Frontier vigilantism? Australia and contemporary representations of Australian antarctic territory

Australian Journal of Politics and History

Volumn 55, Issue 4, 2009, Pages 513-529

  Dodds, Klaus ^a   Hemmings, Alan D ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY   (New Zealand)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 74349093270     PISSN: 00049522     EISSN: 14678497     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8497.2009.01530.x     Document Type: Article

References (91)

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3. For a detailed examination of the ATS, see A. Watts, International Law and the Antarctic Treaty System (Cambridge, 1992).
4. See A.D. Hemmings, "Globalisation's Cold Genius and the ending of Antarctic isolation" in L.K. Kriwoken, J. Jabour and A.D. Hemmings, eds, Looking South: Australia's Antarctic Agenda (Leichhardt, 2007), pp. 176-190,
5. and A.D. Hemmings, "From the new geopolitics of resources to nanotechnology: emerging challenges of globalism in Antarctica", Yearbook of Polar Law, 1 (2009), pp. 55-72.
6. See, for example, C. Collis, "Emptying Mawson's hut: emptying post-colonial Antarctica", Journal of Australian Studies, Vol.63 (1999), pp. 22-29,
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8. For a detailed examination of "effective occupation" as a legal concept, see: G.D. Triggs, International Law and Australian Sovereignty in Antarctica (Sydney, 1986), pp.4-31.
9. T.G. Taylor, Australia (London, 1940);
10. and see also G. Blainey, The Tyranny of Distance: How Distance Shaped Australia's History (Melbourne, 1966).
11. J. Powell, "Coming to terms with Australia" in D. Hooson, ed., Geography and National Identity (Oxford, 1994), pp. 259-276.
12. On the legal basis for Australia's claim to the AAT, see D.R. Rothwell and S. V. Scott, "Flexing Australian Sovereignty in Antarctica: Pushing Antarctic Treaty Limits in the National Interest?" in L.K. Kriwoken, J. Jabour and A.D. Hemmings, eds, Looking South: Australia's Antarctic Agenda (Leichhardt, 2007), pp. 7-20.
13. For a contemporary review see R. Swan, Australia in Antarctica (Melbourne, 1961).
14. M. Haward, D.R. Rothwell, J. Jabour, R. Hall, A. Kellow, L. Kriwoken, G. Lugten and A. Hemmings, "Australia's Antarctic agenda", Australian Journal of International Affairs, Vol.60 (2006), pp. 439-456.
15. 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [1994] ATS 31.
16. On 15 November 2004, Australia made a submission through the Secretary-General to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), pursuant to article 76 of the LOS Convention. The submission included data on the extended continental shelf offshore the AAT, although Australia requested the CLCS not to progress this part of the submission for the time being. On 21 April 2008, the responsible Australian Federal Minister announced that CLCS had recognized the majority of the main Australian submission. See, A. Serdy, "Towards certainty of seabed jurisdiction beyond 200 nautical miles from the Territorial Sea Baseline: Australia's submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf", Ocean Development and International Law, Vol.36 (2005);
17. and A.D. Hemmings and T. Stephens, "Australia's extended continental shelf: what implications for Antarctica?", Public Law Review, Vol.20 (2009), pp. 9-16.
18. The quotation is taken from R. Ferguson, Antarctic Artefacts: A Selective Description and Annotated Catalogue of Artefacts in the Mawson Collection (Adelaide, 1995), pp. 10-11.
19. A.G. Price, The Winning of Australian Antarctica: Mawson's BANZARE voyages, 1929-1931: based on the Mawson Papers (Sydney, 1962).
20. C. Collis, "The Proclamation Island Moment: Making Antarctica Australian", Law/Text/Culture, Vol.8 (2004), pp. 1-18.
21. See, for further details, K. Dodds, Pink Ice: Britain and the South Atlantic Empire (London, 2002).
22. The 1947/48 visit to the Antarctic and Heard and Macquarie Islands is detailed in Current Notes of the Department of External Affairs, Vol.13 (1948), pp. 339-344.
23. A formal decision was made in May 1947 to proceed with annexation. Expedition members were not told of the destination while being recruited. The occupation ceremony was held on 26 December 1947. See G.D. Munro, "Waiting on the weather - the ANARE Years 1947-1955" in K. Green and E. Woehler, eds, Heard Island: Southern Ocean Sentinel (Chipping Norton, 2006), pp. 202-230
24. For a contemporary review see R. Swan, Australia in the Antarctic (Parkville, 1961).
25. C. Collis and Q. Stevens, "Cold colonies: spatialities at Mawson and McMurdo stations", Cultural Geographies, Vol.14 (2007), pp. 234-254.
26. P. Law, "Untitled lecture" cited in Collis and Stevens, "Cold colonies", p. 239.
27. D. Reynolds, "Empire, region, world: the international context of Australian foreign policy since 1939", Australian Journal of Politics and History, Vol.51 (2005), pp. 346-358. The quote is taken from p.349.
28. For one assessment of the Cold War and its impact on tine Antarctic see S. Chaturvedi, The Polar Regions: A Political Geography (Chichester, 1996).
29. J.K. Moore, "Bungled publicity: Little America, big America and the rationale for non-claimancy 1946-61", Polar Record, Vol.40 (2004), pp. 19-30.
30. On this and other aspects of military engagement see A.D. Hemmings, "Is Antarctica Demilitarised?"in R.A. Herr, H.R. Hall and M.G. Haward, eds, Antarctica's Future: Continuity or Change (Hobart, 1990), pp. 223-241.
31. I. Gan, "Will the Russians abandon Mirny to the penguins after 1959...or will they stay?", Polar Record, Vol.45 (2009), pp. 167-175.
32. For evidence of Australian press reporting on Antarctica in the 1950s see K. Dodds, Geopolitics in Antarctica (Chichester, 1997), ch. 3.
33. For one review of Australia's changing post-1945 role in international politics see D. McLean, "From British colony to American satellite? Australia and the USA during the Cold War", Australian Journal of Politics and History, Vol.52 (2006), 64-79.
34. For a recent geopolitical and historical assessment of the IGY see the special issue in the Journal of Historical Geography, Vol.34 (2008) entitled "Science and Geopolitics: the International Geophysical Year, 1957-8".
35. This is explored in K. Dodds, Geopolitics in Antarctica (Chichester, 1997) with Argentina in the vanguard of the southern countries determined to secure Article V of the eventual 1959 Antarctic Treaty.
36. Although Paragraph 2 of Article V allows that the rules established under any international agreement relating to these matters, to which all of the Antarctic Treaty Contracting Parties were also parties, would apply in Antarctica.
37. Australian Archives A3092/2 221/16/1/2 Part 12 Note by P.O. Law, "Reasons for continued Australian participation in Antarctica", 21 July 1959.
38. Australian Archives A3 092/2 221/16/1/2 Part 12 Record of a meeting between delegations of the Argentine, Chile and Australia 17 October 1959.
39. A. Bergin and M. Haward, Frozen Assets: Securing Australia's Antarctic Future, Discussion Paper No.34 (Canberra, 2007).
40. See A. Bergin, "Six reasons Antarctica is crucial", Australian Financial Review, 20 February 2007
41. A. Bergin and M. Haward, "Why neglect a territory that is there just for the taking?", Age, 4 April 2007
42. A. Bergin, "Don't let us be frozen out of our own patch", Australian, 22 January 2008
43. A. Bergin, "First we must explore, then exploit", Sydney Morning Herald, 24 April 2008,
44. and A. Bergin, "Antarctic commitment has been put on ice", Sydney Morning Herald, 4 November 2008.
45. See B. Patterson, "Slicing the ice", The Diplomat, Vol.6 (2007), pp. 68-70;
46. G.R. Copley, A. Pickford, B. Patterson and R. Vurens van Es, Australia 2050 (Glen Waverly, 2007);
47. B. Patterson and A. Pickford, Australia's External Territories: The Forgotten Frontiers, FDI Occasional Paper 1 (Perth, 2008);
48. G.R. Copley and A. Pickford, Such a Full Sea: Australia's Options in a Changing Indian Ocean Region (Glen Waverly, 2009).
49. R. Entman, "Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm", Journal of Communication, Vol.43 (1993), pp. 51-58
50. See for example an ABC TV programme which, inter alia, touches on Chinese Antarctic interest in the AAT: (last visited 18 May 2009).
51. See, more generally, G. Seal, The Outlaw Legend (Cambridge, 1996).
52. Bergin, "Why neglect a territory that is there for the taking?".
53. For a feminist analysis of territory with relevance to the Antarctic see V. Rosner, "Gender and polar studies: mapping the terrain", Signs, Vol.34 (2009), pp. 489-494.
54. C. Collis, "The Australian Antarctic Territory: A man's world?", Signs, Vol.34 (2009), pp. 514-518.
55. He is not alone in this regard; see for example, Patterson, "Slicing the ice"; and Patterson and Pickford, Australia's External Territories.
56. Bergin, "Don't let us be frozen out of our own patch".
57. Bergin, Don't Let Us Be Frozen out of Our Own Patch Ibid.
58. Bergin and Haward, Frozen Assets, p. 2.
59. Bergin and Haward, Frozen Assets, p. 2, Ibid.
60. Bergin and Haward, Frozen Assets Ibid. p.3.
61. Bergin and Haward, Frozen Assets Ibid., pp. 5-6.
62. For one contemporary analysis of the Antarctic Treaty System see K. Scott, "Institutional Developments within the Antarctic Treaty System", International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol.52 (2004), pp. 473-487.
63. See, for example, on the UN dimension, P. Beck, "The United Nations and Antarctica, 2005: the end of the 'Question of Antarctica'?", Polar Record, Vol.42 (2006), pp. 217-227. (Pubitemid 44173218)
64. Bergin and Hayward, Frozen Assets, p. 6.
65. The Law of the Sea Convention entered into force for Australia on 16 November 1994. For one analysis of the Australian submission to the CLCS see J. Jabour, "High Latitude Diplomacy: Australia's Antarctic extended continental shelf", Marine Policy, Vol.30 (2006), pp. 197-198.
66. M. Haward, et al., "Australia's Antarctic agenda", Australian Journal of International Affairs, Vol.60 (2006), pp. 439-546. The quote is taken from p.447.
67. A.D. Hemmings and T. Stephens, "Australia's extended continental shelf: what implications for Antarctica?", Public Law Review, Vol.20 (2009), pp. 9-16.
68. A.D. Hemmings and T. Stephens, "Reconciling Regional and Global Dispensations: The Implications of Subantarctic Extended Continental Shelf Penetration of the Antarctic Treaty Area",' New Zealand Yearbook of International Law, Vol.6.
69. See the detailed analysis by R. Bird, Aspects of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing in the Southern Ocean (Bonn, 2006).
70. See the statement by the Lighthouse Foundation on "New developments in the krill fishery: prospects of expansion" available at and S. Nicol and J. Foster, "Recent trends in the fishery for Antarctic krill", Aquatic Living Resources, Vol.16 (2003), pp. 42-45.
71. Bergin and Hayward, Frozen Assets, p. 10.
72. Bergin and Hayward, Frozen Assets Ibid., p. 15. For us as British authors, this rekindles memories of the 1982 Falklands conflict and the arguments made in favour of retaining a British naval presence in the South Atlantic in the form of HMS Endurance.
73. R. Herr and R. Hall, "Science as currency and the currency of science" in J. Handmer, ed., Antarctica: Policies and Policy Development (Canberra, 1989), pp. 13-24.
74. P. Ayres, Mawson: A Life (Melbourne, 1999). A paperback edition was issued in 2003 and numerous other books on Mawson can be found in any Australian bookshop.
75. A. McGregor, Frank Hurley: A Photographer's Life (Sydney, 2004).
76. D. Branagan, T. W. Edgeworth David: A Life (Canberra, 2005).
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80. L.K. Kriwoken, J. Jabour and A.D. Hemmings, eds, Looking South: Australia's Antarctic Agenda (Leichhardt, 2007).
81. M. Haward, "Antarctica" in B. Galligan and W. Roberts, eds, The Oxford Companion to Australian Politics (Melbourne, 2007), pp. 34-36.
82. Commonwealth of Australia. In the National Interest: Australia's Foreign and Trade Policy White Paper (Canberra, 1997)
83. and Commonwealth of Australia, Advancing the National Interest: Australia's Foreign and Trade Policy White Paper (Canberra, 2003).
84. See, for example: M. Wesley. The Howard Paradox: Australian Diplomacy in Asia 1996-2006 (Sydney, 2007), pp. 64-67.
85. In the National Interest, p. 49.
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87. See: A.D. Hemmings, "Problems Posed by Attempts to Apply a Claimant's Domestic Legislation Beyond its Own Nationals in Antarctica", Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law, Vol.11 (2008), pp. 207-220.
88. See: G.L. Lugten, "Net Gain or Net Loss? Australia and Southern Ocean Fishing" in Kriwoken, et al., Looking South, pp. 100-116.
89. Commonwealth of Australia. Australia's Ocean Policy (Canberra, Environment Australia, 1998).
90. G. Rose, "Australian Approaches to International Environmental Law during the Howard Years", Australian Yearbook of International Law, Vol.27 (2008), pp. 115-141.
91. We thank Ian Ward, co-editor of the Australian Journal of Politics and History, and the journal's referees for their helpful comments. The usual disclaimers apply, however.