Christy Collis, ‘Truly Terra Nullius’ Australia’s Antarctic Claims

One of the more obscure achievements of the Menzies Government was establishing Mawson Station, Australia’s first permanent base on the once uninhabited southern continent. This difficult endeavour was done partly in the name of science, but also to secure Australia’s claim to 42% of the territory which had its origins in the ‘historic age’ of exploration. This claim remains disputed, and the ins and outs of how various countries have tried to take possession of the barren and inhospitable, but potentially mineral-rich, wasteland is a fascinating story, involving everything from centuries-old papal bulls to the machinations of the Cold War. 

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Professor Christy Collis about the complicated history of claims of Antarctic possession. 

Professor Christy Collis is Provost of the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors and the International College of Hotel Management. Prior to this, she worked as an academic at both the Queensland University of Technology and the University of Southern Queensland. Her research has focused the scholarship of learning and teaching, as well as cultural geography. As part of the latter, she has published multiple academic papers on the manner in which Australia tried to ‘take possession’ of Antarctic territory.