"And so the notion of undertaking a journey not as a modern explorer… but as an explorer of old with heavy wooden sled, animal pelts and heroic-era stoicism, hooked me"

(Tim Jarvis)

The expedition, completed in April 2007, recreated Sir Douglas Mawson's famous survival journey of 1912 in which both of his colleagues died. The modern expedition used the same clothing, equipment and starvation rations as Mawson had available to him in 1912 to test the theory as to whether he needed to cannibalise his fallen colleague to survive.

A book and accompanying documentary about the project were made, airing on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on 11th May 2008 as flagship of Film Australia's 'Making History' series. It also formed part of Channel 4's highly acclaimed 'Edge of Endurance' series in Britain in late 2007. The project enjoyed the patronage of the then Australian Prime Minister the Hon John Howard (click here to view the original patronage letter) and the Hon Alexandra Shackleton (grand-daughter of Sir Ernest Shackleton).

Click below to view a clip from the Mawson documentary