A rare collection of images from early Australian and British expeditions to Antarctica has been digitised and released to the public for the first time.
The collection, transferred from the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) to the National Archives of Australia (NAA), includes hundreds of photographs, glass plate negatives, and lantern slides from expeditions in the early 1900s to the icy continent.
The director-general of National Archives of Australia, Simon Froude, said the images "provide a unique glimpse of the difficult conditions the explorers faced", and include original photos taken by renowned photographer Frank Hurley.
The majority were taken on expeditions during the first part of the 20th century.
Some of the images date from as early as 1911, the same year Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen mounted the first successful expedition to the South Pole.
"Photographic portraits of Antarctic personalities such as Joseph Kinsey, Ernest Shackleton, Douglas Mawson and Frank Stillwell are included in the collection, as well as images highlighting the ingenuity of expedition members navigating life on the ice and aboard the ship," he said.
"These photographs complement other national collections documenting Australia's exploration and research in Antarctica."
National Archives assistant director-general Steven Fox said all images were now publicly available on RecordSearch for viewing.
"This collection is rare and fragile. Acquiring, conserving, digitising and preserving it means it will be accessible now and for future generations," he said.
"The public can digitally access a range of records from very early Antarctic exploration through to later expeditions."
The collection was being held by the AAD in Hobart and was transferred to the NAA, which has archived more than 40 million items from 1901 to now.
