Empires of ice: Edmund Hillary’s Antarctic adventure helped loosen NZ’s colonial ties

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Empires of ice: Edmund Hillary’s Antarctic adventure helped loosen NZ’s colonial ties

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Sir Edmund Hillary with rear-admiral George Dufek
Sir Edmund Hillary with rear-admiral George Dufek at Scott Base during the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1957 [Image: Wikimedia Commons – Weekly News]

The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1957 helped cement New Zealand as an independent player in Antarctica, writes assistant professor of history Daniella McCahey

When the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition ended on 2 March 1958, it marked what many called the last great adventure possible on Earth: an over