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Blizzard at Cape Denizon, Antartica. (Frank Hurley) State Library of New South Wales

Frank Hurley’s Antarctica: images of early 20th century polar exploration

The Australian photographer travelled to Antarctica six times, including as part of the ill-fated Endurance expedition led by Shackleton.

THE AUSTRALIAN photographer who captured some of the most iconic images of early 20th century polar exploration visited Antarctica six times between 1911 and 1932 to document voyages of discovery.

Frank Hurley, born in 1885, first travelled to Antarctica with the Australian Antarctic Expedition and was a member on the ill-fated Endurance voyage led by Kildare-born explorer Ernest Shackleton and crewed by Kerryman Tom Crean.

The ship was crushed in October 1915 after becoming trapped in the polar ice. Despite the extreme conditions and having no way to signal their difficulties to the outside world, six of the exploration party daringly set out across the stormy Atlantic to raise the alarm and mount a rescue of the remaining men. The whole crew was saved in August 1916 by a Chilean trawler.

Having left school as a young teenager to work in an iron foundry, Hurley discovered his passion for photography and began developing his skill after purchasing his first camera aged 17.

A collection Hurley’s glass plates, photographs and notes from his half-dozen Antarctic journeys are held by the State Library of New South Wales, some of which are shown in the slideshow below.

Frank Hurley's Antarctica
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  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    A mid-winter glow: The Weddell Sea and the Endurance in 1915. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    Australian Antarctic Expedition members in the kitchen, 1911-1914. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    Blizzard at Cape Denison, Antarctica, circa 1912. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    Blizzard, the pup, during the First Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911 to 1914. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    Dog teams scouting a way to the land, 1915. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    Face of the Neumeyer Glacier in 1915, photographed during the Endurance expedition. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    Frank Hurley washing cinematograph film on the Aurora during the first Australasian expedition to Antarctica.
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    A glimpse of the doomed ship the Endurance, 1915, from the Antarctic ice. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    Hand-netting for macro-plankton from the Aurora during the first Australasian expedition. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    Ice mask around the face of Australian explorer and geologist Cecil Thomas Madigan, taken between 1911-1914. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    Moulting Adelie penguins after a blizzard at Cape Denison, 1911-1914. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    New Fortuna Glacier, 1915 during the Endurance voyage. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    The Bosun John Vincent of the Endurance mending a net in 1915. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    The impenetrable icefield which trapped and destroyed the Endurance in 1915. (Image: Frank Hurley)
  • Frank Hurley's Antarctica

    Winter quarters in Queen Mary Land, taken during the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-1914. (Image: Frank Hurley)

In pictures: Scott’s Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole >

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    Mute ponythegringo
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    Feb 29th 2012, 9:54 AM

    well , i hate to say it but how big would our collective blinkers be if it wasn’t for anon?

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    Mute Multi talentless
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    Feb 29th 2012, 10:24 AM

    I love how easily people seem to blindly accept these faceless “organisations” as the saviours of “free speech”
    How exactly does anonymous brand of censorship differ to SOPA censorship.
    Ever Wonder who is really behind Anon & Wikileaks ?
    Trust no one

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    Mute Richard Brownebacher
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    Feb 29th 2012, 1:52 PM

    an apt name

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    Mute Aaron Burns
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    Feb 29th 2012, 2:07 PM

    Don’t talk about what you don’t know.

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    Mute Paddy McGowan
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    Feb 29th 2012, 11:30 AM

    In response to an “apparent” cyber attack on interpol they arrested 25 people they suspected… …of using computers? of having an IT degree? of saying something out of line on the journal.ie forums? Its all so paper thin it could be a plot line from CSI! And yet interpols exec direc thinks it was a successful crack down on cyber crime. What a nice little work of fiction we are being force fed.

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    Mute Paddy O Donnell
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    Feb 29th 2012, 10:15 AM

    “i fought the law and the law won!” Bobby Fuller

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    Mute Oliver Clarke
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    Feb 29th 2012, 3:14 PM

    nothing but respect for anonymous, at the very least they have an excellent sense of humour. they will never be stopped

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    Mute Tom Neville
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    Feb 29th 2012, 10:38 AM

    I thought these guys all used IP address blockers, etc. How good are they if they get caught so easily?

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    Mute Brian Walsh
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    Feb 29th 2012, 10:50 AM

    Who said it was easy? They are known to use zombie machines etc but the folks chasing them can be just as good, and obviously are.

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    Mute Jason Doyle
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    Feb 29th 2012, 10:51 AM

    Or how good are they that the managed to hack INTERPOL.

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    Mute Tom Neville
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    Feb 29th 2012, 10:56 AM

    Comitting crime is easy. Evading capture is the hard part.
    I’m not an IT head, but from all I’ve read hacking is as easy as picking a car lock…something I also have no skill or training in.

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    Mute Sean Claffey
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    Feb 29th 2012, 11:07 AM

    @Jason I doubt they hacked anyone, I’m assuming it was another DDoS attack like all the others.

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    Mute Patrick Slattery
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    Feb 29th 2012, 11:46 AM

    These ‘cyber-attackers’ are just fools running LOIC pointed at an IP address. Hardly hackers.

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    Mute Aranthos Faroth
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    Feb 29th 2012, 12:49 PM

    Script Kids? Yeah, they make up most of Anonymous.
    Which is a shame really, considering that they don’t quite understand what they are getting themselves into.
    LulzSec & Anon and many other groups have dozens of guides on how to ghost yourself online. If the kids don’t want to read, who cares? I certainly don’t.

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    Mute Joost Bos
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    Feb 29th 2012, 4:38 PM

    Ghosting isn’t entirely foolproof, though. Even though there are networking programs that completely exclude your mahcine from the WWW.

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