The Adelie Blizzard Facsimile Edition

During the winter of 1913 at Commonwealth Bay, the members of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition published five monthly issues of The Adelie Blizzard. Each monthly issue was prepared on single foolscap sheets using a manual typewriter, and was embellished with freehand sketches.  A single copy of each issue of The Adelie Blizzard was made, containing poetry, scientific results, observations, comedy and fiction  written by and for the enjoyment and intellectual stimulation of the expeditioners during the long, cold and dark winter.

News received by radio was also a highlight, as the team members were the first in the Antarctic to have radio contact with the outside world.

199 hand leather-bound, and 450 hand cloth-bound facsimile reproducations have been published, and are available from the Friends of the State Library of South Australia.  These previously unpublished records give an insight into the lives of the members of Douglas Mawson's 1911-1914 Antarctic expedition.

To order, visit the Friends of the State Library's 'Australiana Publications' website.  A soft cover edition is planned for 2011.