ‘winning’ of Australian Antarctica

Enquiries by Norwegianwhalers precipitated the British annexation of the Falkland Island Dependencies and the Ross Dependency. Seeking territory free of British control, Lars Christensen’s Norwegian whalers claimed Bouvet Island, which the British believed was theirs. Realisation of the economic value of whaling led Leopold Amery, of the British colonial office to develop Britain’s Antarctic domination policy. In pursuit of this policy, the 1926 Imperial Conference formulated a process to claim a sector of Antarctica for Australia. A.G. Price’s The Winning of Australian 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 the Imperial Conference as of ‘special interest’ to Britain. Claims made by whalers who had mapped and named territory in the unlisted area between Kemp and Queen Mary Lands were rejected by the Norwegian prime minister. Following the 1933 Order in Council establishing the Australian Antarctic Territory, Norway raised concerns that the territory included Haakon VII Vidde (polar plateau) and the parts of Dronning (Queen) Maud Land that had been mapped and discovered by Norwegians. Price’s contention that Australian Antarctica was ‘won’ is questionable.