Douglas Mawson expedition across the ice has been met with tragedy. One of his men has fallen down a crevice and died, and with him the majority of the food stores and the good sleigh dogs.

He and Mertz have little option but to turn back and try to make their way to the base. But the weather is against them, and they don't have enough food to make back.

Guest: Dr David Day (Historian and Emeritus of La Trobe University).

Books:

Flaws in the Ice: In search of Douglas Mawson (Scribe, 2013)

Antarctica: A Biography (Oxford, 2012)