Australian Antarctic Medal
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The Australian Antarctic Medal (stylised as
post-nominal Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...
), originally designated the Antarctic Medal until 18 December 1997, is a meritorious service award of the
Australian honours and awards system The Australian honours and awards system refers to all orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister at the time, that have been progressively int ...
, instituted by
Letters Patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
on 2 June 1987 (amended 18 December 1997 and 13 December 2011). Unique among the Australian meritorious service awards, the Australian Antarctic Medal may be awarded to the same person more than once. The medal may be awarded to anyone who has given outstanding service in connection with an Antarctic expedition, in scientific research, exploration, or in support of such work. Except in exceptional circumstances however, the medal will only be awarded if the nominee has also worked at least 12 months (cumulative) in Antarctic climates south of latitude 60° South, or in similar climate and terrain conditions elsewhere in the
Antarctic region The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
. The Australian Antarctic Medal is also unique in that (other than the first time when it was awarded, which occurred on 22 June 1987) awardees are announced in their own Midwinter's Day (21 June) awards list. The Australian Antarctic Medal has only in one instance been awarded to the same person twice - to Graham Robertson - and only four times
posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...
(to Howard Burton, Neil Adams, John Oakes, and
Patrick Quilty Patrick Gerard Quilty (20 March 1939 – 26 August 2018) was an Australian geologist and paleontologist who specialised in the surface and subsurface earth sciences of Antarctica. The Quilty Nunataks are named for his initial service in Antarctic ...
).


Design

The Australian Antarctic Medal is a
nickel-silver Nickel silver, Maillechort, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver does not contain the eleme ...
octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...
al medal, 32 mm in diameter, ensigned with a
hexagon In geometry, a hexagon (from Ancient Greek, Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple polygon, simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°. Regular hexa ...
al ice-crystal device, surmounted by a plain suspender bar. The
obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...
(front of the medal) bears a depiction of the Southern Hemisphere showing Australia and the Antarctic enclosed by the inscription "FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE IN THE ANTARCTIC". The reverse (back) of the Australian Antarctic Medal has an Antarctic expeditioner outside Mawson's hut, leaning into a blizzard as they use an
ice-axe An ice axe is a multi-purpose hiking and climbing tool used by mountaineers in both the ascent and descent of routes that involve snow, ice, or frozen conditions. Its use depends on the terrain: in its simplest role it is used like a walking ...
. The Australian Antarctic Medal is suspended on a 32 mm snow-white moire ribbon, with 3 mm edging of three shades of blue that merge into the white of the ribbon (representing the transition of water to ice as one approaches Antarctica). A date bar, being a nickel-silver clasp of 30 mm wide and 6 mm high, inscribed with the year the eligible service was rendered, is attached to the ribbon of the medal. Second and subsequent awards of the Australian Antarctic Medal are recognised by the awarding of another nickel-silver date bar clasp, worn on the ribbon above the medal (and positioned above any earlier date bar clasps), and by the use of 9 mm replicas of the ice-crystal device for each subsequent award on the ribbon bar (worn on uniforms when not wearing the medal). The miniature of the Australian Antarctic Medal is a half-sized replica of the medal, suspended from a miniature of the ribbon that is 16 mm wide. Half-sized replicas of date bar clasps are worn on the ribbon of the miniature medal. A lapel badge, being a 10 mm wide replica of the hexagonal ice-crystal device used on the medal, is also provided to awardees.


History

Prior to 2 June 1987, eligible service on Australian Antarctic expeditions (known as
Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE ) is the historical name for the Australian Antarctic Program (AAp) administered for Australia by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). History Australia has had a long involv ...
at that time) was recognised by the
Polar Medal The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It w ...
under the Imperial honours system.


Origins

When
Australian Prime Minister The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the principl ...
Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
came to power in 1983, he declared his government would no longer be making any recommendations for Imperial honours and awards. The
Australian Antarctic Names and Medals Committee The Australian Antarctic Names and Medals Committee (AANMC) was established to advise the Government on names for features in the Australian Antarctic Territory and the subantarctic territory of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands. The committee ...
, which had been set up by Ministerial appointment, declared at its meeting of 3 December 1984 that an Australian award should be created to honour outstanding achievement in the Australian Antarctic Territory, including for scientific achievement and exploration, and outlined some design specifications for the proposed medal. On 26 January 1986, Hawke announced the intention to seek Letters Patent for a new meritorious service award to recognise extraordinary service in the Antarctic region by Australian polar expeditioners, to be called the Australian Antarctic Medal. Initial designs of the medal were drafted by Michael Tracey, but the Australian Antarctic Names and Medals Committee expressed some dissatisfaction with some of his design elements, and
Stuart Devlin Stuart Leslie Devlin (9 October 1931 – 12 April 2018) was an Australian artist and metalworker who specialised in gold and silver. He designed coins for countries around the world, and became especially well known as London-based design ...
replaced him as designer (although Tracey's map on the obverse of the medal was retained). Stuart Devlin's final design was approved by the government on 21 January 1987. On 2 June 1987, the
Queen of Australia Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...
,
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, issued Letters Patent instituting the Antarctic Medal.


Production delays

Although 16 inaugural awardees of the Antarctic Medal were announced on 22 June 1987, covering meritorious service as far back as 1981, extended production delays with the Antarctic Medal and its ribbon resulted in it taking two years before these medals were presented to them.


Re-naming and post-nominals

In 1993, the then Keating federal government established a Review of Australian Honours and Awards Committee, to make recommendations about the Australian honours and awards system. The committee delivered its report in 1995, and one of its recommendations was that the Antarctic Medal be re-named the Australian Antarctic Medal, and be granted the post-nominal AAM (the preceding Imperial Polar Medal and the Antarctic Medal had no entitlement to use of a post-nominal). On 18 December 1997, the Queen of Australia, Elizabeth II, issued Letters Patent authorising the amendment of the original Letters Patent to change the designation of the Antarctic Medal to the Australian Antarctic Medal and authorised the use of the AAM post-nominal to those who had been awarded this medal.


Expansion of eligibility

Prior to 13 December 2011, the conditions for the award of the Australian Antarctic Medal were that, except in exceptional circumstances, only those who had accumulated 12 months or more in Antarctic climate and terrain conditions, and who had given outstanding service in (either directly, or in support of) scientific research or exploration, in the course of, or in connection with, an Australian Antarctic expedition were eligible to be considered for this meritorious award. On 13 December 2011, the Queen of Australia, Elizabeth II, issued Letters Patent authorising the amendment of the original Letters Patent (and its regulations) to allow eligibility for the Australian Antarctic Medal to be expanded so that persons representing an Australian agency or institution on foreign Antarctic expeditions could also be considered for this medal.


List of recipients

As at Midwinter's Day (21 June) 2020, the Australian Antarctic Medal (also known as the Antarctic Medal prior to 1998) has been awarded 104 times to 103 individuals (one person has received the medal twice). In four cases the medal was awarded posthumously. Apart from its inaugural award, which occurred on 22 June 1987, it has always been awarded on Midwinter's Day, although in some years no awards have been made (2003, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019). From 1987 to 1991, no short citation was given when the medal was awarded. From 1992 to 1997, the short citation ''For outstanding service in connection with Australian Antarctic expeditions'' was used. In 1998, the short citation ''For outstanding service in support of Australia's Antarctic Program'' was used. From 1999 to 2011 the short citation ''For outstanding service in support of Australian Antarctic expeditions'' was used. Generic short citations were replaced with individual short citations from 2012 until 2016, when short citations were no longer given. The only awardee to have received the Australian Antarctic Medal twice (where an additional clasp is given to the recipient, to place on the ribbon of the medal, and the ice crystal device is worn on the ribbon bar, when the medal is not worn) is Graham Robertson (who received his medal in 1989, and his additional clasp in 2012). The four posthumous awards made to date are to Howard Burton (d. 5 November 1993) in 1994, Neil Adams (d. 23 March 2012) in 2012, John Oakes (d. 23 July 2016) in 2018, and Patrick Quilty (d. 26 August 2018) in 2020.Refer: * Burton * Adams * Oakes * Quilty


See also

*
Australian honours and awards system The Australian honours and awards system refers to all orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister at the time, that have been progressively int ...
*
Australian Honours Order of Wearing The Governor-General of Australia has, at irregular intervals, notified for general information the positioning of the wearing of Australian Orders, Decorations and Medals in the ''Commonwealth of Australia Gazette''. The ''Order of Wearing Aus ...
*
Australian Antarctic Division The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is a division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The Division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and the ...
*
Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE ) is the historical name for the Australian Antarctic Program (AAp) administered for Australia by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). History Australia has had a long involv ...
*
Casey Station Casey Station, commonly called Casey, is one of three permanent stations and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Casey lies on the northern side of the Bailey Peninsula (Antarctica), Bailey Peninsu ...
*
Davis Station The Davis Station, commonly called Davis, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Davis is situated on the coast of Cooperation Sea in Princess Elizabeth Land, In ...
*
Mawson Station The Mawson Station, commonly called Mawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies in Holme Bay in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica in the Austra ...
*
Macquarie Island Station The Macquarie Island Station is a permanent Australian subantarctic research base on Macquarie Island, commonly called Macca, situated in the Southern Ocean and located approximately halfway between mainland Australia and Antarctica, managed by ...


Notes


References

{{Australian Honours System Civil awards and decorations of Australia Awards established in 1987 Awards for polar exploration Long and Meritorious Service Medals of Britain and the Commonwealth