Books and Reviews-If Only Walls Could Talk

 If Only Walls Could Talk:  Antarctic huts with a colourful past

by Dr. David Harrowfield

Dr. Harrowfield on the ice in 2018 at Harrowfield Hill, the Antarctic feature named after him

OAEA Life member Dr. David Harrowfield of New Zealand, author of several previous Antarctic books has a new release, If Only Walls Could Talk, which traces the unusual history of two old huts (the Swamp and the Scott Base Bus Stop) which were used by the New Zealand and the United States Antarctic programs.  Published in 2022 by South Latitude Research and printed by Caxton Press of New Zealand, the book is available and can be ordered direct from dh.adelie@gmail.com.

Dubbed as the "first Antarctic archaeologist" in 1977, Dr. Harrowfield has made more than 50 trips to the ice and has an Antarctic feature "Harrowfield Hill" on Inexpressible Island named after him.  This feature is close to where six members of Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition survived for 209 days in a snow cave in 1912, when their ship was unable to get through the sea ice to pick them.  He has been active in New Zealand Antarctic matters since the early 1970s with his first trip to the ice in 1974-75, and is now an Associate researcher at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch.  Although he thinks his Antarctic travel days are probably behind him, he hopes yet to visit South Georgia in the South Atlantic to visit Shackleton's grave site.