Hidden Treasures of Antarctica – ANARE Club | Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions

Hidden Treasures of Antarctica – 9-11 October 2026

TICKETS $45

(Not including the Gala Dinner!)

DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL

Welcome to Canberra

Canberra is the home of many national institutions and other peak national organisations. A surprising number of them hold collections of items with links to Antarctica. The National Museum’s Antarctic Heritage Collection of 1000 objects is now regarded as one of the world’s great collections of Antarctic items, but hidden treasures can be found in the filing cabinets, basements and attics of several other bodies. Join your fellow expeditioners and friends of Antarctica as the Canberra Branch of the ANARE Club takes you on a weekend of discovery, awe and camaraderie to celebrate 75 years of this great Club!

Tickets are only $45 and this is what you get:

Friday 9 October

National Archives of Australia – a private viewing room will be set up at the National Archives showcasing some important Antarctic-related artefacts and papers. Your ticket will guarantee you access to the room which will be open from 11 am to 3 pm and will be staffed by one of the curators and your host from the ANARE Club (TBA). The Archives have a fine café, so plan your visit to coincide with your culinary needs – morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea. Leave room for your Gala dinner!

Saturday 10 October

National Library of Australia – Saturday kicks off with a panel discussion at the National Library of Australia at 10 am. Bring your ticket and join your host for the morning, past president, Joe Johnson, who will welcome you to the Library and introduce you to the curators. The curators from the National Library, with station leader Rebecca Jeffcoat and Antarctic heritage consultant Stephanie Pfennigwerth, will take you on a journey through the National Library’s Antarctic collection. Drawing on highlights from the pictorial, manuscript and oral history collections, the panel will reflect on the universal experiences of life in Antarctica and what has changed over centuries of exploration and discovery.

The NLA requires you to register your attendance at: https://www.library.gov.au/whats-on/events/antarctica-journeys-ice

Academy of Science – From the Library, it is only a short drive to the private carpark at the iconic Australian Academy of Science Shine Dome in leafy Acton where your host for the afternoon will be Club Vice President Phil Barnaart. Show Phil your ticket at front door of the Shine Dome and follow directions to where a sandwich and fruit lunch awaits you. We will be showing a couple of heritage Antarctic films courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive in the Academy’s very comfortable Ian Wark theatre.

At intermission, tea and coffee will be served. The Academy’s archivist will make a short presentation and guide us through a display of their own collection of heritage Antarctic items, including the very flag used by Mawson to mark the site of the South Magnetic Pole in 1909.

The film showing is planned to conclude at about 4 pm.

Casual Dinner Arrangements – your ticket guarantees you entry to Canberra’s Vikings Erindale Club in Wanniassa where dinner on Saturday evening has been arranged at the Bistro. The Club is not far from the Abode hotel many of you will be staying in. Your hosts for the evening are Kit and Julie Scally. Meet them in the foyer of the Club and enjoy a casual evening with old and new friends in the private dining section of the Bistro at the Club. Drinks and bistro meals at your own expense.

Sunday 11 October

National Arboretum – Bring your ticket and join Club President Rebecca Jeffcoat bright and early for a gentle stroll through the beautiful old and new stands of exotic trees in the National Arboretum beginning at 9 am. You will be amazed at the range of trees the Arboretum has planted, including beautiful Himalayan cedars, Chilean wine palms once so popular in Colonial Australian homesteads and many others. Your walk will take in the National Rock Garden where you will be able to touch a piece of Antarctica by leaning against several boulders of Mawson Charnockite. The walk will conclude at the Arboretum’s visitors centre and café where you get one of the best views of Canberra.

Canberra Attractions – you don’t need your ticket for this. Your last afternoon is free for you to explore Canberra’s attractions. If you haven’t been to the War Memorial, this will be your opportunity. Also, Canberra’s annual flower festival, Floriade, will be in full swing, and several other national galleries and museums will be open.