Rare Book Week: First Glimpses of the Antarctic

Prior to the 18th and 19th centuries, Antarctica was the great unknown: how could nature survive in temperatures averaging -57°C? And just how large was the continent?  

Join Andrew McConville, a reference librarian at the Library and author of In Search of the Last Continent: Australia and Early Antarctic Exploration, for this special Rare Book Week event. Discover how Antarctic exploration was recorded and learn about Melbourne’s role in reviving voyages in the latter part of the 19th century. 

You’ll also get the chance to see documents chronicling the first recorded landing and exploratory expedition on the Antarctic continent. 

About Andrew McConville 

Andrew McConville has worked as a reference librarian at State Library Victoria for more than 20 years, and his book In Search of the Last Continent: Australia and Early Antarctic Exploration explores 18th and 19th century Antarctic history. 

About Melbourne Rare Book Week 

Rare Book Week is an annual, Melbourne-wide program of free talks and events that celebrate the importance of books, literacy and literature in our lives. It has become a key event in literary Melbourne’s calendar since 2012.