The Diaries of Frank Hurley 1912-1941 (Anthem Studies in Travel)

This is the first illustrated edition of the diaries kept by Australian-born photographer and film maker Frank Hurley about his work on the Mawson and Shackleton Antarctic Expeditions, his two expeditions to Papua in the 1920s, and his experiences during the First and Second World Wars. While Hurley is best known today as a photographer and film maker, there is another source, so far little known to the public, which also gives us a startling sense of the presence of the past – his voluminous manuscript diaries, which have survived years of world travel and are now carefully preserved in the archives of the National Library of Australia in Canberra and the Mitchell Library in Sydney. This illustrated edition of his diaries presents Frank Hurley in his own words, explores his testimony to these significant events, and reviews the part he played in imagining them for an international public. Front Matter 2 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 List of Illustrations 8 Introduction 12 Sledging Diary, the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (November 1912–January 1913) 16 The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Diary (November 1914–April 1917) 18 The Great War Diary (August 1917–August 1918) 21 Tour Diary – In the Grip of the Polar Pack-Ice (December 1919–January 1920) 24 The Torres Strait and Papua Expedition Diaries (December 1920–August 1921) 26 The Papua Expedition Diary (August 1922–January 1923) 29 The World War II and Middle East Diaries (September 1940–April 1941) 33 Notes 38 Acknowledgements and Notes on the Text 40 Main Matter 44 1: Sledging Diary, the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (November 1912–January 1913) 44 2: The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Diary (November 1914–April 1917) 54 3: The Great War Diary (August 1917–August 1918) 102 Illustrations 156 1. Sledging Diary, the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (November 1912– January 1913) 156 2. The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition Diary (November 1914–April 1917) 159 3. The Great War Diary (August 1917–August 1918) 163 5. The Torres Strait and Papua Expedition Diaries (December 1920–August 1921) 168 6. The Papua Expedition Diary (August 1922–January 1923) 172 7. The World War II and Middle East Diaries (September 1940–October 1941) 177 4: Tour Diary – In the Grip of the Polar Pack-Ice (December 1919–January 1920) 182 5: The Torres Strait and Papua Expedition Diaries (December 1920–August 1921) 194 6: The Papua Expedition Diary (August 1922–January 1923) 230 7: The World War II and Middle East Diaries (September 1940–October 1941) 272 End Matter 296 Index 296 Frank Hurley is best known today as a photographer and film maker. His major documentary films include ‘The Home of the Blizzard', ‘In the Grip of the Polar Pack Ice', ‘Sir Ross Smith's Flight'and ‘Pearls and Savages', while his photographs of Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition and the two World Wars have been so widely exhibited and reproduced that in many cases they are the principal means by which we have come to see those world-historical events. Yet there is another source, so far little known to the public, which also gives us a startling sense of the presence of the past: it is Hurley's voluminous manuscript diaries, only brief extracts from which have so far been published. Originally written in the field in Antarctica, South Georgia, England, France, the Middle East, Papua and Australia, and later raided and revised for his many publications and stage performances, they have survived years of world travel and are now carefully preserved in the archives of the National Library of Australia in Canberra and the Mitchell Library in Sydney. This illustrated edition of his diaries presents Frank Hurley in his own words, explores his testimony to these significant events, and reviews the part he played in imagining them for an international public.