Mertz in Hobart: impressions of one of Mawsonâ’s men while preparing for Antarctic adventure

The story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) 1911 1914 has often been told in many publications which also refer to the
drama of the Far-Eastern Sledging Journey from which Mawson trudged back to base, arriving in a desperate condition after both his companions, Xavier Mertz and Belgrave Ninnis, had died. Sir Douglas Mawsonâ’s career is well documented but we know less about his team of men and their work. What do we know of Mertz? The literature repeatedly notes that he was Swiss, held a doctorate in law, was a ski champion, looked after the expeditionâ’s dogs and died, mysteriously, on that Far-Eastern Sledging Journey. Details of his death have stimulated much discussion. But what of his life? Born in Basel in1882, he was six months younger than Mawson. With Ninnis he sailed from London on the AAEâ’s S.Y. Aurora and spent November 1911 in Hobart as the team made final preparations for their Antarctic expedition. This paper focuses on that month of new experiences for the Swiss member of Mawsonâ’s team, his impressions of Hobart, the cityâ’s response to Antarctic explorers, what has changed and what remains as it was then.

Keywords:

Royal Society of Tasmania, RST, Van Diemens Land, natural history, science, ecology, taxonomy, botany, zoology, geology, geography, papers & proceedings, Australia, Antarctic, dogs, expedition, Hobart, Mawson, Mertz, quarantine, Switzerland, wharf